At one with nature
This home comes with a natural alarm clock, writes Penny Lewis
Karen and Chris Thompson don’t usually need to set an alarm clock. The abundant birdlife around their St Heliers home means nature wakes them up if the windows are open. “It’s the dawn chorus in the morning,” Chris says. They don’t mind a bit. They love the native trees birds flock to, including a puriri outside one of their bedroom windows. “Wood pigeons come and eat and they get so fat the branches start swaying,” Chris says.
The Thompsons moved here 12 years ago from Glover Rd, when their now adult children were teens. Oldest son Adam was 15, Simon 12 and daughter Julia was 11. “We moved here because, with three teenage childre, n we liked lots of living spaces and the pool,” Karen recalls.
The architect of their 1960s home, which the Thompsons describe as “American colonial” in style, was Ralph McCabe, who lived in Thornhill Place, Glendowie. McCabe’s original plans will remain with the house, along with a photocopy of an article from 1968 in the Your Home section of the Auckland Star. The article says the people the house was built for, Mr and Mrs PJ Harrison, had three children, as do the Thompsons.
On an almost quarter- acre section, the house is elevated from the road, secure behind a key- pad entry gate. A large swimming pool, surrounded by paving and mature gardens, is to one side of the driveway.
The house, which has painted cedar weatherboards, is deceptively large. All the bedrooms are upstairs, allowing most of the ground floor to be devoted to living spaces. To the left of the entrance foyer is a tile- floored games room with a pool table, warmed in winter by a wood- burner. Off the games room is a home office. There are also storage cupboards and a powder room.
To the right of the foyer is the main living room, with an open gas fire. Like the games room, this living room has french doors that open to paved outdoor spaces. The living room flows through to the dining room and a casual sitting room, which has internal- access to a carpeted double garage.
The kitchen, renovated by the Thompsons, is partially open to the dining room and is well laidout, with an island bench in the centre and a large scullery that can be closed off. There’s a 90cm Fisher & Paykel oven and an induction cooktop.
“This kitchen just works so well,” says Karen. “When we have my family over, there can be 20 of us in here and everyone always tends to gravitate to the kitchen,” Chris says. The house has easily accommodated 80 to 100 people for parties.
Upstairs, four of the five bedrooms are doubles, including a guest bedroom which has a walk- in wardrobe and en suite.
Student Simon, the only younger Thompson remaining at home, has a large bedroom that opens on to a balcony. Next door is a single bedroom and the family bathroom, which has an elegant clawfoot bath.
The master bedroom suite is at the other end of the house. Set behind double doors, there is a large walk- in wardrobe, roomy en suite and enough space in the bedroom for a sofa. This is Karen’s favourite spot — she likes to open the windows so the entire corner is open to the fresh air.
Karen credits the previous owners of the house for the lush garden.
“It’s structured so there’s always something blossoming year- round,” she says.
With Adam now married and based in France and Julia living nearby in St Heliers, this large house is too big for the Thompsons, so it’s time for another family to enjoy it.
5
27 FERN GLEN RD SOUTH, ST HELIERS SIZE: sq m. INSPECT:
3
AUCTION: SCHOOLS: CONTACT: ON THE WEB:
2*
* Plus two off- street