Treehouse meets greenhouse meets modern, comfortable family home with all the trimmings.
That’s the vibe Karyn and Gareth were going for when they purchased 25 Picton Street in Freemans Bay, Auckland City, eight years ago.
Positioned on one of the area’s leafiest streets, the home was virtually nestled amongst the trees. But Karyn says that feeling didn’t translate indoors.
“The people who had renovated the home previously had done an amazing job with the gardens and the pool, but we wanted to open it up more to maximise those outdoor spaces,” she says.
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Karyn and Gareth enlisted design studio MacIntosh Harris to take down a few walls, install beautiful glass doors, elevate the ceiling in places and reinstate a traditional staircase to add a sense of space and character.
The result is a luxuriously comfortable family home that blurs the line between inside and out and maximises the outlook year-round.
“I feel like I’m in a Victorian glasshouse. When you’re inside there are no walls or barriers between you and the outdoors, just this unique sense of being on top of the trees.”
25 Picton Street in Freemans Bay is on the market for sale by way of deadline private treaty closing May 24. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom property has a 2021 RV of $4.6 million and, according to OneRoof records, last changed hands in 2015 for $3.16m.
The current owners enlisted design studio MacIntosh Harris to take down a few walls, install beautiful glass doors, elevate the ceiling in places and reinstate a traditional staircase. Photo / Supplied
The biggest surprise of the home is the secret garden, located atop the double garage. Photo / Supplied
Karyn says the family moves around the home as the seasons change.
“In summer the outlook is green and lush, and we basically live outside by the pool. In winter when the leaves are gone you can see right down to the Harbour Bridge, and we utilise the outdoor room and gas fire a lot more,” she says.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the home is the secret garden, located, unusually, on top of the double garage.
“That’s where the previous owners were so clever with the initial renovation and maximising space,” says Karyn. “It’s such an unexpected space, but one that we use all the time. When you’re in that garden you literally feel like a bird.”
All this despite being a hop, skip and jump from Ponsonby Road. “We can’t imagine being anywhere else,” Karyn says.
“I love that we’re so close to the best bits of the city, but far enough away to not be right in the middle of that buzz. After going up the road for a coffee or wine, we can come back here and sit by the pool and feel like we’re on holiday.”
The home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a double garage and multiple living spaces. Photo / Supplied
25 Picton Street in Freemans Bay is just a hop, skip and jump from Ponsonby Road, Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Inside has seen its fair share of entertaining over the years.
“The open spaces make it so easy to entertain,” she says. “There’ve been times when our daughter has had her friends over and they’ve been outside by the gas fire and pool while we’ve been inside doing our own thing, and there’s plenty of room for everyone.”
Kellands Real Estate agent Martin Dobson, who’s marketing the property, says 25 Picton Street will meet a lot of people’s needs.
“The flow, multiple living spaces, easy outdoor living, privacy of the home, great street, generously-sized bedrooms including two ensuited bedrooms, access to Ponsonby and the rest of the city … this home really does tick the boxes for so many people.”
For Karyn and Gareth, downsizing means it’s time to say goodbye to the treehouse they’ve fondly called home for the last eight years.
“It will be very sad to leave this place; it’s a very special property that we hope another family will fall in love with all over again.”
