A home of his own

Photo / Supplied

Architect Glenn Gardiner started drawing up renovation plans for his Wellington home even before he had moved in. And who can blame him? He had searched for two years before he found the Aro Valley house in 2006.

"I must have seen 60 houses, but none were quite right," Gardiner says. "I wanted to be able to walk to work and have all-day sun, off-street parking and a large deck."

Once he had signed the contract, Gardiner was desperate to get started on the 94sq m, three-bedroom house, which has sweeping views over the capital city and its harbour. "As an architect, I spend so much time realising other people's ideas," he says. "I was itching to work on my own home." The home has good bones, with its modernist 1960s design positioning the living areas at the front to capture all-day sun while the utility spaces are to the rear. But, having been a student flat, it was due for a makeover and in desperate need of floor and ceiling insulation.

"The first winter was awful," Gardiner says. "My sister and her husband planned to house-sit for a week but left after one night as it was so cold." Keen to incorporate 1960s influences in keeping with the character of the house, Gardiner installed his sister's old chrome fireplace in the living room by raising the hearth and replacing the old surround with muted black tiles.

Gardiner's partner, Sarah Bowyer, moved in just as the beige-patterned wallpaper was being removed. Once the walls were plastered, the house was painted. The living room feature wall complements the stained matai floors and red stripe of the 1960s-inspired sofa. While the effect looks effortless, the wall needed painting three times. "Oil stains in the plaster seeped through the paint," Bowyer says. "When the painter re-sealed it the fumes were so bad we lived in our bedroom for two days." Attention also turned to the house's electrics, as there was only one power outlet and one hanging light in each room.

Gardiner added more power points and put in down-lights to illuminate the couple's art collection. Having reinvigorated the home, this hard-working couple is now considering a move across the city.

"We love Mt Victoria [across town] as a suburb," says Gardiner. "So that could be our next port of call."

And if the search for a property to buy takes two years again, at least they'll have a comfortable place to live in the meantime.

Style tips

Thorough approach: It pays to spend as much time as possible planning your project so that you stick with it once building starts and aren't tempted to make expensive and time-consuming changes.

Simple shapes: Using modular furniture in your home will allow you to take it with you when you move on and use it in your next house.

Spatial awareness: Don't take cupboards or shelving right to the ceiling. Leaving a gap between the two creates a sense of space in a room.

* Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden