4 minute read
Inside the ‘Homes of Devonport’
The DevonporT FlagsTaFF page 22
OctOber 21, 2022
The lure of a look inside some of Devonport’s finest homes is seeing tickets to an annual charity tour selling fast. Janetta Mackay gets an early viewing of one property.
Tucked away in a landmark building on Victoria Rd is an apartment that will surely be one of the star attractions on this year’s Homes of Devonport tour.
The spacious and gracious home of Sharon and Eddie de Heer in the former Post Office building is one of the village’s secret hideaways. Not only does it have lovingly restored art deco character, but the award-winning second-storey space also opens to a private decked outdoor entertaining and garden area.
“It’s a secret, a little place that looks so amazing,” says Sharon of their home in the three-storey building the de Heers bought in 2007.
They were drawn by both the investment opportunity and the chance to create their perfect lock-up and leave apartment, sited a ferry ride from the city and where they can walk round the corner to everything they need. “This is our forever home,” says Eddie.
But it has taken the couple plenty of work to turn it into their dream property. Shortly before they headed off on a river-crossing course in Wanaka, the active pair, who intend to undertake the South Island leg of the Te Araroa trail, invited the Flagstaff upstairs for a preview of what home-tour ticketholders will see.
They say they agreed to participate because the event raises money for charity. With Hospice being one of the beneficiaries, Eddie, whose mother received “fantastic” nursing in one, was particularly drawn to the cause.
They also know people are curious about what is behind the façade of the much-loved local building.
“We’ve been going to the home show for years. We love property, we love architecture
Outside and in... The former Post Office and its second-floor apartment (below) remain sympathetic to the building’s 1920s origins
and we love design,” says Eddie. They intend checking out the other homes on show in early November. In all, 10 properties are included on the tour, ranging from villas to contemporary builds to a converted church. Devonport Rotary started the annual event and Bayleys real estate backs it. Along with Harbour Hospice, Dementia Auckland and Rotary’s Charitable Trust will also benefit. The de Heers, who moved to Devonport from South Auckland, were drawn by the sea and the chance sighting of an advertisement when the old Post Office building was put up for sale. They saw its potential and have become big fans of apartment-style living. They think the village could be brought alive and its businesses benefit with more apartments.
Their four-bedroom home, at 230sqm, with the outdoor area adding another
Hideaway... Eddie and Sharon de Heer love lounging with a coffee from the cafe downstairs, in the quiet comfort of their rear rooftop garden, or (right) in a quiet corner of their large inside living space
110sqm, is hardly compact.
But it could have been even bigger. When they first bought the building, they spent several years smartening up the ground floor for commercial use. They camped out the back for a time, while they turned their attention to what to do about the confused layout of the first-floor accommodation, which included a large staircase up to a previous extension to a third level built-in roof space. “It was huge, over 300sqm in total, far too big for us,” says Eddie. The views to the city are better from the smaller top storey, but they liked the Victoria Rd streetscape they have through original metal windows, painted black, and decided there was more scope to create their dream home on the one level in what was once the postmaster’s apartment. The interior has been restored to its art deco glory, stripped of out-of-character Victoriana cornices installed by the previous owner, Bryan Jackson who ran a museum on-site. “When we bought it, it was a bit of a mess,” recalls Sharon. The configuration of rooms had been altered over the years. They could not find the original plans, but wanted to restore the clean lines of the art deco era, albeit with modern comforts like en suites and an entertainer’s kitchen added. Luckily, one room retained art deco’s simpler cornices, and they replicated these. Kauri floors were brought back to life. Décor and furniture is a mix of art deco touches, modern classics and industrial and contemporary influences, reflecting the couple’s eclectic tastes.
Improving the exterior of the Post Office building was part of their project. The de Heers say they were influenced by the look of Parisian apartments. “We made it into a mansard roof. We feel it is an attractive outcome for the building and it’s set back,” says Sharon.
The sympathetic transformation by Devonport architects Salmond Reed won a Heritage Award and a Master Builders Gold Award recognised the quality of the home’s renovation, finally finished in 2018.
The couple sold the building recently, as they are at an age when they wanted to streamline their investments. But they had the foresight to put the two-bedroom upper level apartment and their own on separate titles.
“It’s a beautiful place to live,” says Eddie of his Devonport home. “I’ll be taken out in a box,” adds Sharon. •Tickets to Homes of Devonport, from 10am to 4pm on 4 November, are available at eventfinda.co.nz.
