SCHOOL ZONES:
Ponsonby Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Auckland Girls’ Grammar, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
George Passmore, 021 595 586, Ross Harvey, 021 190 1948, Ray White.
Eight years ago, Gregg and Pam Allnutt were made an offer too good to refuse -- but it meant finding a new home.
As Gregg explains: "We had lived in Shelly Beach Rd for three years and then someone came along one day and offered us good money for ourhouse but we didn't want to move out of the area."
Luckily, this three-level home in quiet Harbour St was exactly the sort of place they were looking for, with its ability to easily cope with extended families.
"We bought it for our two sons so they could have their own space and come and go as they pleased," says Gregg. "But now one is married and the other one is overseas so we just need a smaller place although we're looking to stay in the same area."
From the street, the weatherboard and tile house is unassuming -- hunkered down from the street behind a secure, walled entry.
But behind that facade is a home that enjoys gorgeous north-facing harbour views from every level and has been extended and renovated with quality materials and fittings throughout.
Gregg says the previous owners oversaw the refurbishment, which -- among the home's many new features -- created self-contained quarters downstairs. While doing the renovation, the previous owners incorporated a security system, an integrated audio-visual set-up that extends to speakers for the pool area, and there is air-conditioning throughout.
Image 1 of 7: Light, glass, steel and top-notch technology galore take this elegant and roomy weatherboard home, complete with gym and wine cellar, to a new level
Entry from the street is to the mid-level of the home past an office on one side of the hallway and on the other a large bedroom with vast tiled en suite and walk-in wardrobe. Following the hallway around a corner leads you to a lounge with gas fire, which Gregg calls "the reading room". Going straight down the hallway brings you into the main kitchen/family room, which flows out to an enclosed veranda with shuttered windows. On this level, character features such as timber floors, pressed steel ceilings and leadlight windows have been cleverly worked in with other materials such as glass, white cabinetry and stone benches. This mixture of old and new is prominent on the main level, with a neutral colour scheme helping to tie the elements together.
On this floor, a lounge space with gas fire adjoins a formal dining room with cavity slider.
At street level there is a single garage on the eastern side of the house, while on the lower level on the western side is a double garage with turntable.
The lower floor has two bedrooms with en suites and a gym/wine cellar sitting behind a kitchen/living dining space that spans the northern face of the house and looks out over the harbour. Heated by an open fire, the lounge has an overhead projector and drop-down screen, which Gregg says is an ideal place to congregate to watch big games.
Outside, a covered patio with glass balustrade overlooks the in-ground pool with waterfall feature. "At night it's just beautiful sitting out here, having a drink and looking back at the city and the Sky Tower," says Gregg.
The private swimming pool area also has its own bathroom tucked off to one side.
On the top floor, a master suite has been worked into the gabled roofline of the home and has its own en suite. But the highlight here is the balcony with its stunning views of the harbour.
"It's just fantastic up here," says Gregg. "There is so much movement going on with the boats out on the harbour."
