This house is a ‘grand old lady’ in Whanganui’s St John’s Hill suburb, bought by a young family who found it didn’t suit how they wished to use the spaces as a family.

A garage was added, with access directly from the street, as well as private outdoor landscaping and living areas, a new kitchen, and alterations to the upstairs bathroom. Each new element was specifically designed in-house to blend with the style of the original grand home, while bringing a fresh and modern approach to the layout.

The design is partly restorative and partly alteration.  As is common, service areas were reworked to provide access to the outdoors. The outdoor areas were modified to suit contemporary living.  Whilst the project was extensive the ‘touch’ was light, there is not a strong delineation between old and new but rather a soft melding of spaces on the other.