Character villa makes bold statement

Taranaki has real talent when it comes to renovation. And the striking villa at 142 Regan St in Stratford is a prime example.

Sandra and Teresa can smile now at the memory of the run-down residence they bought about 12 years ago. But, at the time, the vine growing all over the lean-to rear of the villa and the tree beginning to grow up through the kitchen floor must have been daunting.

Not so daunting, it seems. They now plan to do it all over again with another character home. And that puts this finished project on the market for new owners to relish.

And relish it they will, quite possibly with a relish made from veges grown in the innovative garden in the front yard that greets visitors on arrival. It’s an extension of the raised potager-style garden Sandra and Teresa created in the early days down the side of the villa. They used bricks recycled from the home’s two chimneys to form the beds.

The front garden has an almond tree at its centre with limestone-chip paths radiating from it to define the brickbordered garden beds. They attract attention, Sandra says. ‘‘Lots of people stop and look over the fence at them.’’

The serious effort has been worth it; it’s given them a suburban version of The Good Life.

Those gardens, in combination with the fruit trees and glasshouse facility in the rear garden, have made them nearly selfsufficient. ‘‘We don’t buy veges . . . and in summer we don’t need to buy fruit,’’ says Sandra.

The grounds of this property were apparently as overgrown as the house was run down but have been thoroughly tidied and turned into a boundary-to-boundary orchard. The couple planted more than 40 fruit trees and bushes. Teresa rattles off a list from memory: fig, blueberry, raspberry, boysenberry, gooseberry (including Cape gooseberry), peach, grape, pear, feijoa, plum (English and Japanese), mandarin, olive, nashi, persimmon, red currant, black currant, four different apples, and a guava.

She missed a couple. ‘‘Cranberries and strawberries,’’ Sandra adds. . . .

The 1912-built villa is the precious gem of this productive setting. It’s everything it was in its prime, and more. Sandra admits that didn’t happen without change. ‘‘We adjusted a few things.’’

That included removing all the original scrim linings from the interior walls to put up new plasterboard; creating an ensuite bathroom for the master bedroom; renewing the main bathroom; demolishing that lean-to where the original kitchen was located and building a new extension in its place, twice the size to accommodate a designer kitchen and dining room; turning a bedroom and other space into a huge lounge with an open-plan flow to the new extension; installing a top-quality wood burner in the lounge; building a timber deck off the extension for alfresco living; and rebuilding a veranda feature around the front corner of the villa.

A visit here starts with the leadlight welcome at the front door off the new veranda. Inside, the hallway runs as per tradition through the centre, with the bedrooms to left and right. Each is filled with character, lovingly detailed by Sandra and Teresa.

The one to the left inside the front door is set up as a library and boasts two sets of french doors that open to the veranda. The bedroom to the right owns the bay window that is a feature of the frontage.

The third bedrooms is a child’s room finished in bright alternating panels of duck-egg blue and green. ‘‘You have to have some fun somewhere,’’ Teresa explains with a smile.

Next to that is the spacious master bedroom, with its new ensuite and a wide window seat that gathers the morning sun.

The bedrooms and hallway feature waist-high rimu dado rails around their walls, sourced from a Kaiapoi sawmill. Closer to the ceilings are rimu picture rails that help to create a real sense of quality character.

A freestanding French slipper bath is the centrepiece of the main bathroom, complemented by a polished rimu cabinet topped with a floral porcelain bowl and striking

Italy.

In the new living areas, the centrepiece has to be the bespoke kitchen planned by Sandra and Teresa. They kept the detail sympathetic to the era of the home, but have not been afraid to make a bold statement in style and colour.

The kitchen features matai bench tops, a uniquely crafted character rangehood, twin butler’s sinks, another Italian feature tap, tongue-and-groove finish to cabinet doors, and chrome-and-ceramic cupboard handles.

The cabinets and cupboards are finished in a shade of aubergine that adds a rich complement to the warmth of the matai against pale neutral walls. A similar colour is seen in the carpet in the adjacent lounge, while darker ceramic tiles on the kitchen floor pick up hints of the hue for a co-ordinated look. ‘‘I wouldn’t call it boring,’’ Teresa says with a smile. ‘‘But it was never done to sell, we did it for us.’’

The wood burner in the lounge is a high-end Pyroclassic model that throws out more than enough heat to warm the high-stud living areas and also has a useful cooktop surface. The Brivis gas central heating system is a rarely needed alternative.

In the rear grounds, an in-ground concrete swimming pool will be a popular destination in the hot summer months that have been predicted. It sits behind the double garage that’s been finished to match the house. period-style taps sourced from