Central and social in the city
Donna McIntyre visits a revamped Ponsonby apartment
Upstairs, downstairs. Having that layout appealed to Colette Adrian when she bought this Ponsonby apartment 15 years ago. “And its dedicated entrance area. So many small apartments you walk straight into the living area rather than having a proper entrance,” she says.
At 2/29 Douglas St, the front-door entrance offers the choice of going up the stairs to the main living area, or turning left to the bedroom.
Colette has another entrance from the patio off her bedroom. This private area has an awning over the doorway, wooden decking, plus a fence and lockable gate.
The tiled bathroom next to her bedroom has a combined bath and shower, toilet and vanity and a door into the laundry cupboard, tucked away under the stairs.
Upstairs the open-plan living/dining/kitchen is just past the separate study by the landing. The new kitchen, from Vivo, features wall tiles, a stainless steel bench, soft closing doors and F&P, Schott and Mitsubishi appliances.
The kitchen is just one of areas Colette has revamped. The bathroom, too, has had a makeover, and the apartment’s interior walls have been painted in Resene Gunsmoke and Alabaster.
A point of interest is the stairway’s large wall covered in vibrant red patterned carpet. “People either love it or hate it,” says Colette.
She has rewired and added electrical points, insulated under floors, in the ceiling, and in internal walls. And when the old carpet was pulled up, Colette was delighted to find pristine wooden floors that have now been polished. These add warm, natural tones to the apartment. The attic has a storage area, accessed by pull-down stairs, and a solar panel on the roof.
Outside, the entire apartment building has been painted, and the residents have replaced the roof and its wooden gables, and improved drainage.
The 1967 freehold wood, brick and fibrolyte apartment building runs between Douglas and Norfolk St, and Norfolk Park is nearby.
At the back of the building there is a community garden Colette and other residents started — growing vegetables, herbs and lemons — plus two washing lines and a storage area for rubbish bins and bikes. “Being one of just eight apartments in the building there is a nice sense of community,” says Colette. “There is an informal body corp, which keeps payments low. “We all get on well and have a few drinks together on occasion. It is the kind of place where you can keep to yourself if you want to or you can be more social.”
Her views look west across neighbouring properties and out to the greenery of the trees in Douglas St.
Colette says she loves living in the centre of Auckland. “Being right in the centre of everything, but at the same time it is leafy and green. It’s amazing having a communal garden in the middle of the city. And I really like being able to cycle to the beaches of Herne Bay and the Pompallier tennis club in St Marys Bay.
She is selling because “it is time to do something together with my partner”.
“I think this apartment would appeal to a professional couple,” she says. 2/29 DOUGLAS ST, PONSONBY SIZE:
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