28 Kowhai St, Mt Eden, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
In many cities around the world, high walkability scores - ease of getting to important places without using a car - are one of the key criteria for house hunters.
Until they bought their pretty 1930s bungalow on a quiet side-street in Mt Eden, Steve and Bridget Bond had not appreciated the appeal of walkability.
"We'd lived on the other side of Dominion Rd, and around Western Springs but we'd always liked this area," says Bridget.
"We are 10 minutes to the city and High St, Kingsland train station is five minutes' walk away, plus there are the shops in Mt Eden Rd and Dominion Rd."
The couple realised that their boys, now 9 and 8, could bike or walk everywhere, including to school - a rare treat in the city.
The quiet street is not a thoroughfare and on game days at Eden Park around the corner, when the neighbourhood could be at its busiest, streets are closed off and there is no traffic.
When they moved into the house, Bridget was pregnant with their daughter, now 4, so the family was happy to make the house comfortable while they thought about renovation plans.
They worked right through to consents for the renovation, which would have pushed out the back of the house with modern kitchen and family room and updated the front bedroom.
But with busy lives and young kids, they decided they weren't ready to live through a year of renovations, so have bought a place already done.
"This is a heritage area, everything was very carefully designed," says Steve. "It was a big decision to leave this street, we love it so much, you forget you're in the city."
The front portion of the house is original, with two large double bedrooms on either side of the front hallway.
An en suite and walk-in closet was opened off the master bedroom, crisp and white and well-fitted out for storage.
The boys' double bedroom has its original square bay window and there is a sweet smaller bedroom as well.
Most of the rooms still have the original deco light fixtures and doors that miraculously were not removed when the back of the house was redone.
The family bathroom was updated, with a separate loo. Bridget and Steve added insulation and HRV through the house and updated with fresh white paint.
The Bonds knew that this would be their perfect house when they saw the back yard. Surrounded by neighbours' bush, with two levels of lawn, it only needed updated decks and planting to make it the perfect sheltered playground.
They clipped hedges to allow sun into the house, but still kept it private and installed a play house.
The new deck has built-in bench seats to wrap around the table - perfect for summer evenings to grab the last of the sun.
Previous owners had installed a covered porch, with recycled Victorian coloured glass windows that has made a great year-round outdoor sitting room for the family.
A fourth bedroom opening off the sunny dining space has been variously a play room, a bedroom and is now the media/retreat space off the open-plan living room.
The timber kitchen was planned for an update, but Bridget and Steve were happy with its light from skylights and its position in the heart of the home.
The renovation plans included re-aligning the dog-leg hallway and opening up the space here.
On the roadside, the original single garage was supplemented with a more modern stone-wrapped one in front, giving the family a ton of room for bikes, work bench and storage.
Classic Mt Eden scoria walls and steps around the property bed the timeless house into its surrounds.
The old-fashioned charm of the street, of kids walking to school and convenience of trains and city access will be welcomed by the next family.