Vintage Athfield design in idyllic spot

AN IAN Athfielddesigned home that’s as unique as it is versatile is expected to sell for above $690,000 when tenders close on November 4.

The four-bedroom, adobe-style house, at 144 Raroa Rd, hasn’t changed hands in 18 years.

Owner Robyn Smits bought it after spending a summer in an Athfield-designed house at the top of Mt Victoria’s Majoribanks St.

‘‘I loved the shape and every room being different with a different outlook,’’ she says.

‘‘There’s something about interesting architecture that’s inspiring about life.’’

The 130-square-metre, four-level dwelling was built in 1972 on a 621sqm section with a private, leafy garden and dual, walk-down access from Zetland St, Highbury.

The tiered design hugs the hill while decking on each level affords panoramic views across Aro Valley.

Smits says the house is largely sheltered from both the northerly and southerly wind, and trees lining the garden path, from totara and rimu to cherry and magnolia, testify to this.

The concrete-block house has a roughcast exterior with a fibreglass coating and has been well maintained, with Smits having replaced nearly all of the windows (complete with the proper flashings) and most of the original heavy doors with lighter, glazed doors.

She’s also just recarpeted, and fitted new blinds and LED lights throughout.

The front door opens into a tiled interior with exposed beams, a landing that could be a study to the left, and an open-plan kitchen and living area to the right.

The kitchen, which has a range with a gas cooktop, rangehood and dishwasher, adjoins a separate laundry while open tread stairs ascend from the living area to a turret with its own deck.

The dining room, which is next to the kitchen, also opens to an expansive deck while tiled stairs that form the spine of the house lead down to the bedroom levels.

The main bedroom has French doors to a courtyard and the second double bedroom adjoins the bathroom (deep bath, pedestal handbasin, toilet).

Another bathroom, but with a shower instead of a bath, services the two double bedrooms on the ground level: one has a loft, the other opens to a veranda that steps out to a deck and the secluded garden.

‘‘This is a rare chance to buy an iconic example of Athfield architecture,’’ Caroline Collison, of Just Paterson Real Estate, says.

‘‘It gets great sun, can be configured to suit most lifestyles and is within a short walk of the city.’’