Remuera: Renovation brilliance

A great renovation job has turned this former run-down home into an adorable family residence. By VICKI HOLDER.

Charming though it was, an original cute and cottage-like 1920s Sholto Smith home didn't quite cut the mustard anymore. For the type of family buyer moving into this prestigious grammar zone area, the house was simply too small and run down. Yet it had a lot going for it.

Full of character and on a big, sunny property, just along from the Benson Rd shops, it spoke loudly of potential, which interior designer Warren Brighouse has maximised with a brilliant sympathetic renovation. While retaining all of the character, the home has a more contemporary look and feel. And, much larger, more comfortable spaces are tailored to suit family living.

So clever are the changes, it's extremely difficult to see where Brighouse has added on. However, it's clear to see that every inch of the property has benefited from his designer eye with fresh new paintwork, floors, furnishings, a new kitchen and three new bathrooms.

The original living area comprised a generous formal lounge with a signature Sholto Smith arched fireplace. The room was poorly linked through the panelled entry hall to a small, dark kitchen. The latter, in the middle of the house, stepped down into a tiny casual area overlooking a dated swimming pool.

Brighouse pushed the interiors out, extending them into the garden to facilitate easy living and entertaining. New hardwood timber floors were added and pretty window treatments selected to fit the country cottage theme. While dressed in different fabrics, they are all in matching colourways of subtle greens, creams and burnt oranges. Elegant Nina Campbell drapes dress up the formal lounge. Thai silk features around the dining area and, for a relaxed look in the family room, there are plaid roman blinds.

Original elements remain in the lounge, yet the fireplace has been updated with a granite hearth and bronze uplights over the mantelpiece. Totally new, the kitchen, explains Brighouse, is quite a traditional look with a butler's sink, but it's modern in terms of facilities and storage. Timber shutters over a servery can be closed so adults can host guests in the dining area oblivious to noise of children playing separately in the lower area.

Both the formal lounge and dining space adjacent to the revamped kitchen now open through french doors to a traditional porch. More than just a place to park the boots, this substantial outdoor room is an alternative entertaining space. It steps down to a newly cobbled terrace where guests can dine alfresco around an outdoor fireplace and barbecue while watching the children play in the rejuvenated pool and spa.

To give light in the panelled entry the timber was painted white. Enlivening the stairway, a beautiful Hannaford wallpaper offers a subtle hint of the traditional floral in an elegant, modern way.

It's now a comfortable four-bedroom home, however Brighouse admits he had to work hard to fit everything in without compromising the integrity of the original design. The only downstairs bedroom shares a guest bathroom, which also accommodates a laundry behind a roller door.

A little lobby was created upstairs with all the bedrooms leading off it. There are two main suites with large bedrooms that sit beneath coved, battened ceilings. One of these has a large tiled en suite with double basins and a full walk-in dressing room. The other manages a big, walk-in dressing alcove plus a semi-en suite with bath that opens to the landing. A fourth bedroom is the only room in the house to stay as original, though it has been completely refurbished and re-carpeted.

The garden, too, came in for a major revamp, and what else would work in such a setting but a typical English country garden.

To many who drive past and admire this Arts & Crafts home, it may not seem to look too much different. And that's the idea. Changes you see and don't see in this masterful restoration have been substantial. Now a new family can enjoy all the best of modern living and fully appreciate the character of yesteryear.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: Sunningdale, 46 Benson Rd, Remuera.

FEATURES: Restored, refurbished and enlarged character home with large English country garden; three living areas; outdoor porch; outdoor fireplace with barbecue; swimming pool and spa; four bedrooms; two en suites, three bathrooms; two bedrooms with dressing rooms; double garaging.

SIZE: Land area 732sq m.

AUCTION: December 8.

LAND SIZE: 732sq m.

AGENT: Leila MacDonald, Barfoot & Thompson. Ph 524 0149 bus; 021 928 926 mob.