Keeping on track

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Turning a vandalised train station into a family home would be hard enough in itself, but having to relocate it as well presented a huge challenge for Aucklanders Richard Beca and Kirsty Wilkinson.

The Mt Eden station had been home to street kids for several years, was covered in graffiti, had been damaged by two fires and had all its windows broken. But that wasn't going to deter Beca, a commercial property lawyer, who has a passion for old buildings and antiques. Having secured the building 13 years ago, he then had to find a new home for it.

"Finding a section in Auckland was very hard," Beca says. "While the station is not big, overhangs on both sides demand a flat section large enough to accommodate them."

The site they found, funnily enough, was next to railway lines - a little further up the track in Morningside. "Normally, living next to a train track would not be very appealing, but in this instance, it is perfect," he says.

The station building was cut in two and transported to its new home but a lot of work had to be done to make habitable. "There was nothing to move into when it first arrived on site," Wilkinson says. "It was more like building a new home from scratch except worse, because so much of it was in such a terrible condition."

The builders took two months just to restore the 13 double-hung sash windows. "The renovation was done so well it was like a new home when we moved in, and has been almost maintenance free," she says.

The couple was determined to maintain as much of the station's character as possible, so the interior was stripped back to the original tongue and groove timber.

The Australian hardwood floors were also restored to their former glory, where possible. Beca says they were so consumed with the project that they didn't plan ahead. Seven years later, with daughter Ava, now 7, on the way, they realised a second renovation would be needed to cater for a family, which now also includes George, 5.

"The sensible thing would have been to add the bedrooms initially," says Wilkinson.

"But by waiting, after having the chance to live in our home, we have done a better job. It worked out better than we expected."

Wanting to maintain the integrity of the building, they created an attic bedroom within the roof space and moved the laundry to the rear of the house to make room for an additional bathroom. A new external structure made from shipping containers houses a bathroom and two rooms including Wilkinson's office.

"It looks out over the property into the park and beyond," she says. "It is a very relaxing place to work and think."

Style tips

Keep records: If you've just repainted your home, file your colour charts away with notes about where the colours were used. Wilkinson says she wanted the addition painted the same as the rest of the house but, going by memory, told the painter to use the wrong colour, only finding out when he had almost finished.

Embrace a theme: Wilkinson and Beca chose furniture and fittings that reflected the home's former life as a train station.

Expert assistance: The couple hired architects for both renovations and wouldn't have done it any other way.