Highbury suntrap overlooks Zealandia

TENDERS CLOSE on May 3 for an exceptionally sunny Highbury home overlooking Zealandia, for sale for the first time since it was built in 2003.

The four-bedroom house, at 32 Disley St, is on a westfacing 240-square-metre section with views across the wildlife sanctuary to the Karori hills.

There are four decks, an internalaccess double-garage and off-street parking.

Communications consultant John Bishop and his wife Rosemary are the original owners, having bought the 239sqm weatherboard-and-iron roof dwelling from its builder.

‘‘We were living in the Hutt Valley and with our children going to university, wanted to be closer to town,’’ he says.

‘‘So we love the location – there’s a bus stop at the end of the street, you can walk to the shops – and the house’s functionality, setting and sun.

‘‘You can sit on the deck with a glass of jungle juice and watch the sun go down over the hills.’’

He’s also found it suitable for running his business from home, with his office being off the entrance and separate from the living and sleeping levels.

Stairs descend to the open-plan yet defined kitchen/family room, formal dining area and lounge.

The lounge has bifolding doors to a deck overlooking a lower deck and courtyard garden while the dining area and kitchen/family room share a separate deck.

A dual-sided gas fireplace separates the lounge and dining area, and complements the heat pump in the downstairs bedroom wing.

The kitchen has an island with a stone benchtop that incorporates a breakfast bar and double Dishdrawer dishwasher.

The kitchen includes a new selfcleaning oven, five-burner hob and rangehood.

The double-bedrooms are on the ground level, along with two bathrooms, a separate toilet, a separate laundry and a walk-in linen cupboard.

The main bathroom has a deep bath, shower cabinet and vanity while the ensuite for the main bedroom has a shower cabinet, vanity and toilet.

All the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes. Two share a deck and the main bedroom opens to the deck with a courtyard garden.

Other features include a central vacuuming system and DVS ventilation.

‘‘This is a modern home of broad appeal in a popular location with brilliant sun,’’ Cheryl Barber, of Ray White, says.

‘‘And with all its birdlife and surrounding bush, it’s truly an innercity sanctuary. There aren’t many homes of this era in and around Kelburn.’’

The property has a rateable value of $850,000.