An “almost derelict” Auckland home that was transformed into a stunning home sold at auction last week for $3.03 million.
Up Real Estate agent Sally Dawson marketed the home on Mahoe Avenue, in Remuera, which has a CV of $3.175m, and told OneRoof the young couple who bought it were “rapt”.
The house had been fully renovated by the British sellers and the once overgrown garden full of bamboo tamed into an English country garden.
During the marketing process, the former owners told OneRoof they had previously completed major renovation and restoration projects in London and Glasgow.
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When they came across the three-bedroom Remuera property it was neglected and run-down to the point it almost crossed the divide into “wilderness”.
“Beneath the grime and behind the overgrown garden we could see a beautiful 1920s home that had a huge amount of potential.”
Over the next two years they turned the formerly tenanted house into a fully renovated family home featuring polished timber floors, lead-light windows and beamed ceilings.
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The owners described creating different spaces which could be enjoyed independently but which were still connected.
The kitchen, for example, is in the centre of the house but rather than opening it up, which they felt would be disruptive to the living spaces around it, they installed glazing in the walls to create visibility through and connectivity to the space from all directions.
“The result is a beautiful, functional space that’s uniquely connected to the rest of the house.”
The star of the show is the kitchen which is set in the centre of the house and infuses the original character of the space with modern appliances and elegant design. Photo / Supplied
The garden is another stand-out feature of the property, having been transformed from steep and unkempt to manicured and considered. Photo / Supplied
The garden was also important to the former owners, who said in Northern Europe where they came from sometimes only six weeks a year were able to be spent outside so they wanted a garden they could enjoy all year round: “The garden is our second house, really.”
Dawson says there was plenty of interest in the house with seven parties keen until nearly the end but then it came down to two bidders.
“Everybody loved the garden which was an absolute talking point for the vendors since it's been a labor of love for them.”
Dawson said the house before had been “almost derelict, it was diabolical. Even in the garden there was just a huge amount of bamboo.”
The homeowners, originally from the UK, had worked with stone and brick home renovations before in London and Glasgow, but weatherboard in Remuera was their first. Photo / Supplied
The former owners cleared that and replaced it with terraces and considered plantings, and inside they rewired and replumbed.
They had added an English touch to the house rather than opening everything up open plan Kiwi-style, she said.
She says the former owners are incredibly sad to be leaving but going back overseas.
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