Home of the Month: This villa renovation really tested its owners’ mettle.
A rundown seaside villa bursting with potential really put its owners to the test
When Kay and John White bought a tired villa in Auckland’s seaside suburb of Stanley Point in 2014, they didn’t know quite how much work it was going to need. They’d renovated two other houses nearby and saw plenty of potential in the deceased estate, but the full extent of its problems were only revealed once the project began.
“We were really keen on it but it turned out to be this huge job,” says Kay. “It was way beyond what we thought. It needed repiling, there was no stormwater drainage and the whole house had to be restudded.”
For the full year the builders worked on site, the retired couple lived in one small, sectioned-off area of the house. “We didn’t expect them to be there so long, but the job just dragged on and on,” Kay remembers. “At times it looked like they were never going to leave.”
There was a long, wet winter to endure but the Whites felt they had to be there every single day. Kay says John was particularly invested in protecting the character of the house. “He wanted to have his finger on the pulse.”
But although the old home had concealed many of its secrets, the qualities that first attracted the couple to it are obvious. With a northerly aspect and
views over Ngataringa Bay, the setting is private and serene, despite Auckland city’s skyline stretching out just around the point. The 3.5m ceiling height and position of the house allow light to flood in, and almost every room has a sea view.
The compact piece of land was another drawcard. “Our last home had wonderful city views and a bigger section but it faced south and there was always a cool breeze,” Kay says. “We really wanted to create a peaceful place to just sit and enjoy.”
Their plan was to protect and enhance the heritage features of the villa while opening it up to the outdoors. But first, the 665sqm site, which had been subdivided into three in the preceding decades, needed additional drainage installed and two new retaining walls built. The house itself needed to be repiled and extra structural support added to bring it up to modern building standards.
Architects Rosalie Stanley and Rachel Mayer from Salmond Reed drew up the plans for the renovation, which included reconfiguring the entranceway, removing the fireplace, relocating the staircase and extending the kitchen to create a series of spaces that flow beautifully into one another. The ground floor now has two bedrooms including a master suite, a family bathroom and scullery with laundry, plus a formal lounge and a more casual kitchen and dining area. An outdoor living space was added along the northern length of the house to capture the sun and views, with a
louvred roof and retractable screens providing that peaceful place to sit and relax whatever the weather.
The Whites wanted building materials to be reused and repurposed where possible. A door found in the ceiling is now a barn-style slider leading to the scullery and an old quartz hearth was honed and set as a kitchen bench, picking out the blues and greens of the view beyond. Recycled kauri floorboards were whitewashed and waxed to give a relaxed, beachy feel. The two upstairs bedrooms have new windows to frame the views of the pōhutukawa-fringed bay and now house two lucky homestay students who are helping recoup the costs of the renovation.
The couple worked alongside landscaper Will McFarlane from Turbo Landscapes to create the
garden themselves, using a plan from Tracy Chalmers from Shafer Design. Bricks from the original chimney are laid in a herringbone pattern for a pretty detail on the path, concrete planters add structure and a modern feel and the soft colours of the plants echo the palette inside the house. It packs a visual punch despite its relatively small size. “You can have a gorgeous house but the garden is what will give it the wow factor,” Kay says. “And I do think you’re more invested in it if you’ve planted it yourself.”
John also made the beautiful fretwork around the entranceway using tools and advice at a local community workshop, matching a design that Kay spotted in a NZ House & Garden calendar from 2013. “It’s a beautiful photograph that had always stuck in my mind,” she says. “I always knew I wanted to recreate it somehow.”
And while it’s clear the couple both have a knack for bringing out the very best of old homes, they are certain this project will be their last. “Once you’re in, you tend to forget about the bad times but we would never do it again,” Kay says. “We plan to stay here for a long time.”