SCHOOL ZONES:
Newton Central School, Kowhai Intermediate, Western Springs College.
CONTACT:
Andre Bodde, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 662 873.
*2 off-street.
Renovated villas are well used to being the front face for their owners' tastes, whatever their style.
A century ago it was the front two rooms, including the parlour, that were kept "just so" for the visitors.
The utility areas were always well away from public scrutiny, down the back, past the public/private demarcation line that was the curved archway in the hallway.
That kind of perspective has long gone out the window with the addition of modern rear extensions opening up what are often the sunniest aspects for a more relaxed lifestyle.
All of that was clearly evident in the home that Lauren Hare and Ricky Harper bought two years ago.
Lauren, an interior designer, and Ricky, who works in finance, walked into a home that had been completely modernised from the kitchen and bathroom down to the generously indulgent split-level deck that links the house to the back lawn.
At the same time there was scope for Lauren to take this update one step further and she has done so with her own aesthetic in mind -- her penchant for American mid-century and 1970s furniture with its identifiable wood panelling and use of metal, including chrome and brass.
Most of the walls are white, as are the architraves, the archway, the ceiling roses and the moulded adornments around their bedroom bay window that have been among Lauren's favourite villa features from the beginning.
She chose to do away with the natural tone of the original kauri timber floors, giving them a dark, warm-black lacquered paint finish.
The bedrooms are the only rooms that are carpeted and they are rooms that have been given her professional attention in other ways.
Year-old daughter Valentina has a bedroom in a light pink colour, with a trompe l'oeil-style effect of pillars in each corner, created by using a contrasting colour in the corner wall space between two vertical strips of moulding.
Image 1 of 16: Owner plays up the drama of high ceilings while adding her own American mid-century and 1970s furniture
Rather than mitigate the high ceiling with horizontal features, Lauren played up the drama.
"I love the height. It is one of my favourite features. It is an extravagance and you don't often get this sort of height in modern homes."
The pink of the original stippled glass in the front door inspired the wall colour in Valentina's bedroom and went some way towards Lauren's choice of muted pink linen and checked grey upholstered headboard in the guest bedroom across the hallway.
This feminine/masculine vibe is finished with chrome and brass 1970s American wall lights and main light fitting that are part of Lauren's personal collection that she'll take with her.
In the adjacent master bedroom, an American chrome interpretation of the traditional four-poster bed is Lauren's touch, as is the freestanding walk-in European wardrobe in laminated timber that will also be moving with them to their next home.
Behind the walls between these bedrooms there is space, occupied by the original fireplace, that is suitable for an en suite bathroom, plans for which the previous owners had drawn up but which Lauren and Ricky decided not to pursue.
"The house has been so easy to live in as it is," she says.
Beyond the living areas to the outdoors, which is their favourite aspect of this property, they see possibilities for a major extension, quite possibly in the form of a glass pavilion encompassing some of the generous lawn-side deck space.
These ideas have been sidelined in favour of a move to a house they have bought in West Lynn that is still part of this wider area that appeals for its central location.
