QUIET CHARACTER

Peaceful house in park-like grounds has been the ideal family home for 42 years, writes DONNA FLEMING

EPSOM

189 St Andrews Road

It was the location that initially won Charles and Ann Skinner over. When the couple were house-hunting in Auckland 42 years ago, they wanted somewhere quiet, having spent the previous two years living on the peaceful West Coast of the South Island.

“We wanted a place that was removed from city life,” recalls Ann. “The last thing we wanted was to be somewhere busy.”

A 1930s home at 189 St Andrews Rd proved to be ideal, thanks to being tucked away on a large section at the end of a long right-of-way.

“It’s so lovely, you forget that you’re actually only about 15 minutes from the city,” says Ann. “You’re in another world when you come up the driveway.”

Set in park-like grounds with plenty of established trees and expansive terraced lawns, the two-storey Arts and Crafts home was also a winner for the couple. It’s full of character and beautiful period features, which the Skinners have carefully preserved over the years.

Ann says it was built for two sisters by their father, and one of the sisters paid a visit about 10 years ago. “She was driven up the driveway by her son, who said she wanted to have a look. She wouldn’t come inside, she just wanted to look from the outside.”

She says it is the “sort of place that you don’t want to move from”, but the property is too big for her and Charles. “It needs to have a family in it again.”

The Skinners raised their four children in the house, and say it was a wonderful family home. After about 10 years living there, they extended the home by pushing out the back wall and turning what had been a small sunroom into a much larger family room. They also put in a spacious kitchen, which features a striking tongue and groove cathedral-style ceiling.

The kitchen has been extremely practical says Ann, thanks to an abundance of storage space and extensive work surfaces. It was updated about 10 years ago, but the original tawa cabinetry has stood the test of time.

About five years after doing the extension, the family put a swimming pool and spa pool in the back yard, and that was a brilliant move, says Ann. “The children and their friends have loved the pool – it has been used a lot over the years.” Sale: Auction November 6

Contact: Mike Robson, Harcourts, 021 484 288