PERIOD CHARM

TAHUHU 138 Avenue Rd East

Built for a prominent family who were in the trucking business, and also had an interest in trotting, this charming concrete and roughcast Tudor-style 1920s homestead and an adjacent cottage, once stood proud on 11 acres in a leafy green, rural setting, with stables, an arena, tracks and orchards all around.

The current owner, Christine, who has lived here with her husband, Richard, for more than 30 years, says the previous owners had lived there for around 20 years, having bought it from the original family.

“So, it hasn’t had many different owners in its life.”

She and Richard are fans of period architecture. Because the house was so full of charming features, they made a conscious decision to maintain the integrity of its original character, only modernising where necessary, in the kitchen and bathrooms.

“I know that some people would have painted everything white, but that’s not really us,” she says.

Set over two levels, the main house has a traditional layout on the ground floor, with a kitchen, study and separate laundry plus a large living room, separate dining room and a formal lounge.

Period fireplaces in the living room and lounge have been carefully preserved and the couple say that although concrete walls keep the house temperate all-year-round, it’s lovely to have an open fire in winter, even if only for ambience.

Upstairs are four large bedrooms as well as an enormous walk-in wardrobe or dressing room. The family bathroom has been modernised in a style that’s nicely in keeping with the home’s heritage.

The wooden ceiling beams throughout the house simply glow, along with the woodpanelled walls which are in some of the rooms, so it’s not surprising that the property was originally known as Cherishwood Estate.

While at 808sq m the section is now a lot smaller than it was in the 1920s, it’s still very generous in these days of intensification. The pair has lovingly maintained the garden with its well-established trees and a large lawn.

“There’s a courtyard between the main house and the cottage, which is great for outdoor living and there’s scope to improve it,” Christine says.

Gradually much of the land around this popular part of southeast Auckland has been developed and the family loves the fact that it’s handy to so many amenities, including sports clubs, Sylvia Park Shopping Centre, Botany Town Centre, motorway access and good schools.

During lockdown, earlier this year, the couple found their home incredibly peaceful, stepping out for regular walks and bike rides around the suburb.

‘I think what we’ll miss most is that it’s been a true family home for our sons, who are now adults with their own properties,” says Christine. “We often had 20 people for Christmas.”

Brianne Bignell from Ray White, Beachlands, says that the open-plan self-contained cottage apartment is a great means of extra income, and she loves the fact that the whole property is so private.

“When you step through the gate it feels like entering another world.”

Auction: December 12 Contact: Brianne Bignell, Ray White, 021 400 979; Mitchel Ter Weijden 021 576 443