After living in the hustle and bustle of Melbourne, a patch of lawn, a character home and nearby entertainment was on the wish list for a couple of busy Kiwi doctors.
Helen Bird and Adam Worthington, who met in NZ when they were doing radiology training, later moved to Melbourne, where they both worked for three-and-a-half years.
Helen says: “We’d lived in Carlton in Melbourne, so we had grown accustomed to living close to transport and cafes and restaurants and wanted to live somewhere convenient when we moved back to Auckland.
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“I wanted a villa in a suburb with nice character houses, so that narrowed things down.”
Adam says: “After only having a courtyard in Melbourne, I was really keen on us following the Kiwi tradition of having our own bit of lawn.”
In 2011, they found this 1910 villa in Mt Eden, with its own level lawn and garden.
It ticked all their boxes.
Helen says: “It has lots of street appeal, being a classic villa in a street full of villas.”
The fenced property enabled them to get a dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Levi.
They call it their ‘first born’ — they initially thought they weren’t going to be able to have children.
But a few years later they found they were expecting Lily (now 5), who was later joined by her brother Oliver (now three-and-a-half).
Helen says: “I sometimes call this the fertility house because the people who owned it before us also moved in as a couple and had children while they were living here.”
The couple like that there are lots of families with children in the street, which is a short walk to Dominion Rd eateries, Balmoral’s Capitol cinema or to visit friends in Kingsland.
Topiary plants accent the garden in front of the pretty villa with its wrap-around front veranda, fretwork and leadlight front door.
They had the home repainted inside and out, changing the exterior from beige to a soft white.
Helen says: “We’ve got a lovely wide hallway and there was already ducted gas central heating throughout the house, which is so convenient.”
The interior retains character features such as polished timber floors, high beamed ceilings and sash windows, which they had refurbished, adding shutters to many.
Bedrooms include the front master and another large one across the hallway, with Oliver’s slightly smaller bedroom behind.
Future owners might consider adding an en suite to the master bedroom by extending into the veranda, as nearby houses have done.
The family bathroom with bath, shower and toilet is at the end of the hallway.
On one side is the dining room/kitchen with brick open fireplace, granite bench-top and stainless appliances.
Both the kitchen and the nearby lounge with ornamental character fireplace open to the big rear covered deck.
The level backyard with lawn has good privacy and houses a one-room studio with bathroom and its own veranda.
Adam says: “Pottering around in the garden or playing on the trampoline with the kids out here is really cathartic for me.”
Helen says: “We let the kids stay up to watch the haka on TV when the rugby is on and they love it because they can hear the roar of the crowd at Eden Park from here.”
Adam’s an Auckland Grammar Old Boy who wants his son to go there, so the family plan to move into that school zone.
21 KING EDWARD ST, MT EDEN, AUCKLAND
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
SIZE (more or less): Land 577sq m, house 128sq m, studio 20sq m.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1-1.45pm.
AUCTION: Onsite 2pm, Wed 19 Sept (unless sold prior).
SCHOOLS: Mt Eden Normal School, Balmoral School, Kowhai Intermediate, MAGS, Auckland Girls’ Grammar.
CONTACT: Neil Bailey, 021 556 828 and Jo Johnstone, 021 411 107, Unlimited Potential.
