Redesigned to please
A formerly neglected villa has had a complete makeover by an expert designer, writes Robyn Welsh
From the world of high fashion with Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacob in France and Karen Walker in Auckland, former fashion designer Denise Isaacs has turned her design eye to the business of “saving Devonport one house at a time”. Denise and her partner Andrew Porter saved their first Devonport home, in Oxford Terrace, and won an award for their builders. This, their second home, has been as big a restoration project as the first, presenting just as many opportunities to blend heritage form with modern, wellproportioned functionality.
From the original volcanic rock wall at the front to their new perimeter timber fence beyond the landscaped rear garden, they’ve reworked every part of this neglected early 20th- century squarefront villa they bought in March 2016.
“This house has had to be almost completely rebuilt and we did not cut any corners when we did it,” says Denise, who engaged architect Jason Gibson for the project.
What they have achieved is a far cry from the state of the house before. They discovered that the sub- floor structure beneath the original fireplaces was actually volcanic rock. “Most of the house was just standing on the rock, even though the old fireplaces had been removed,” says Denise.
At the front, they gave this home’s plain, unadorned street face an elegant Victorian villastyle makeover, installing new square bay windows, fretwork, veranda balusters and a new front door. Inside, they worked within the two original exterior side walls to reconfigure the footprint of the original home to accommodate the bedrooms, a second lounge and two bathrooms.
At the end of the central hallway with its three black- framed glass lanterns, Denise installed a bespoke, powder- coated steel- framed glass door as the interface beneath the old and the new. It frames the view into the new open plan living area with double- glazed, aluminium joinery and full- height sliding doors to the deck.
During the fit- out, Denise added her glamour touches to her palette of white/ soft grey in the permanent materials and paint. She chose brass for its “on- trend” appeal, installing brass laminate as the negative detailing beneath the Corian benches in the kitchen. She chose it too as a detail in the above- bench shelving in the rear scullery/ laundry that is the eye- catching metallic focal point above matching brass tapware and eco- granite Butlerstyle sinks.
Within the kitchen proper, the Carrara marble splashback behind the hob is the focal point of the 3.5m long bench/ breakfast bar that runs the full width of the adjacent dining area. Keeping important continuity, Denise incorporated Carrara marble in the bathroom vanities, with complementary soft grey, concrete- style floor tiles.
A key unifying feature that brings the old and the
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SCHOOLS: CONTACT: ON THE WEB: new together in this home is the engineered, French oak flooring with an oiled finish. It is the introductory new element inside the front door and the seamless connection down the hallway into the living areas, the kitchen and the scullery/ laundry which is the point of internal access from the garage. The original board and batten kauri ceilings that are a textural element from the original house have been restored. The originals among the interior panelled doors and sash windows have had the same treatment, too.
Stepping back to check the detail within their big picture, Denise and Andrew made sure that there were no incongruous elements. Noting the rusticated profile of the weatherboards on the house, they had their garage roller door finished with a slim- line weatherboard fascia. Looking down the driveway, it unites the whole, completing the top- to- toe style makeover.