Jude and her husband, Patrick, moved to New Zealand from England in 1993. They had restored and renovated terrace houses on the other side of the world and, once settled in New Zealand, continued buying, living in and doing up their Antipodean homes.
They spotted this latest project last year when they saw the open-home sign in Seaview Rd. The villa had been extensively damaged in a fire about seven years ago and offered an opportunity for Jude and Patrick to effectively rebuild a new home on the bones of an old villa.
The central location with its northwestern outlook also appealed, close to Patrick's work as an operations director for a shop-fitting company, Jude's nursing work with the "lovely Mission Bay Doctors" and their teenagers' schools and university.
The villa was almost a shell, stripped of its internal walls and covered by a blue tarpaulin, so the couple hired architect Karl Majurey for the rebuild's design and Shibui Interiors for advice on interior design and colours sympathetic to the style of the house. Karl obtained photos of the villa before the fire damaged the house and sourced materials similar to those used in the original build, right down to the pressed ceilings, clay pots for the chimneys and fireplace detailing.
Next, Jude and Patrick put the building project in the hands of good builder friends with extensive experience in villa restoration. "These builders love restoring villas, they are sympathetic to the style and refuse to cut corners," says Patrick.
Though the Moynes have remained true to the period style, they have insulated and wired the house to modern standards. "We could almost fly to the moon with all the wiring," says Jude.
Almost a year later, the house offers no hint of the chaos the family endured. "It was pretty grim for nine months. We had no kitchen and used a barbecue out on the lawn," she says.
The work is now complete and the Moynes have heeded friends' advice to sell the house while it "is lovely and fresh and new".
"We are looking for our next project but we want to sell first," says Jude. "Each project takes up so much energy and time. This has been our focus for a year."
The villa has an appealing street frontage with a wraparound veranda and distinctive front door. Three bedrooms open off the entry hall, with the formal lounge on the right, and then the open-plan family room and kitchen opening to the back terrace looking over Remuera and across to the city. There are also two bathrooms on this level.
Upstairs is the large master bedroom with a private balcony, en suite and walk-in wardrobe.
On the lower level is a self-contained apartment, with large home theatre/living area, bedroom and bathroom plus laundry. Also on this level is the three-car garage. This level leads down to the swimming pool and changing room with toilets and shower.
Who does Jude think will buy the villa? "I thought it would be a family with teenagers because the downstairs area is good for them. But people say it would suit a young family, too, because there's room for a nanny, or even for elderly parents. It depends how you live.
"Downstairs could also be an office or you could rent it out because it is self-contained."
