This multi-level Arts and Crafts-era 1920s Remuera home offers an enchanting English garden, far-reaching views, oodles of space and an attic made for childhood adventures.
Situated on Tirohanga Avenue – a quiet cul-de-sac locally famous for its iceberg roses – in a double grammar zone, this three-storey home is all charm, retaining all the important elements of the character home with blonded native timber floors, French pane windows and lofty batten ceilings.
It also has an open-plan apartment – suitable for intergenerational living, an au pair or as an Airbnb, and its garden is spectacular thanks to the green fingers of the current owner who purchased the home in 2012.
Later she discovered it had once belonged to her own extended family! The connection came to light at a family gathering when she reconnected with a second cousin, who revealed the house had been his grandparents’ home.
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“When he visited he told me that he built a little dinghy in the garden and how he used to run here after school and sit on the stairs and just dream,” says homeowner Sarah Yates.
The garden, views and antiquity of the home were what first drew her to the property, and it’s certainly been a dream home for Yates, a “mad keen” gardener. Her carefully designed plantings divide the rear section into four lawns, giving the garden the feel of an English country home.
Out front a French-style garden of crushed limestone (hoggin) and two feature cedars create a grand entrance.
It’s technically a three-level home, though make that four if you count the attic, which has the best view in the house. The open-plan attic is the perfect space for setting up a train set and provides ample storage.
The homeowner, who bought the home in 2012, discovered that it once belonged to her own extended family. Photo / Supplied
The owner’s carefully designed plantings divide the rear section into four lawns, giving the garden the feel of an English country home. Photo / Supplied
The third floor accommodates three bedrooms, including the master suite with ensuite and balcony overlooking the garden, harbour and the islands beyond.
Sleeping with the doors open on warm summer nights is one of the simple pleasures here. What Yates loves most is waking to the sweeping view – stretching from north to east – and breathing in the fresh morning air.
“It looks out to Rangitoto and the Coromandel and when the cruise ships come in I feel like I could be anywhere in the world,” she says. “I’m really going to miss that beautiful view.”
Home improvements include painting inside and out, adding shutters in the main living areas, hanging antique blue-coloured curtains and a kitchen makeover. The ensuite bathroom has been tastefully upgraded with both floor and wall tiles and the addition of a bidet toilet.
It is also a very warm home with morning and all-day sun, central heating, gas fire, wood fire and a heat pump (the latter mostly used during summer to cool).
Home improvements include painting inside and out, adding shutters in the main living areas, a kitchen makeover and tasteful upgrades. Photo / Supplied
The main living area encompasses a sitting room, family room and dining room, which flow from south to the north creating a wonderful feeling of openness. The office – which has a built-in bookcase and cupboards – could also be used as an additional bedroom.
The kitchen – also on this level – is conveniently beside the outdoor balcony with cavity sliding windows that allow food to be easily passed outside for dining alfresco. While a few steps away a large concrete table under a leafy pergola provides a magnificent setting for a long lunch.
The downstairs apartment currently has a king-size bed which is screened off from two king single beds, independent kitchen and bathroom, and French doors which open on to terracotta pavers and the garden. It’s also accessible by internal stairs into the main house.
“It provides a safe space for indoor-outdoor play for children and a great hangout space,” says Yates. “It could even be an artist’s studio.”
The main living area encompasses a sitting room, family room and dining room, which flow from south to the north creating a wonderful feeling of openness. Photo / Supplied
A large concrete table under a leafy pergola with flowering roses provides a magnificent setting for a long lunch. Photo / Supplied
The property is also gated making it child and pet-friendly.
Yates says it will be hard to leave her beloved garden and the location, but it’s now time to downsize.
“The secret of Tirohanga is that you’re so close to the village. You can dash off mid-recipe to New World and be back in 10 minutes. It’s also peaceful and tranquil yet the motorway is so near.”
The garden is the owner’s pride and joy, says Steve Koerber of Bayleys.
“The roses were chosen for their scent and repeat flowering, so there is almost always something in bloom. Sitting among the trees and flowers, it is easy to forget you are only minutes from Remuera Village.”
- 4 Tirohanga Avenue in Remuera, Auckland, goes to auction on March 31
