Let the sunshine in

Planning for a renovation of the older home on this St Albans site took a dramatic turn when Daryl from DJ Hewitt Builders suggested a radical rethink, resulting in a stunning new home designed for family and positioned for sunshine.

WORDS Anna Scaife PHOTOGRAPHY Sarah Rowlands 

It was 2013, and the post-earthquake housing market in Christchurch was humming. With a move from Auckland to Christchurch imminent, the homeowners were struggling with purchasing a new home from afar.

The couple say, “We were getting a bit disheartened. We were flying down from Auckland for open homes, and that wasn’t working out. Then I went to this party and I was chatting to a guy there who told me his landlord was selling a house as a private sale. I came down and looked at it, and we ended up buying the house.”

The couple were mostly taken with the full-sized section. The house was a two-story character home in need of renovation and some earthquake repairs. The couple began to make plans for a major renovation.

NATURAL TONES Lyall Park Joinery used a combination of timber melamine and paint lacquer to complete the natural aesthetic of the kitchen joinery.

“We spent about a year (and a lot of money) planning the renovation. We had consent, landscaping plans and everything. We were ready to go,” say the homeowners.

DJ Hewitt Builders had recently completed a kitchen renovation for Fiona’s parents, so they contacted Daryl to tender for the renovation project.

“Daryl was the first builder that really properly looked at the house. He got the laser levels out and he went under the floor and had a look,” say the homeowners.

ELEGANT APPEAL The elegant tiling in the kitchen and bathrooms was expertly finished by J E Tiling and supplied by Brymac Tiles.

As is often the case with older homes, the house was not well positioned for sun or for the best usage of the land. To try and solve these issues, the couple says the plans for the renovation had become overwrought.

”Daryl came to us and said, ‘Do you really love this house?’” He told us for the same money we could build a new house. I thought, ‘Yes!’ This is what we’d been waiting for someone to tell us all along, say the homeowners.

The couple engaged Darren from O’Neil Architecture to complete the design and discovered he had an existing connection to the property. “Darren had actually lived in the house when his kids were young. So he knew the site well.”

“We were so sick of living in a south-facing villa where the kitchen was like a dark hovel. I was very frustrated in that environment. The other big thing for us was that we’d love to garden, and we wanted to feel we were part of it even when we’re inside,” say the homeowners.

The couple also needed a second bathroom and hoped to include a study. The resulting floorplan comprises three bedrooms plus a fourth bedroom/study, ensuite and downstairs powder room plus a separate laundry.

The couple’s longing for natural light and sunshine has been well and truly accommodated. “We told Darren we wanted to need sunglasses inside,” say the homeowners.

The positioning of the house on the section and the use of open spaces and expanses of windows means when standing in the kitchen, it’s possible to see out both sides into the gardens. As the day progresses, the sun streams into the living spaces. So much so that a much-needed louvre has been installed over the outdoor living area creating a sheltered seating area near the newly completed swimming pool.

Christmas 2021 will mark 12 months of living in the new home for the couple and their two children. “We did that horrible thing to the builders and put the pressure on to be in by Christmas. It was a tough year with Covid-19, but the DJ Hewitt team were so well organised. They had things planned out well in advance. The guys on site were great. They were always very welcoming and respectful,” say the homeowners.

Daryl Hewitt’s team is known for exceptional planning, organisation and the way they look after their clients, making communication a priority on every job. This approach flows through to the trusted subcontractors who consistently work on DJ Hewitt projects.

sun streams into the living spaces

“We worked with the homeowners for quite some time from our initial conversation about making alterations to the original property on the site to the decision to build a new home. It’s a special house that fits with the neighbourhood,” says Daryl.

The home features a sympathetic gabled roof on a street where there are many similarly gabled character properties. Daryl especially likes the large feature window in the master bedroom upstairs that overlooks the pool and front garden.

CLEAN LINES The interior walls, have a seamless smooth finish thanks to Shaun Hendry Plastering.

When asked about their favourite spaces in the house, the couple say the kitchen with its large island really is the hub where people gather and linger. Perhaps surprisingly, both Fiona and Jonny have a fondness for the laundry. With plenty of cupboards and a built-in drying cupboard, they say the well-designed utility space has made a huge difference to their everyday living.

“We also love the joinery around the fireplace in the lounge. That was a bit of an upgrade from the original plan, but it’s worked so well. There’s also the curved wall in the entrance that draws people in. That was a design feature that Darren included, and it gives the home an element of surprise,” say the homeowners.

SLEEK EXTERIOR The sleek exterior Rockcote Resene plaster in Quarter Truffle was meticulously finished by Greg Proudfoot Plastering.

Now completely settled in, the couple has declared the project a roaring success, “The kids spend a lot more time outside – even without us. We put up their trampoline and the monkey bars out the back – and of course, there’s the pool now – so they are off the screens. They are just loving it.”

And the couple have their sunshine, saying, “It’s lovely. The sunlight really follows you through the house.”

INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT

BUILDER
DJ Hewitt Builders Ltd
03 384 7470
djhewitt.co.nz

ARCHITECT
O’Neil Architecture
03 355 6065
oneil.co.nz

ENGINEER
Powell Fenwick Consultants
03 366 1777
pfc.co.nz

PLUMBING
Geoff Curle Plumbing Ltd
027 433 3682

TILES
Brymac Tiles Ltd
03 366 8187
brymactiles.co.nz

BATHROOM FITTINGS
Oakleys Plumbing Supplies
03 379 4750
oakleysplumbing.co.nz

FLOORING
Nextdore
03 366 9400
nextdore.co.nz

INTERIOR PLASTERING
Shaun Hendry Plastering
027 911 7794
shp.nz

TILING
J E Tiling
027 228 0867
jetting.nz

KITCHEN JOINERY
Lyall Park Joinery
03 313 9985
lyallpark.co.nz

ROCKCOTE RESENE EXTERIOR PLASTER
Greg Proudfoot Plastering
021 611 663
proudfootplastering.co.nz