FEATURES:
Immaculately presented 1940s English-style home with sea views and private access to Thorne Bay through shared pathway. Generous formal living room, dining/sun room and family room, English country-style kitchen, well-appointed bathrooms, upstairs office. Attractive formal courtyard garden and deck. Bonus off-street parking.
Lois and Malcolm Macaskill took a leap into relative modernity 14 years ago when they bought their pretty English-style 1941 bungalow overlooking the sea between Milford and Takapuna. It was not the first time they'd tried to buy the house.
"We'd had a huge 1880s farmhouse on the edge ofthe Hunuas in south Auckland," explains Malcolm. "Lois had seen this house first when it was on the market in 1992, but it took so long to sell the farmhouse - it was huge upkeep and even had a ballroom - that we missed out."
The couple even had plans drawn for the then run-down house by the sea they'd fallen in love with. When it came back on the market in 1996 they took five minutes to go back through the property to be sure its original features were still intact and their plans would still work and snapped it up.
They have a sketchy history of the house passed on by the previous owners: the block of land on which it sits was owned by the McBride family and was cut into six sections to give to the McBride children. The Macaskills are not sure when this was, but a couple of 1920s bungalows on neighbouring sections could be the clue. Their house was built of kauri and matai, with cedar shutters and windows, and originally occupied the full 1200sq m block. As was common in the late 1980s, the house was moved forward on to the original tennis court to make room for a large townhouse on the seaward side and the roof raised to make a master bedroom floor. Fortunately their house was sited for unobstructed views of the sea and Rangitoto, and the property shares a private driveway and stairs down to Thorne Bay. The walk to Milford and Takapuna beach is one of Lois' favourites.
The Macaskills have carefully renovated and restored the house, retaining its huge Georgian-style sash windows and working exterior shutters (handy to lock up the house when they travel). They uncovered the generous original mouldings in the living room, although sadly the fireplace had long since gone. Bifold windows in the original sunroom/dining room now open the space out, with French doors from this room and the adjoining family/TV room to the deck and courtyard garden. Lois credits Malcolm with creating a series of interesting outdoor rooms in the compact space, with curved beds of roses making way for archways and spots for garden benches, with room beside the garage and carport for a more utilitarian garden and clothesline. The sunny space, enclosed by coloured plastered walls, is a gathering place in the summer evenings for meals.
The couple rearranged the kitchen, laundry and back porch into a generous country-style kitchen, designed in the style of the classic English Smallbone brand from solid kauri. The granite counter and bronzed handles have stood the test of time and there is plenty of storage tucked in here and the adjoining bathroom and laundry.
The bathroom and two downstairs bedrooms were handy for their children when they moved into the house, but have long served only as guest rooms. Upstairs, the master bedroom has breathtaking water views. The window seat tucked in the slope of the roof is Lois' favourite spot for sitting and stitching (her beautiful work is in evidence throughout the house) as it has glimpses east to the sea and west to the lake. Beside it is a study that's an office for Lois.
Lois and Malcolm did have plans drawn to extend a storage loft into another bedroom, but then realised that they'd rather downsize and spend the time with grandchildren in Britain.
