TOWERS FOR TOWN LIFE
A cottage with a long history in a heritage neighbourhood is ready for a new future,
Built in the 1890s, this street- side cottage has seen 130 years of change in Auckland’s oldest suburb and, more recently, a good deal of it in its own backyard.
It took shape on Parnell Rd in the days when horse- drawn trams pre- dated the first cars that landed in New Zealand in 1898.
Fast- forward to 2020, elevated “tower” views from this enhanced dwelling take in both this cherished heritage neighbourhood and the Auckland Domain, Auckland’s cityscape and Sky Tower.
This is the outlook from the master bedroom at the top of this three- storey tower, which was a stylistic addition to this neighbourhood in 1995. That was all thanks to architect Anna- Marie Chin, now based in Queenstown, who owned the property and created this stylistic extension to her cottage renovation.
As for current owner Diane Stanbra, she’s deeply grateful that it was an architect who bought this cottage and gave it the makeover it deserved.
“It is just the coolest house,” she says. “It’s got so much character and you are not going to go into another street in Auckland and find this house.”
Lorraine Young of Bayleys says “It is a unique home and an excellent and secure townhouse alternative.”
Diane was renting in nearby St Stephens Ave in 2009 when a friend showed her a photo of this house for sale. “I just turned up and thought, ‘ Yes, done.’ I loved everything about it, its special location, and its character. I bought it on the spot.”
Key unifying features include the use of corrugated iron cladding and tower windows that match the profile of the cottage’s casement windows. Inside the cottage, original native timber floors glow against neutral walls.
Off the lounge by this foodie’s favourite kitchen, doors open to the private U- shaped courtyard that steps up to a timber deck off the ground floor tower bedroom. The tower itself is accessed from both the lounge and the plywood- clad hallway that doubles as a semi- outdoor walkway. Glass sliding doors open to the courtyard on one side. A discreet, panelled sliding door opens the opposite side to the path round the tower. On the ground floor tower bedroom, there is a newly updated bathroom and laundry. Directly upstairs, there’s a bedroom/ study with a Juliet balcony and, above that, an identical balcony off the master bedroom wing.
“You’re 20m from Parnell Rd and you don’t hear a thing. You can see the Anzac Day parades at the Domain without getting out of bed,” Diane says.
Back down to earth, there’s another clue to past lives. It’s the door to the basement garage for “a very small car”, as defined in the marketing material Diane saw when she bought the home.
That was then and this is now, seven months after Diane returned from Melbourne for 14 days and found herself caught up in the Covid lockdown. Her change of perspective on life includes selling this house and moving to a smaller home in Kingsland.
Set date of sale: October 8. Contact: Lorraine Young, Bayleys, 021 764 032