Bungalow has views, space, grace

When the Californian bungalow at 12 Dorset Ave came up for sale in New Plymouth six or so years ago, Penny’s interest was immediately triggered.

The bungalow next door was owned by a friend and Penny had visited there many times and admired its neighbour.

She understood both homes offered similar floor plans and features and were likely built by the same builder in the early 1920s.

A visit confirmed the appeal and Penny bought it.

Character was an attraction, she says. ‘‘I love older homes. I’d lived in England and lived in old homes there. I’ve always been into character houses.’’

She has emphasised that in her years here, removing layers of paint on many of the timber doors and frames to bring back the colour and beauty of the original Oregon grain beneath.

The weatherboard house was built in 1922, and added to in 1984 when owners raised the roof to create more living space upstairs.

That gives this home an impressive 262sqm on two levels, comprising five bedrooms, three living areas, two bathrooms, and huge storage choices.

It was just what Penny wanted with teenagers at home. ‘‘The kids lived upstairs. I said if there was a fridge up there, I’d never see them.’’

With the teenagers grown and gone, the house is too big for Penny and its sale will allow a new family to enjoy all this space and its character warmth.

The character makes an impression on arrival with the brick-and timber-supported front verandah, bay window with leadlight glass, and riverstone chimney at the side of the house. Dormer roof windows speak of the accommodation upstairs.

Step through the leadlightglazed front door to a large, finely detailed lounge at right, behind that bay window.

Timber beams are a beautiful feature, with patterned fibrous plaster panels between them. This room speaks of comfort, especially on winter nights when the new woodburner fireplace insert is filled with flame. A heat pump in the family area adds a contemporary option there.

A bedroom to the left of the front door is the master, with its ensuite bathroom doubling as a guest powder room via a second door into the living areas.

A second downstairs bedroom is on the opposite side of the house.

Take the stairs up to find three more bedrooms, fully refurbished family bathroom, and a large sunroom.

The expanse of windows in the sunroom reveals another attraction. The house is built with the convenience of streetlevel access, but the landscape falls away at the back into the lush, tree-clad environment at the lower end of Rossiter Cres.

Beyond that, see Paritutu Rock, the former power station chimney, the Sugar Loaf Islands and the sea off the port – and the movements of cranes working.

It’s an outlook you don’t expect down at street level, but happily savour up here.

Back downstairs and into the living areas at the back of the house, that outdoor aspect seen above comes into its own.

Central to the open-plan living areas is the generous family space with French doors that open to a split-level expanse of sun-drenched timber deck framed by the canopy of trees from terraced grounds below.

Left of the family area is the new kitchen Penny has just had installed, with tongue-andgroove-style cabinet doors and a back wall of antiqued tiles that sit comfortably in the character of this home.

Behind another restored timber door is a combination scullery and laundry.

In the formal dining room, an internal opening window connects it to the family area and kitchen.

Penny’s restoration and renovation efforts have also focused on the sloping grounds below the deck. She cleared overgrown plants and built retaining walls to create terraced lawn spaces that offer shady, quiet retreats on summer days. A tree house is built in the branches of a large oak near the bottom boundary.

The garage at the end of the drive down the side of the house has been rebuilt with a new concrete floor and new roof.

Beneath the deck is a door into a basement workshop and storage space that will please anyone with a DIY urge.

There’s a lack of good character homes like this on the city market, says Ray White consultant Neville Lester. This home, he points out, like others of its era is built in a prime location and will attract plenty of buyer interest.