QUIET, PEACEFUL SETTING WITH SUNNY, SHELTERED DECK
Chilman St in New Plymouth is one of those quiet city addresses, tucked away in an established area off the main thoroughfares.
Life in this street is desirable – evidenced by the rising values of properties here and ready buyer interest if they come to market. The street has been revitalised in recent years as properties have been redeveloped and updated, and properties around here can be sold for close to a million dollars or more.
Jackie and Mark appreciate just how good this address is after living at 3/21 Chilman St while planning and building a new home elsewhere. Their two-bedroom duplex residence sits at the back corner of an enclave of similar rightof-way homes and enjoys the peace and privacy of its off-the-road positioning.
Having a couple of small dogs meant renting could be difficult, so they bought this place as a stepping-stone to their new home. “It’s been great … perfect for what we wanted,” Jackie says. “It’s an awesome location. We used to live in Fitzroy, but it’s so much quieter here. It’s so private and it has a lovely garden area … outdoor living is really nice.”
It’s also convenient for getting out about the city, she adds. Chilman St is a link between Waiwaka Tce, which exits on to the main city route at Northgate, and Rimu St, which meets Mangorei Rd and the easy run up from there to Merrilands shopping and the city exit south.
“We can walk to the café at Strandon, and Girls’ High School is on our doorstep.” And if you want some sporting action, Waiwaka Tennis Club’s courts are just along the road.
The 1980s dark-brick home itself is a surprising package – a modest and tidy presentation at the end of the drive, with a single garage and space to park an extra car if necessary.
Step inside and you find a pleasingly contemporary interior, thanks to a previous owner and Jackie and Mark’s own efforts. “We’ve done quite a bit of work,” Jackie says. “We repainted inside completely and recarpeted, put in new front and back doors for better security, and updated the lighting.”
The kitchen had been renewed by the previous owner and is an appealing and efficient galley design, which also incorporates the laundry appliances, stacked in a full-height cupboard. “There’s a good pantry … it holds an awful lot of stuff.”
Living areas are open-plan and north-facing so they are light and sunny. A heat pump tops up natural warmth in winter, or cools down summer temperatures. “Having the heat pump this summer has been great,” says Jackie.
She particularly appreciates the height of the ceilings in here. “It doesn’t feel small … it feels more spacious.”
A hallway off the lounge is minimal, maximising the living space of the home, and allows access to the bathroom and two goodsized double bedrooms.
Life flows easily outside from the lounge, where a door opens to a sunny fenced deck, which is quite sheltered and private. “The sun just pours in during the day,” Jackie says.
The deck steps down to a pocket-handkerchief lawn and a raised garden, with a handy garden shed tucked into the corner. The raised garden could be decorative with flowers or productive with vegetables, according to an owner’s preference.
Good fencing makes the section safe for children or pets and means ground maintenance is minimal. There’s still a sense of lush gardens, however, with ‘borrowed’ greenery along the neighbours’ boundaries. 021 0228 2757 nikki.keegan@tsbrealty.co.nz