She’s well aware that it may sound corny, but internationally successful New Zealand footwear designer and businesswoman Kathryn Wilson says she’d been in love with the 1921 Herne Bay Spanish Mission-style terraced complex in leafy Sarsfield Street since she was flatting in the neighbourhood in her early twenties, and ran past it every day. Although it was built before the advent of art deco, it has the same clean lines.
“I had a real feeling of connection from the first time I saw it, and I would leave little things on the doorsteps: a piece of lavender or a coin.”
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Years later, after her career had taken off she was invited to choose a favourite building and pose in front of it for a photo shoot in an architecture magazine.
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“The other designers went for well-known places; the airport and the Auckland Museum, but I chose my favourite Herne Bay houses.
“I actually felt a bit silly but I did it, and now I’m so glad!”
Not long afterwards a phone call out of the blue, alerted Wilson to the fact that one of the houses in the complex had been put on the market.
“This man had seen my photo in the magazine and thought to ring me - I was really impressed.”
Wilson immediately put her then apartment on the market, and it sold straight away.
“It was one of those ‘meant-to-be’ moments and I was so excited when my offer on this house was accepted.”
At the time, Wilson was single, and she says that her new home was a bit of a party place.
“Many gin and tonics were sipped on the patio, with my girlfriends.”
Wilson was still in the process of taking her business to the international market where her shoes were embraced by stars, including Beyonce.
“I think the peace and tranquillity in this place is what I love most.
“Coming home after a frantic overseas trip or even getting back from work, it’s a place where you can kick your shoes off, and just sit for a while and unwind.”
Since Wilson’s husband Liam moved in and their daughters, Lola, 4 and Stella, 4 weeks came along, the atmosphere in the house has become busier.
“But it’s still an oasis and while we only had Lola it was a perfect family home.”
The property isn’t large by Herne Bay standards but even at 106sq m it feels much bigger.
“It’s a nice, clean layout,” says Wilson.
“We’ve kept it simple with Resene black-white walls and polished floors,
“When we put in a new kitchen we were very careful to ensure that it fitted the period of the house.
“Previous owners had done the same thing with the bathroom, which has a very deco feel and I love it.”
While the house are individually owned and there’s no official body corporate, Wilson says that the five owners all know each other and work together.
Neighbour Richard Grocott mows all the lawns, because he likes to be busy.
“There’s an informal rule that the houses must always be the same colour and if there’s going to be a change we will all vote on it,” he says.
Wilson and her family are moving to a villa in Picton Street.
“I’m so glad that I was able to live my dream here,” she says, adding that one regret is being unable to take the custom-designed shoe shelves in the huge master bedroom with her.
“They hold 80 pairs of heels, but they’re built in, so let’s hope the next owner shares my passion for footwear!”
Pene Milne, from New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, who is marketing the home, says that it’s not an exaggeration to describe the building as an icon, well-known by everybody in the neighbourhood.
“The water views, and features such as the roaring open fire are definite drawcards.
“I’ve sold one of these twice, another one once, and now this one.”
“It’s always a pleasure for me because people become so passionate about them. They’re the ultimate in small, city homes.”
Find out more about 96 Sarsfield Street, Herne Bay.
