An Arts and Crafts delight
MT EDEN 16 FAIRVIEW RD
It is only when it is pointed out to her that Scotswoman Lynn MacGillivray realises that the detailing on the two-storeyed Arts and Crafts house she bought with husband Darrin Goodward 15 years ago has echoes of the work of her famous compatriot, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Instead of Mackintosh’s famed square rose motif, the balustrades and corbels of this gracious house repeat a stylised leaf pattern, but the whole house looks as if it has been transported from that special period in Scotland’s design history.
Lynn and Darrin had certainly been looking for a house for them and their baby, Jess, now 17, that had an air of England and tradition, something pretty.
“I don’t like modern open-plan ... I wanted to make a home homely, there was a lawn and the big spreading chestnut tree, it was just what we were looking for,” says Lynn. “This was a house where kids could play, while I could keep a eye on them from the kitchen.”
Unlike many renovation stories, this house did not start with a gory back-catalogue of bad colours, original features missing, or rooms that didn’t function.
The house had been well-designed and solidly built; the garden, carved out of the original tennis court had mature trees and mossy walls of Mt Eden stone. The proportions of the upper-floor verandah, the welcoming front porch and pretty leadlight windows were already picture-book perfect, as were most of the interior details like stair rails, doors and architraves.
It is hard to see the lines of renovations from a few years ago to push out room for a master bathroom upstairs and study downstairs.
“Darrin is fanatical about quality. He’s a designer and has the eye. He spent weeks finding floor boards for the extension that match the originals,” Lynn says. “The kitchen just had to be functional for me to keep an eye on the kids, but I love the panels on the cupboards and this huge island for everyone to gather around.”
From one baby, the family has grown to three, and at the same time Darrin was also growing his business in a studio tucked under the chestnut tree, a deck’s commute from the main house. It is fully wired, although doesn’t have plumbing, but it would be easy enough to add bathroom to turn into an independent suite.
On the other side of the house, Darrin pushed out the ground floor around the sweep of staircase to create a good office for Lynn to run her pre-school business and room for a full bathroom too. As houses of this era did, there is a formal front living room, full of original details in the fireplace, corner nooks and ceiling.
A double bedroom on this floor has been perfect for when Lynn’s father comes for extended stays from Scotland.
The heart of the home, as the family first envisioned, is the generous kitchen. The couple didn’t need to alter the footprint of the sunny room, as previous owners in the 1980s had added cedar sliding windows and french doors, as well as the covered deck that is the family’s outdoor dining room for the summer.
The deciduous tree means winter sun, and summer shade and the spa on the deck is the magnet for the kids.
Behind the kitchen is a well-appointed laundry, complete with Martha Stewart-level storage for bags and shoes, and access to the two-car garage/carport (which also has plenty of room for bikes and outdoor toys).
Off the kitchen is the family room that Lynn loves — divided from the kitchen, but easy to stay in touch with the kids and their friends, its original tiled fireplace still intact. This is the sort of street where children have known each other since pre-school, the swing on the family’s front lawn is shared property, and Easter egg hunts take place in the magic pebbled back “fairy garden” off the guest bedroom.
Upstairs are the family bedrooms. Each one has either balcony or tree-top views (and, when there are no leaves, the Waitakere Ranges can be seen too). Darrin’s design pushed out enough space for a well-appointed walk-in wardrobe and smart en suite bathroom, but the charm of the master bedroom lies in the original details, particularly the sunny window seat in the bay window.
There are working fireplaces in both front bedrooms, and a verandah that begs for evening cocktails to watch the sun go down. There’s a further kids’ bathroom up here, which didn’t need any renovation touches, plus many original light fittings.
Not surprisingly, for a designer, the finishes are white and clean, a perfect backdrop for the family’s art collection, but Lynn has also injected colour in drapery and window seat cushions.
Circumstances have changed for the family, so they’re on the hunt for new projects, no doubt a home that can recreate this one’s magic and grand traditions.