Mansion for sale after restoration
One of Lower Hutt’s most stately homes is on the market.
The house, in the foothills in Waiwhetu, belongs to movie mogul Peter Jackson’s art director Michael Pangrazio, who works at Weta Digital in Wellington and is responsible for art effects in numerous movies, including The Hobbit trilogy, King Kong, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and Star Wars.
Listing agent Vanessa O’Reilly, of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, says Pangrazio, formerly from Los Angeles, has spent the past 10 years renovating the 650 square-metre, four-bedroom house with a notable attention to detail. O’Reilly has undertaken a lot of the work on the 1900s villa himself.
‘‘Michael has made all the moulds to cast the plaster work throughout the house, including the magnificent kitchen. He has also created all the intricate carving features of the kitchen cabinetry and stairs.
‘‘He has even gone so far as to make an inlay timber floor feature in one of the bedrooms, which is amazing. And all the sash windows have been ‘restrung’ [with cord] that is as close to original string as possible.’’
O’Reilly believes the house was used as a home for unmarried mothers for several years last century.
However, every room has now been restored to a standard higher than its original state. Special features include a large open entrance foyer with an impressive timber staircase and wood flooring throughout.
‘‘There are also five ornate fireplaces, an impressive 3.65-metre stud ceiling height and sash windows – all lovingly restored to ‘as new’ condition,’’ O’Reilly says.
The villa provides formal and informal living and dining areas, and its kitchen, which has a central granite island, is large enough for several people to work at the same time.
The house sits on square metres of land.
It is for sale by deadline treaty. While the property has an RV of $1.26 million, O’Reilly says this is not a close price indication, given the high quality of the restoration and size of the property. more than 7000