WHEN THE HOMEOWNERS EMBARKED ON THE RENOVATIONS AND EXTENSIONS TO THEIR OLDER HOME THEY DIDN’T REALISE QUITE HOW EXTENSIVE THE NEW BUILD WOULD BE. ABOUT THE ONLY PART LEFT OF THE ORIGINAL STRUCTURE IS THE DOUBLE STOREY GUEST BEDROOM AND EN SUITE BATHROOM. THE HOUSE WAS PROBABLY BUILT IN THE 50S OR 60S AND THE EXISTING WALLS WERE IN POOR CONDITION SO ALMOST ALL THE WALLS WERE REBUILT. IN ADDITION, THE EXISTING VERANDA WAS ENCLOSED BY A SERIES OF ARCHES WHICH MADE THE HOUSE FEEL A LITTLE DATED.
The owners worked with Bruce Rowlands from Architexture Spatial Design to work out the initial concepts. Thara Sweetman worked as the architectural assistant and helped produce the fifinal working drawings. The owners had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted and contributed a lot of their own ideas in terms of the fifinishes, lighting and detailed interior design choices. The project was managed by
Richard Kennaird with Rich Wild from KW Construction acting as the main contractors. Brown Engineering supplied the reinforcement steel as well as the new roof structure. John Ridgewell from BCHOD was the engineer.
The house was previously a rather disjointed collection of rooms, particularly in the main living area, and the front entrance to the house was through an awkward vestibule and hallway. The main entrance was moved so it now leads directly into the principal living area – a single, clear, open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge space. Part of an existing veranda was included in the living space and a new veranda was added on two sides of the lounge incorporating the new pool and adding loads of extra outdoor space for entertaining. Large aluminium and glass doors open out to the veranda blending the indoor and outdoor
spaces. The new veranda is around 150 sq m and has generous seating areas for lounging and dining as well as an outside bar and
barbeque area. The owners have also re-done the existing pool so it fifits in better with the new, more geometric design of the house. On the entrance side of the veranda the owners have created a green wall to blend the large blank screening wall in to the garden greenery.
The new living space has a kitchen toward the back delineated from the rest of the area by a large island. Behind the kitchen is a scullery and utility room so the kitchen remains mostly clear and uncluttered. There’s a glass gable between the kitchen and the scullery and a further gable beyond that opens the scullery to the back yard allowing in loads of natural light. On the opposite side of the living room there’s another glass gable and wide glass and aluminium doors further open the space to the veranda, the pool and the garden. Glass and aluminium doors and windows were supplied and fifitted by Willie Barnard. An existing sunken lounge, which felt a bit retro, has been removed and the ground flfloor space is now one simple and cleaner level. The owners have also renovated and updated the pool so it’s a more modern rectilinear shape in keeping withthe new design of the house.
The living area has a high vaulted ceiling which follows the roof line so the space seems even more generous and airy. There’a small, but very effiffifficient, wood burning fifireplace to keep the room cosy in winter. The fifireplace was custom made and handcrafted by Uli (uilguci@gmail.com). Solid light oak flfloors throughout add warmth and texture and keep the space feeling light without being too cold or heavyLeading offff on the opposite side is the passage to the bedroom wing.
There are two generous bedrooms for their young children, both with full en suite bathrooms. The extra space for the bedrooms and bathrooms was created by moving the back wall out about a metre and a half in to the back yard. From the open plan space an oak staircase leads up to the guest suite on the fifirst flfloor which has a view through the trees over the front garden. At the base of the staircase is a small enclosed room which makes an ideal home offiffiffice space. There’s also a small access room
which houses the inverter and batteries as the house is solar powered and can run offff grid most of the time. There are also provisions for a rainwater harvesting system although it hasn’t been fully set up yet so water is supplied by a borehole.
The master bedroom suite is a new extension with the bedroom, dressing room and luxurious en suite bathroom. The master has great access to the garden through extensive aluminium and glass doors and window views. The master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling similar to the living room so it feels spacious and airy.
The brief to the architect also included the request for extended garage space to accommodate their vehicles plus extra space for their boats and fifishing equipment. This has been accommodated to the western side of the main building, including extra storage rooms for equipment and gear. An existing Durawall garage was demolished and a new garage built to blend in better with the house. The garage is nearly 100 sq m and also includes two lockup storerooms.
The project started in Jan 2021 and the owners fifinally moved in in January this year, so it took almost a year to complete with a big push at the end. The COVID lockdown delayed the progress of the project, particularly in sourcing materials and fifinishes. The owners have kept to a fairly minimalist interior design scheme favouring furniture and décor with simple clean lines. The result is a family home with generous proportions that functions well and is ideal for entertaining
family and friends. The fifinal phase will be working on landscaping the garden which already has several mature, established trees and some open lawn space for the kids and the dogs to enjoy.
