Former community hall converted into family home with room for surfboards
Buying a rundown community hall has meant a couple breathed new life into a hospitable gathering spot. Words by Sue Hoffart, photographs by Jane Ussher.
When a Mt Maunganui couple considered buying a rundown community hall to turn into their home, the purchase made sense on many levels. They had downsized to an apartment, which felt too cramped when family visited and the ocean-loving man of the house was gutted to discover that his favourite surfboard wouldn’t fit inside the elevator.
They knew that buying Buffalo Hall would give them space, plus it was a sensible financial decision – it was three times larger than ordinary houses in their price range, and they knew the generous corner section would hold its land value if the conversion went pear-shaped.
They spent a year living within the hall’s uninsulated walls, considering their options and surviving a winter that saw them sleep in hats, socks and bathrobes.
Bedrooms had to be created, bathrooms installed, kitchen and living areas conjured from a building that dated back to the 1950s, and was originally constructed for a Mt Maunganui chapter of the secretive Britishbased Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes.
It had most recently hosted martial arts classes, and that turned out to be a blessing, as the floors had been polished by the previous owners, a taekwondo club, and had been a shoe-free zone protected by mats.
The talented couple were experienced renovators – he was handy with a hammer, she had interiors flair – so with plans sketched out, they set to work.
First, interior wall linings had to be pulled off and the roof replaced, though some of the original corrugated iron was reused inside as a ceiling feature.
Then they bought a house-lot of secondhand joinery and another of bathroom fittings, and installed a fireplace and ceiling fans to circulate winter heating and summer airflow.
While size had been a major attraction, it meant ‘‘everything was a big job, everything needed scaffolding’’, so family members chipped in to help as the project took shape.
Discoveries from online auctions, garage sales, secondhand shops and antiques stores kept costs down and ensured nothing too new
or shiny disturbed the building’s sense of history. Pre-loved glass doors were curtained for privacy in the main bedroom. An old surfboard, a diving helmet, wooden oars and fishing reels add nautical flair in the living room.
The couple’s friends reminisce about Buffalo Hall weddings and 21st parties and, once completed, it was again the hospitable gathering spot the owners dreamed of, with plenty of room for visiting family and summer beach visitors – and certainly no difficulty in finding a space to stash the surfboards.