- A Rotorua home with a Harry Potter-style bedroom under the stairs is for sale for $715,000.
- The property features a wizardry-themed nook, complete with Hogwarts memorabilia and Quidditch items.
- Owners Alicia Styles-Ihaia and Lyndon Ihaia are selling to pursue a renovation project in the Coromandel.
Calling all Potterheads. A magical home with a Harry Potter-style bedroom under the stairs and an imaginary portal to platform nine and three-quarters has been listed for sale in Rotorua for $715,000.
Start your property search
Forget granite benchtops and walk-in wardrobes, the standout feature of 6 Rinaha Place, in Koutu, is the world of wizardry tucked under the staircase and decked out in Hogwarts livery.
The vendors, Alicia Styles-Ihaia and Lyndon Ihaia, bought the unusual-looking four-bedroom property for $728,000 after making a move to the city four years ago.
The highlight of the property is the Harry Potter-themed "bedroom" under the stairs. Photo / Supplied
“We moved from Mamaku to Rotorua in 2021. Koutu isn't a suburb we would have normally looked at, but the house was in a beautiful little cul-de-sac and right on the cycleway, so the boys could cycle to school, see friends, all that kind of stuff,” Alicia told OneRoof.
The cupboard under the stairs clinched the sale. "We've got three boys, and I knew the kids would love it,” Alicia said.
The room was an instant hit with the boys and their friends, who would come over to read the Harry Potter books or watch the DVDs. Mattresses were pulled out for sleepovers, with the nook turning into an unofficial fifth bedroom. “Quite often we can't get them out of there.”
Discover more:
- Fashion power couple selling their multi-million dollar art villa
- Legal hook means buyers risk losing thousands on Kāinga Ora homes
- Wellington's $6m mortgagee mansion finally finds a buyer
The space was kitted out by a former owner, who bought all the merchandise at Harry Potter Land in the UK. “It has the Harry Potter Quidditch flying broomstick in there,” Alicia said. “It has postcards, the rules of Quidditch, charms, bracelets, owls, the house rules, and the wand boxes. It’s almost like going into Ollivanders wand shop in Diagon Alley.
“The thing that it doesn't show [in the listing photos] is that underneath, when you're lying in the bed and looking up, it has all of the wands. They’re all lit up when the lights are on.”
Alicia's youngest boy, aged nine, goes to every dress-up day proudly kitted out in Gryffindor colours, she said. The fact that Hogwarts has competing houses led to tension at home because one of the boys is for House Slytherin.
The vendors are open to selling the home fully furnished. Photo / Supplied
Alicia said the boys also made use of the space outside, and were often out on their bikes or playing with frisbees, toy planes, or remote-controlled cars in the garden and the cul-de-sac.
The neighbours all know each other, and cars creep along at 5km an hour to keep the children safe.
The house, aptly dubbed The Barn, is being marketed by VIP Realty agent Judy Thompson, who told OneRoof: “It's a pretty cool property because it's got all the curved ceilings and stuff. Most of the properties in its price range are pretty basic little square boxes. This one has heaps of space. Four bedrooms are really hard to find."
Alicia added: “I like unusual, so the whole barn thing stood out.”
It’s not instantly obvious from the outside, but the house is well insulated. The family can often turn the heating off when other Rotorua residents are shivering in their homes, Alicia said.
“Rotorua can get real cold, but the house catches the sun, and is so warm,” she said.
The family bought the home fully furnished, and were open to making that an option for the next owner. Most of the Harry Potter collectibles are included in the sale if the buyer wants them, Alicia said.
“The kids are like, ‘Can we take all this stuff with us?’, but that depends on who buys it. If someone wanted to get it up as an Airbnb or they wanted the Harry Potter room to stay as is, we would be open to negotiations."
Alicia said the family were selling up to take on a renovation project in the Coromandel.
- 6 Rinaha Place, in Koutu, Rotorua, is for sale for $715,000
