Media personalities Brooke Howard-Smith and Amber Peebles aren’t strangers to renovating, but they admit that breathing new life into 85 Crummer Rd was quite daunting.
“The day all the walls came down at the back of the house was pretty stressful,” says Brooke. “We looked at that vast open space and asked ourselves if we knew what we were doing.”
That stress was soon alleviated as a carefully considered open-plan kitchen, dining and living room began to emerge.
Two stained-glass windows in the living area almost disappeared until tradies working on the project convinced Brooke and Amber to keep them. “And we’re glad that we did,” says Amber.
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The biofuel fireplace the couple installed looks stylish and supplements the heat produced by four heat pumps in the house.
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Amber was behind much of the kitchen design and her signature bright white forms its basis. The huge stone island was her idea too — it’s not only practical but is a feature in its own right.
The three bedrooms on this floor are all large and airy and an original fireplace in the master bedroom, between the wardrobe and en suite, could potentially have a gas system fitted.
Brooke and Amber had fun designing the bathroom, which has a luxurious deep bath and a shower with sliding doors. There’s a large linen cupboard, too.
Downstairs, via a central staircase, is a part of the house that has been titivated during the course of the couple’s renovation but has much further potential yet.
“It’s self-contained, says Amber, “so it’s perfect for paying guests or extended family, with a bathroom, living area, and the big studio, plus a patio outside.”
The laundry is enormous and, unusually for Grey Lynn, there’s a double garage and under-house storage.
“If you dug in further there, you’d get a huge amount of extra space,” says Brooke.
In terms of outdoor living, the house is especially blessed, with a big north-facing elevated deck in addition to the patio. It’s reached via glass doors from the main living space.
The garden is sun-drenched — even in winter — and looks almost as lush and lovely in August as it did in summer.
Ryan Harding, who is marketing the property along with Matt O’Rourke, says interest has been high. “We had 63 parties through on the first weekend.”
He says that there’s a lack of similarly high-quality stock in the area, and he admires Brooke and Amber’s attention to detail.
“They’ve done it all so well — right down to finding vintage kauri flooring for areas that needed to be replaced. And the colour-scheme they’ve chosen is classic and will appeal to almost everybody.
“North-facing homes are always very tightly held around here, so this is a great opportunity for a savvy buyer who wants a very well-appointed Grey Lynn property.”
Find out more about 85 Crummer Rd here.
