SCHOOL ZONES:
Kohimarama Primary, Glendowie College.
CONTACT:
Paul Neshausen, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 345 887.
Nicola and Paul Dodds knew they'd discovered a gem when they saw this place five and a half years ago.
By the time they'd lived through their upstairs/downstairs/inside out renovation, they felt they had given it back its sparkle.
"I felt we'd polished up a precious stone, that we'd kept the charm and essence of the home and that there was nothing more we could do," says Nicola.
Along the way, they paid homage to this 1940s home and its ownership by flamboyant fashion designer Kevin Berkahn, who lived here before he sold it 20 years ago.
The elderly couple who bought it lived a life more formal than Nicola and Paul and their two young sons, and they have judiciously added and edited their way through a complementary redesign of the interiors and the gardens.
"I wanted the house to feel more relaxed than it was," says Nicola, who, with Paul, built their two previous homes.
At the same time they wanted a sense of connection, rather than completely open spaces.
"Modern homes can be too open plan. Kids and adults still need their separate spaces," says Paul.
In its past life, this house had separate living areas and a separate dining room radiating off a separate galley kitchen.
They rectified this by opening the kitchen out on two sides, maintaining the link through original French doors into their formal lounge and installing the breakfast bar to create a dedicated dining area and adjoining family room on the opposite side.
The newly-installed kitchen with light timber cabinetry and a white Corian bench and sink was not to their taste and they chose to integrate it into the picture with additional white cabinetry and American oak timber underfoot.
His flamboyant crystal chandelier - that once hung from an original ceiling rose above the dining table - has a new home in the stairwell, with a modern chandelier as its dinner-time replacement.
The need for more natural light drove the demolition of the upstairs deck and their replacement with separate pergolas.
Elsewhere, similar decisions have included the sale of their dumb waiter to a restaurant owner and the addition of a laundry chute in the cavity that runs from an upstairs bedroom to the garage near the laundry.
Best of all, this home is on flat land, unlike their former home on a steep street in Remuera, which left them feeling isolated.
"This has been great because it is so community-based," says Nicola.
It's also close enough to the beach for Paul to dash home and make bacon sandwiches and pack a quick hamper to take back to his family on the sand.
