Julia and Jenny agreed it made no sense to attend an open home at this thoroughly renovated bay villa as they’d just had plans consented to renovate their Ponsonby home.

Nope, they’d just permit themselves a couple of drive-bys. And one little visit couldn’t hurt.

Jenny says: “I’d said ‘we can’t go look at it because then we’ll want to buy it’, and I was right. We bought here while still owning our previous place but fortunately we put that on the market and sold.

“This is a stunning property and we haven’t looked back since.”

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This property had already been thoroughly upgraded and had everything they wanted without them having to go through the hassle of renovations.

Julia says: “It had a bit more land than our previous place, with a lovely, private garden. It had a wow factor because at first it seems like it’s going to be a traditional villa.

“But then there are a couple of steps down and it becomes a spacious open-plan living-kitchen-dining area with sliding doors opening it right up to the back deck and the beautiful, private sub-tropical garden.

“It had two-car off-street parking out front, vented underfloor central heating and a great kitchen and bathrooms.

“There’s so much storage, including the sizeable separate laundry-utility room, that we don’t need to pull down the ladder to store things in the loft. And we think it’s on the best part of the best street in Grey Lynn, near Grey Lynn Park.”

26 Baildon Road in Grey Lynn, Auckland

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home sits on 429sqm of land and has a $3m RV.

26 Baildon Road in Grey Lynn, Auckland

The current homeowners had been in process of renovating their own Ponsonby home when they attended the open home for the Grey Lynn property – and changed their minds.

They’ve made a few improvements of their own around the 429sqm property. They added the front vehicular gate, helping secure their cars and allowing them to leave the front door open for natural ventilation.

They researched exceptionally quiet ceiling fans and had them installed in two of the bedrooms to cool quietly during humid summer nights.

And they’ve tweaked landscaping front and back, including creating a separate little seating area in the back rear corner nicknamed “the gin corner”, seeing Jenny sip on the gin she makes as a hobby there.

Members of a Pacifika family whose father grew up here a couple of owners back called in one day, marvelling over how comprehensively their much-loved former home had changed.

The couple enjoy coffee in the cool of the front veranda on hot days. Coloured glass windows around the top of the front door introduce the high stud hallway with native timber flooring.

26 Baildon Road in Grey Lynn, Auckland

The owners enjoy coffee in the cool of the front veranda on hot days.

The bay window front master bedroom has a walk-through wardrobe to its ensuite, while the guest bedroom across the hall opens to the front veranda. An office, third bedroom, sophisticated main bathroom with sumptuous bath and separate laundry precede the open-plan rear.

Caesarstone features in the island bench of its well laid-out chef’s kitchen and in the oversized hearth running along under the gas fireplace. The partially covered deck admires the garden.

Julia says it’s a fantastic home for entertaining and they even got married on-site. The couple intend to move to a lifestyle property where Jenny can produce her gin on a larger scale.

Ray White’s Angela Saunders says: “The perfect family home – beautifully renovated with spacious living, a private garden, and a prime Grey Lynn location.”

26 Baildon Road in Grey Lynn, Auckland, is for sale by auction on January 26. The property has a 2021 RV of $3 million and, according to OneRoof data, last changed hands in 2017 for $2.4m.

- Sponsored by Ray White