WHAT’S UP DOC?

WHY THIS HOUSE IS THE BEST MEDICINE

As one of the larger houses in a no-exit street, the Mutu-Grigg family’s property is overflowing with generous attributes.

The renovated two-storey 1908 villa at 7 Ward Terrace, Sandringham, Auckland, is bountiful in many ways.

Gabrielle Mutu-Grigg, a doctor in paediatrics, says: “People often comment on its size with four bedrooms and study in the main house and the fifth bedroom in the sleep-out behind the garage.”

Gabrielle and her husband, orthopaedic surgeon John Mutu-Grigg, live here with their daughters Samantha (9), Teina (8), Maia (5), plus Burmese cat Merlin.

Gabrielle says: “It’s a character home with so much storage, a lot added during previous renovations.”

The family’s open-door policy plus the villa’s size means they’ve been able to offer a generous welcome to friends, family and neighbours.

“Lots of people come around for our ‘fish’n’chip Fridays’. This is such a wonderful street with lots of families,” says Gabrielle.

She and John met at medical school. They wanted a family when they bought this as their first home in 2006. Previous owners had already extended the villa’s rear and added a second level.

Unlimited Potential agent Hayley Kirk-Smith says: “It’s a rare find to get a home that works for large families of all ages and stages.”

John’s developed a love of gardening, teaming the formality of clipped hedges with sub-tropicals and natives.

Every Halloween the family adorn the front lawn with smoke-billowing gravestones and use shrouds to turn the front veranda into a spooky crypt.

Gabrielle says: “We lived in Canada, where Halloween is big, for a couple of years during John’s fellowship, so we really get into it.”

The high-stud villa has polished native timber floors and has just been re-carpeted. There is a heatpump and two open fireplaces.

The front of the house is devoted to the master suite with pressed tin ceiling, en suite and four wardrobes, plus another bedroom.

The study has been used as a nursery and music room. Nearby is a family bathroom — including a freestanding bath — and a laundry.

A separate lounge precedes the open-plan kitchen-lounge-dining area in the rear. They recently upgraded the kitchen to a double-oven version with engineered stone benchtops.

Gabrielle says: “I think the window seat in the back corner is one of my favourite places. I’ve spent so many hours chatting to people while I’ve been sitting on it or preparing meals and it’s a lovely place to read or have a nap in the sun.”

Windows open up this corner to outdoors and a deck with built-in seating.

The sleep-out has a bedroom and en suite that’s housed au pairs since Gabrielle returned to work part-time. The separate single garage fronting the sleep-out has doubled as John’s workshop.

Upstairs has angled ceilings and offers two bedrooms, the second bathroom and additional storage under the roof.

The house is close to Gribblehurst Park and Eden Park and the girls take the bus from the end of the street to Balmoral School.

John’s keen to let his enthusiasm for gardening play out on a larger scale, so they’ve bought a character home on large grounds.