Taming the jungle

A spacious kitchen allows room for younger family members to refuel without getting in the way of adults cooking dinner. Photo / Supplied

Taking on a major renovation is a lot easier when you have an architect in the family. That was the case for Steph Bruce and John Cameron when they bought and revamped a 1960s Wellington home with the help of John's sister-in-law, well-known local architect Barbara Webster.

John took some convincing to buy the three-storey home, especially as it was surrounded by what seemed liked impenetrable jungle. In fact, Steph had to climb a ladder to get a good look at the vacant house when she heard it was up for sale. Even though it was just across the road from the house she was living in at the time, she had no idea what it looked like.

"The garden was so overgrown that you couldn't really see in," she says. "I grabbed a ladder and looked in. I couldn't believe how great the view was and how much potential it had." They decided to do the renovation in two stages, renting a home for nine months before moving in after stage one was completed. Barbara's challenge was to come up with a design that met the needs of the couple's two young children -

Jonty, aged 7, and Spencer, 5 - and those of John's two teenage children who are frequent visitors. "Our key requirement was for everyone to have their own space," says Steph, who owns wallpaper and designer gift store Wall St. "We created a communal space with the family room, an adults-only area and the kids have their bedrooms and a living space on the ground floor."

First to be completed were the open-plan kitchen and dining room and the bedrooms, allowing the family to move in while the rest of the house was finished. "I had no laundry, study or lounge for the 12 months it took to complete the rest of the house," she says. "But it was great to be onsite to project manage."

One of the kitchen's notable features - apart from its mainly black colour scheme - is the pantry, where a special "feeding station" was created to cope with hungry teenagers. "The kids can be in there after school getting their toasted sandwiches and making milkshakes, and they don't get in my way while I'm cooking dinner," she says. Black is also the colour choice for the floorboards on this level.

The boards needed painting because they weren't in great condition, and Steph initially hoped to make them white until she realised that would have proved too glary in the sun-drenched kitchen. "At night, the black really reflects light, which produces a beautiful effect," she says. Decks were added on this level and the level below to make the most of the harbour view.

Downstairs, a former carport has been transformed into a large entrance hall with a feature wall of Fornasetti wallpaper, a guest toilet, study, laundry and adults' room. The focal point of this level is the adults' space, which has doors opening onto a paved courtyard that catches the last of the day's sun. "I call it the 'gin trap'," says Steph.

The next stage includes plans for a lap pool, as well as a slide from the lower deck to the garden. "The boys can run the hose down and use it like a water slide," says Steph. "I don't want this house to be too serious - it's a great place to live and we want ourselves and our visitors to have fun here."

Style tips

Clutter cutter: Build in lots of storage when you renovate if you want to keep your home clutter-free. Steph has even installed a filing cabinet next to the pantry for bills and school notices.
Maximise space: Steph had cupboards put into the front of the kitchen bench. The kids store their toys there but the cupboards are hidden by bar stools.
Match lights: Lampshades can be covered easily and cheaply with the same wallpaper you have used in a room.
Opening statement: Steph wanted visitors to be "wowed" when they entered the house, so she painted the front door a high-gloss orange and put a modern chandelier in the entranceway.

* Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden.