Homes We Love: Time to say goodbye for the second time
An Auckland couple jumped at the chance to live in a classic villa for the second time, writes DONNA FLEMING.
Kelly Farrimond and his wife Maureen-Ann love their Birkenhead home so much they’ve owned it twice.
They first bought the villa over 40 years ago, purchasing it despite the fact that it had been converted into two flats and was in a sorry state. “My fatherin-law said, ‘What are you doing, it needs a bulldozer’,” recalls Kelly.
They returned it to a single dwelling, spruced it up and started their family there. But after just four years, work opportunities in Australia led to the Farrimonds selling the house and shifting across the Tasman, where they lived for 27 years. On their return to New Zealand, Maureen-Ann happened to be driving past their former home when she noticed a real estate agent knocking a “for sale” sign into the ground.
“She rang me and said, ‘Guess what, we’re buying our old house back’,” says Kelly. “And we did.”
The people who’d owned it in the years they’d been away very kindly put in a swimming pool, a master ensuite and underfloor central heating.
“We would never have thought to have done that but it’s been fantastic – the house is so cosy and warm,” says Kelly.
They had also added a garage with a loft, which the Farrimonds converted into a stylish studio apartment complete with kitchenette and bathroom. It’s popular with visiting friends and family and also provided useful accommodation for Kelly and Maureen-Ann when a major renovation of the house was undertaken seven years ago.
That involved demolishing the rear and rebuilding to create a TV room/library and dining room/kitchen with a scullery.
“We’re great foodies and we love to cook,” says Kelly. “We designed the house to have a magnificent kitchen.”
As well as the generous scullery and a large island bench, there are two ovens – one 900mm and the other 600mm – plus three dish drawers. The granite bench top is “absolutely bullet-proof”, says Kelly, who can create his renowned preserves, made from fruit from their own trees, without worrying about staining the work surface.
The window seat in the dining area, which looks out over the pool and garden, is one of Kelly’s favourite places in the house, along with the covered deck, which is accessed from this area. It serves as an extra room and is great for entertaining in all weathers thanks to the wall-mounted heater. The deck leads down to a private paved courtyard with an open fire.
The renovation updated the beautiful period home without sacrificing any of its character, and the new part of the house flows seamlessly from the old.
In the front part of the home are three bedrooms, including a master with ensuite, plus a family bathroom and a winter lounge with a classic villa fireplace.
The landscaped garden features a stunning liquidambar the Farrimonds planted the first time they lived there, along with numerous fruit trees plus blueberry, feijoa and lavender hedges, and white roses behind the picture-perfect white picket fence at the front of the house.
The rear of the property opens up to Maritime Terrace, where there’s access to the garage and room to park a boat.
Keen fisherman Kelly loves the fact that it’s so easy to drive the boat down to the boat ramp, adjacent to the Birkenhead Ferry Terminal, at the end of the road. Having the ferry nearby is very handy, but it is also just a
10-minute drive off-peak into the city.
As much as they’ve loved both tenures in the home, Kelly and Maureen-Ann are now selling to move to a lifestyle block out of Auckland.
Agent Trish Love of Premium says everyone she has shown the house to walks into the new part at the back and says, “Wow, I didn’t expect this.” Says Trish, “The chef’s kitchen with views of the garden and pool and the covered loggia are highlights of the home, and the loft apartment is the cherry on top. What’s not to love?”
Sale: April 21
Contact: Trish Love, Premium,
021 226 6099; Peter Fitzgibbon,
027 278 9336