KEY POINTS:
34 SHERWOOD AVENUE, GREY LYNN.
In the late 1880s, the shabby shanty town that was Auckland burgeoned into a city of some 57,000 souls. A model town, Surrey Hills Estate, was developed on a 305-acre lot of land between Richmond, Ponsonby and Great North Roads by local
entrepreneur Thomas Russel. In 1898 the area was given its name Grey Lynn. The adjoining Sherwood Estate (Sherwood, Francis, Salisbury and Francis streets) opened up in 1907 and in 1914 Grey Lynn merged with greater Auckland. Great North Road was still in dairy farms and market gardens.
The sound transitional villas and bungalows were considered gentlemanly and smart back then, and 100 years later still are. When developer Andrew Wilson and his wife polished up one of the original houses on Sherwood Avenue, it hit exactly the right note for home hunters Andrea Wardell and David Simpson, moving from Westmere with their young daughter Olivia late last year.
"We stepped in and thought this was the perfect place," recalls Andrea. Certainly the Wilsons had carefully thought through every detail - from the landscaped front yard (the period-appropriate fence slides to one side to allow smartly paved parking for two cars) to the sunny indoor-outdoor living at the back of the property. All that Andrea and David had to do was add their decorating touches and more planting as they enjoyed the outdoor summer.
The turn of the century house has had the modern makeover expected in the inner city suburbs, such as dark stained wood floors, neutral paint covers, modern lighting and window treatments. Thoughtful touches are everywhere: double storage cupboards in the hallway, properly fitted closets in the bedrooms (including a walk-in for the master suite) and underfloor heating, sensor lights and quality fittings in both bathrooms.
But it is the light-filled living spaces that really create an easy family home, a far cry from the dark gentlemen's houses created when the area was first opened up. An original back living room is now the snug, wired for home entertaining, but with French doors to fling open to the terraces in summer. The open plan living, dining and family room wing was added by the Wilsons to merge with the grassed and paved garden (decorated by young Olivia with a pair of pink flamingos). Warmed by a large gas fire in the winter, the space has enormous glass doors that slide completely away in the summer. A well-detailed kitchen with plenty of storage, and the large composite stone island is a great hub for entertaining. "In the winter this is a real sun trap as it catches the last of the low afternoon sun," points out Andrea, "while in the summer we just had everything wide open for air flow."
The family is rather fond of wide open spaces, having owned 6.4ha of bush and farmland out near Muriwai. With their daughter nearing school age and with two of their own businesses, they have decided to move permanently to the country, so are now selling their city home. While this family finds horses, dogs and gumboots, the next city family can enjoy the ease of inner city living, a short walk to the West Lynn shops and the beauty of the neighbouring parks.
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 3
BATHROOMS: 2
GARAGE: No garage, but off-street parking for two cars.
SIZE: Land 476sq m, house 155 sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: Comparable houses in the area are selling from $1.2 to $1.4 million. Expressions of interest close July 17.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2-2.30pm.
ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz, 44730
CONTACT: Kym Aikin, Bayleys, ph 021 596 222. SCHOOL ZONES: Grey Lynn Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs College.
FEATURES: Completely renovated villa with two living spaces, study, landscaped grounds and sunny aspect in one of the prettier streets of Grey Lynn. Easy walking to Surrey Crescent or West Lynn shopping neighbourhoods.