LABOUR OF LOVE
Old villa was always special — then along came a couple who made it shine, writes SANDRA GOODWIN
REMUERA
22 Ohinerau Street 4 3 2
Rod and Sharon Gordon reckon their oh-soconvenient 1911 villa was always a true family magnet — even before they turned it into somewhere really special. They moved here from Epsom in 2006 when their daughters were 13 and 9. Rod says: “We’ve refurbished every part of this property, inside and out, including pushing out the back of the villa and putting in the pool.” Sharon adds: “We’re right by Remuera Intermediate, handy to Greenlane Train Station and it only takes about five minutes to walk from here to Remuera village.” They’ve renovated several homes over the years, harnessing Rod’s construction savvy and contacts and Sharon’s great eye for refurbishment and decor. Being villa-lovers the couple appreciate Ohinerau St’s prettiness and accented their villa’s frontage with more fretwork. Sharon says: “We did so much work on this property that we did it in stages and wanted to have a bit of a break before we eventually did the pool and rear grounds.” The 622sq m section with front fence, electric gates and off-street parking has one of the smartest driveways you’ll see, as Rod’s expertise lead him to contrast concrete with granite setts. It lies in front of an internal-access double garage and alongside an elegantly gardened front lawn. An L-shaped front veranda extends around one side of the villa and you can look down the hallway out through the rear extension to the rear grounds and hedges. There are two front bedrooms on this level, one with a walk-in-wardrobe and the other with french doors to the veranda, supported by a smart family bathroom. Pressed tin ceilings feature in one front bedroom, the hallway and the formal lounge with ornamental character fireplace. Then the hallway opens up wide to the open-plan kitchendining-living room they created with American oak flooring, gas fireplace and three sets of bifold doors to outside. Rod says: “The house is now 328sq m as we pushed the whole back of it out, adding at least about 60sq m.” Sharon says: “It’s lovely to sit in this open-plan area with friends with the sun streaming in.” The rear grounds were once steeply sloping but are now level and private. A rear outdoor entertaining patio and lawn accompany the heated swimming pool. Both daughters vied for the upstairs retreat where a big bedroom with seating area gets its own bathroom. The lower level includes a media room with a bar. Rod says: “I love sitting here and watching something like a Fleetwood Mac concert with the sound cranked up.” Ray White agent Steve Koerber says: “This is an amazing family villa. The indoor-outdoor flow to the private pool is quite incredible and is what families want.” Sale: Auction March 21 Contact: Steve Koeber, Ray White, 021 864 166
“We did so much work on this property that we did it in stages and wanted to have a bit of a break before we eventually did the pool and rear grounds.”