Stylish, sheltered and great views

OFFERS above $695,000 are invited for an architecturally renovated Kilbirnie home with views as divine as its redesign. The three-bedroom house, at 114 Duncan Tce, was built in 1953 but in the past 10 years has been stylishly rejuvenated.

Architect Gregg Crimp and David Robinson, of Architecture RobinsonCrimp, bought the weatherboard-and-concrete dwelling in 2003 because of its great views and ‘‘good bones’’.

“It had been a rental for 10 years and was a bit of a disaster area,” Mr Robinson says.

“But we could see the potential. We spent the first four months camping in the house, then stripped it back to the sticks. The only original feature that remains are the front windows.”

They opened up the interior to create an expansive, living/dining area and kitchen on one side of the central hall and two double bedrooms and a bathroom on the other.

The living area has a gas fireplace, the spacious, well-appointed kitchen includes Carrara marble counter tops and Italian Bisazza glass mosaic tiles, and the dining area opens to a deck and terrace (above which are terraced lawns, vegetable and rose gardens, and fruit trees).

What was an unfinished ground floor is now a downstairs main bedroom suite, complete with a full ensuite (including a bath with a sea view), a walk-in wardrobe with wall-to-wall storage, a box room/larder/wine cellar, and a study that could be a fourth bedroom.

The original doors have been replaced with over-height internal sliders, to emphasise spaciousness, and all the services have been upgraded.

“And we insulated every aspect of the house that we were able to reach,” Mr Robinson says. “Everything is new, with a nod to the 1950s.”

Such is the calibre of the renovation that the 143-square-metre house, which occupies a 604sqm section with easy walkup access and a single garage, has been rented out to talent working on Peter Jackson’s movies.

The sheltered property has views that stretch from Lyall Bay across Kilbirnie, the airport and Evans Bay to Petone.

“The northerly scoots past us and over the top,” Mr Robinson says. “It’s the same with the southerly. The rare wind we do get is an easterly – and that is rare.”

“The house is incredibly sheltered from the northerly given the amount of sun it gets,” Craig Lowe, of RE/MAX Leaders, says.

“It will appeal to families and professionals alike because of its views, privacy and versatility.”

Tenders close on October 4.