Set in a prime location just off Ponsonby Road, 65 Summer Road is something of a rare find, according to Bayleys real estate agent Joe Telford.
The four-bedroom villa is surprisingly spacious on the inside with a large sunny open plan living space and two generous-sized bedrooms at the front of the house.
Telford says the location, size and garage space are all hard to come by in this part of the suburb, with homeowners often holding on to their properties for a long time.
“Trying to find a large family home in this kind of location is really quite difficult to do. And having the garaging is quite unique,” he says.
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“In Ponsonby, off-street parking is a big bonus, but having a garage is gold.”
Extensively renovated with a new kitchen, bathrooms and flooring before Brooke Peterson and her partner Billy Stansfield bought it at the end of 2017, a villa was a must-have for Stansfield, a builder-turned-architect.
“He used to build villas and then he became an architect to renovate them. Part of the reason why we bought it is because he was sold on villas,” Peterson says.
The Ponsonby home has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a single garage. Photo / Supplied
The location was also part of the package for the couple.
“It’s so central, it’s a four-minute walk up the hill and you’ve got everything,” she says.
“Location-wise it’s really hard to beat,” Telford adds, admitting that he’s biased when it comes to this location because he has lived close by for the past decade.
“It’s really quite a sought-after little street, Summer Street.”
Telford says there are dog walking parks for the multitude of Ponsonby dog owners plus proximity to the local bars and restaurants and easy access to the city.
The villa has been meticulously maintained by the homeowners, one of whom is a builder-turned-architect obsessed with villas. Photo / Supplied
The open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen area flows smoothly out to the deck for more entertainment space. Photo / Supplied
One of Peterson’s favourite things about the location is their go-to place - Farina, an Italian restaurant just up the road (she recommends the eggplant parmigiana).
For the house, the second bedroom that was her study is a definite favourite.
“It’s got the coolest outlook and gets so much sunlight. It’s a great place to have a desk as it looks out the window at the porch,” she says.
“It’s got a nice entertaining deck,” Telford says of the house. “It’s north-facing and it’s quite an easy-care section which is a bonus for a lot of people.”
The deck is north-facing with an easy-care backyard that has a vege patch and an avocado tree. Photo / Supplied
There’s a large avocado tree in the backyard and a vege patch for tomatoes, lettuce and spinach.
The kitchen area, another favoured part of the house, is great for entertaining and with lots of storage. It’s also perfect for the foodie whose growing side hustle The Confectionist is part of the reason the couple is selling.
“It got to a point over Christmas time that we just got so hectic and the whole house was being overrun by packaging,” she says. “That’s when we thought it would be time to move out.”
Still loving Ponsonby, the couple has not moved far. “The new house is literally streets away, so we’re still in the same area,” she adds.
65 Summer Street in Ponsonby, Auckland will be sold at auction on May 18.
