Edwardian character charms

ASUNNY and spacious dress circle Kelburn home, with Edwardian character as spectacular as its city and harbour views, has a deadline sale date of November 15.

The four-to-five bedroom villa, at 13 Talavera Tce, dates to the early 1900s and enjoys an east-west aspect on a landscaped 673 square metre section with a tandem garage, two off-street car parks, and easy-care courtyard gardens.

The owners are reluctantly selling their 352 square metre, Tudor-style home to downsize.

‘‘The house had us at, ‘Hello,’’’ one says of the first time they viewed it.

‘‘We walked into the lounge, saw the harbour and didn’t even finish the walkaround before we decided to take the plunge.’’

A plunge that led to the couple marrying in the picturesque setting, complete with flowering cherry trees and native birdsong.

‘‘We love its intimacy with the innercity while being only five minutes’ walk from the Botanic Garden,’’ Jonathan says.

‘‘And it’s a house where you can follow the sun, from when it rises over the kitchen to when it sets over the lounge and courtyard.’’

The private, west-facing brick courtyard can be accessed from both the large conservatory, which has a built-in kitchenette and bifolding doors, and a modernist office or library with an adjacent family or media room.

The large formal lounge has both a recessed, inglenook-style seating area and a bay window seat with panoramic views across the city to the harbour and Oriental Bay.

It adjoins the formal dining room and opens to a veranda it shares with the casual dining area.

The latter has atrium glazing for breakfasting in the sun and is open-plan with the entertainers’ kitchen (granite benchtops, twin sinks, double ovens, concealed air extractor, double DishDrawer dishwasher).

Also on this level are a separate laundry with storage, a guest bathroom and extensive wine cellar.

Upstairs are the bedrooms, one of which adjoins another sleeping space, and two bathrooms.

The main bedroom has amazing views, window seating with storage, a dressing room and a tiled ensuite while the family bathroom has a shower cabinet, toilet and vanity. Other features include extensive rimu joinery, high ceilings, stained leadlights, matai floorboards, central vacuuming, two gas fireplaces and ducted heating.

‘‘I love this house because it’s so gracious,’’ Vanya Ivanova, of Lowe & Co Realty, says. ‘‘It offers so much.’’

The property has a rateable value of $1.775 million.