There is a popular urbanist narrative these days that the traditional weatherboard villa is cold, damp and obsolete. But as this beautifully renovated late-Victorian home in Te Whanganui-a-Tara shows, with a little love, attention and sensitivity, the villa can be the perfect contemporary home without losing any of its heritage charm.
The grand two-storey house in Mount Victoria had been leased out for decades and was in need of urgent repairs, basic maintenance and a major thermal upgrade. The brief, says Ana O’Connell, of Lovell & O’Connell Architects, was to transform it into a “light-filled, warm family home that retained the character of the villa and connected out to a terraced garden”.
With three growing boys, the owners also needed space to accommodate their busy life. To that end, the north side of the home was enlarged to open up the kitchen and living areas, bringing them up to contemporary standards of spaciousness and flow. The kitchen connects to a lively garden by James Walkinshaw, of Xanthe White Design, with areas for play and wildflowers that dance in the Wellington wind.
Previously drafty, with single-glazed windows, the home now features high levels of insulation in the roof, walls and floor, as well as double-glazed sashes. Contemporary yet timeless, the refurbished bathroom spaces all exude their own unique character. The rest of the villa was restored and upgraded in keeping with its historical charm.
Originally designed to keep light out and the different areas of the household separate, the formal Victorian rooms were subtly replanned. The villa’s generous stud height and beautiful timber floors have been carried through into the updated kitchen, which draws on the Victorian detailing of the original. There are nods to traditional moulding and panelling in the modern trims and unpainted wood finishes; cabinetry is a gothic revival dark green. Modern timber sliding doors and windows were carefully matched in scale and style to the villa’s double-hung sash windows. These draw light in and provide a visual connection to the new garden.
The architects were particularly pleased with the folding walnut joinery unit that mediates the boundary between the existing villa and the extension. “We love how it relates to the kauri living room ceiling and helps unify old and new,” says O’Connell.
The delightful and sympathetic reworking earned Lovell & O’Connell Architects a coveted NZIA Wellington Architecture Award. “Considered material selection and creative detailing result in the seamless integration of the new, contemporary bathroom areas and rejuvenation of existing rooms,” said the judges. The overall result is an ideal blend of past and present that will ensure this grand villa retains its sense of history, while catering to the needs of modern family living for many years to come.
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