Beverly and Tim Lockhart bought 8 Balmoral Road in Epsom, Auckland, sight unseen some five years ago. A brave move, but when the house in question is a pure illustration of Arts and Crafts loveliness with vivid detail, maintained by meticulous heritage enthusiasts and in your childhood neighbourhood, there’s little to deliberate.
“The home was recently renovated and intently maintained by the previous owners. I was very familiar with and loved the neighbourhood from my early years.
“The heritage appealed a lot, it’s literally a piece of art. There are plenty of villas around but there aren’t many homes like this left,” describes Beverley.
8 Balmoral Road in Epsom is on the market for sale at auction on March 23. It has a 2021 RV of $2.525 million and, according to OneRoof data, last changed hands in 2018 for $2.05m.
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UP Real Estate agent Roberta Stewart, who is marketing the property with Hayley Kirk-Smith, says, “Morvern House exemplifies the quality of its time. The home is ageless and has a strong following amongst heritage devotees.
“The private land access is an added bonus that will appeal to a broad range of buyers.”
The Lockharts enjoyed the advantage of moving into their exquisitely preserved, cedar shingled home, decorated floor to ceiling in William Morris wallpaper and all of the detail retained - ever faithful to the crafts movement.
UP Real Estate agent Roberta Stewart says, “Morvern House [8 Balmoral Road] exemplifies the quality of its time. The home is ageless and has a strong following amongst heritage devotees.” Photo / Supplied
Although Beverly says they wanted to embrace a slightly more muted and modern approach to the home, with sensitive adjustments to make it more of a functional space. The result was a pared back style but with a ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach.
The Art and Crafts details stayed - stained glass windows, deep blue hessian wallpaper in the ‘cigar room’, patterned timber floors and panelled walls and ceilings ... with just a touch less of the William Morris wallpaper.
A product of its time, Beverly says the kitchen was small and felt removed. The couple remedied this by taking the space from the three-car garage and giving it to a much needed dining space, vastly extending the kitchen area.
It stands now as a seamless extension of the duck egg blue and white original kitchen. Accented with brass and populated with modern appliances, it’s as charming as a kitchen can get and counts as Beverly’s favourite part of the home.
The dining space stands now as a seamless extension of the duck egg blue and white original kitchen. Photo / Supplied
Flowing directly from the kitchen-dining area, the courtyard has infinitely added to the vendors' enjoyment of the home. Photo / Supplied
Though in a close second is their master bedroom, says Beverly, “It feels like a hotel room, it’s so calming and it’s such a retreat.”
One of four bedrooms in the home, it incorporates a walk-in wardrobe and a continuation of timber details, panelled ceilings and stained glass windows that feature throughout.
The pair entertain outside in what they refer to as their very private, sun trap of a courtyard. Flowing directly from the kitchen-dining area, Beverly says it has a Tuscan feel that has infinitely added to their enjoyment of the home.
“The project was such a positive experience, it’s motivated us to do more renovations, it really has been a wonderful home,” she explains.
