Drury: Meant to be

This former Dannevirke homestead with plenty of original features is perfect for such a fabulous rural setting in Drury. By VICKI HOLDER.

Some things simply can't be rushed. Market gardener Paul Nieuwehuijsen was perfectly content to bide his time until he found the perfect home for a particularly special property.

Hidden at the edge of the Oira Creek in Drury, the only sound in this peaceful, private spot is the abundant native birdlife and cicadas.

For years Paul and his family shared a temporary home attached to the business behind an adjoining sweep of land. They often pondered over what would do it justice. When Paul came across an old Dannevirke homestead advertised for relocation, he just knew it was right for the site.

Designed by Napier architect Charles Natusch, the turn-of-the-century homestead was master-crafted from solid heart timber. Clad in vertical kauri boards, it featured matai flooring, rimu panelled walls and hand-crafted timber features, such as turned latches on the internal doors.

Paul fell in love. He was undeterred by the complexity of the task of shipping the old home up to Auckland in five parts, then putting it back together in a substantial renovation by Salmond Architects.

Rotating the house back to front, it was positioned so that the living areas and long veranda looked out over the water. The humble back door with a toilet next door was replaced with a more appropriate front porch that added grandeur. Now, the broad hallway instantly trains your eye past a small office, along the matai floorboards through the living areas to the water view.

Paul removed scrim from the walls and gibbed them instead. The beautiful rimu panelling remains in the formal living room. In the early days, when the house belonged to a colonial in the army, this large room was divided into two with a wall between his waiting room and office. This explains why the ceiling is ornate pressed steel in one half of the room and timber battens in the other.

The original timber fire place, incorporating arched alcoves, has been fitted with a modern log fire. It sets a warm ambience in the evenings when guests gather at the dining table. Heat in winter comes from a Dutch radiator system. In every room slim radiators on walls are fuelled by diesel for thermostatically controlled efficiency.

To bring in more light, Paul replaced bifolding windows in the front with french doors and sash windows that marry with the design of the original windows.

In the dining room and the TV lounge, the corner bays are set at an angle extending both spaces into the view. It's an unusual feature that makes the house quite unlike any other villa.

Painted, sarked walls in the large family area give a traditional feel. They are enhanced by washed timber cabinetry with turned French handles in the adjacent kitchen. Designed by In Residence, the kitchen features a large slab of recycled kauri on the island bench surrounding a deep butler's sink.

The old chimney, clad in copper sheet, houses a modern, free-standing Ilve oven with a splashback of white, brick-laid tiles. Space was borrowed from the hallway to accommodate a walk-in pantry and additional storage.

French doors between built-in window seats open from the family area to a covered porch and pebbled courtyard. The porch provides a sheltered, tiled walkway linking the path from the front veranda to the double garaging.

During the renovation an extra bedroom was added behind an amenity area. It blends so perfectly with the original design that it's difficult to envisage how the house was before. Located near a bathroom (updated with a tiled shower and traditional clawfoot bath), it's an ideal guest room.

The other bedrooms on the opposite side of the house include a large master bedroom, which gained an en suite and walk-in dressing room. Big wardrobes with built-in shelving offer plenty of storage in the children's rooms.

Only just completed and trimmed with easy-care landscaping, this fine old character home has been modernised for luxurious contemporary living.