KEY POINTS:
50 Wanganui Avenue, Herne Bay.
Rachael and Robin Langton's home was an impulse buy during a lunch hour.
Rachael tells how she went along to the auction about four years ago. "I wasn't going to bid, but then I decided I would."
The couple had been living in Britain and were used to smaller, dark houses. Here was a change to buy a spacious villa, do it up and let the sunshine in.
"We love this area, especially Wanganui Ave. That was the main appeal, the wide street and seeing families playing. I love the village at the top of the road and that everything is within walking distance."
The couple moved in, allowing time to work out alterations the house needed. The Langtons felt its unusual layout flowed awkwardly. "We could see that people were put off by it when they came in."
They decided to rejig the bedroom spaces, adding bathrooms, en suites and laundry, and an office space.
After living in the house for a year, they commissioned Jones Architects to help them change the flow of the house and add the open plan living area at the back.
They loved the square-front villa's shape but weren't so happy with earlier renovations to the entrance. They got rid of the 70s front, replacing the "dodgy yellow glass screens" with a wooden door more fitting for the villa's classic lines, and added the verandah and fence.
But the Langtons took care to preserve all the aspects of the house that first attracted them. "I wanted to keep the hallway and ceiling original, especially the kauri," says Rachael.
The renovations took about eight months. The couple lived at the front of the house while the extra 40sq m of living space were added, but moved out once work started on the bedrooms and kitchen.
"It got too much. We were living in a building site," smiles Rachael. Entering the villa through the front door, you step into the hallway, with bedrooms opening off each side. There are four bedrooms, although Rachael and Robin opted to use one as an additional living room.
Walls throughout are painted in Karen Walker's discreet milk white.
The Langtons' builders reckoned the hallway is 30cm wider than most others in the area. With its stained wooden floor, this passage defines the house leading along and down the stairs to the new extension.
It's here that the Langtons have stamped their personality on the house. The living room's large glass doors slide into wall cavities, bringing the outdoors in. On a warm, sunny day with the doors slid open, this room, the deck and lawn merge into one, becoming an entertainer's dream. On cooler days, with doors closed against the elements, the gas fireplace instantly provides warmth for a cosy retreat.
Beech slab benches top generous storage space in the kitchen, where winemaker Robyn hosts food and wine gatherings. The floor is low-maintenance polished and sealed concrete.
The couple are selling because they are travelling more with their jobs, and have a bought a smaller place nearby to use as a base."It's a gorgeous house," says Rachael. "I will miss living here."
