When it comes to genuine CBD living you won’t find many properties as well-located as this three-level, completely renovated and practically as-new town house in Freemans Bay, Auckland. What’s more, at 190sq m, it’s pretty spacious.
Wayne and Lynne Watts have owned the house for 24 years and because they were spending more time up north at their Mangawhai home, a year or so ago they decided that it was time to put it on the market.
“We said that it was a do-up, but nobody seemed to want that sort of challenge,” says Wayne.
“We’d always known its potential, so we thought we might as well bite the bullet and do the work ourselves.
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“Now we’re so pleased that we did that, because it looks amazing and we’ve cut no corners. This was a high-quality renovation in every way.”
On the ground level is an airy entrance lobby and access to the double garage.
There’s a peaceful, private bedroom down here along with a brand new modern bathroom. A cute little patio with planter boxes will have you forgetting that you’re just minutes from the motorway.
“There’s no traffic noise at peak times because the vehicles all crawl so slowly,” Wayne jokes.
The middle level is where all the living takes place, with a large skylight flooding the whole floor with sunshine.
The brand new kitchen enjoys all the bells and whistles, including a wine fridge, at its hub with more than ample living and dining space spanning out around it. There’s an enormous central island so that entertainers can interact with guests, as they cook, and the appliances are top-notch and haven’t ever been used. The splash-back is especially impressive with its geometric black tiles. As in the lower level and on the stairs, there’s smart, sturdy engineered flooring throughout, in a fashionable shade of grey/brown ash.
During their time in residence here themselves, Wayne and Lynne enjoyed the expansive deck that lies beyond the generous dining space.
Lynne’s interior designer niece chose all the materials that were used in the renovation and she brought them together in a very satisfying way.
“We were so lucky to have her, because she knew exactly how to make the project turn out as well as it has and we were fortunate in having really good builders too.”
The third floor is where you’ll find the master bedroom and another brand new bathroom. There’s also a terrace where Wayne and Lynn had a spa pool for many years.
“We used to hop in at nights and follow the progress of the Sky Tower as it was being built,” says Lynne. “When there were fireworks we had a grandstand view!”
“There’s been a huge amount of growth and change in the time that we’ve owned this place.”
As in the rest of the house the colours, materials and textures up here are inspired by nature and won’t date in a hurry.
With Freemans Bay primary school just over the fence, this would be an ideal home for a young family – with stairs to keep everybody fit.
It’s a hop skip and jump from Victoria Park and the supermarket, and a pleasant walk towards Ponsonby Road.
Wayne says that if you work in the city you’ll rarely need to use public transport.
Lynne is philosophical about doing such a large amount of work, then moving on.
“Im not sorry because we actually really enjoyed it,” she says.
Find out more about 8/23 Napier Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland.
