Clean & Green

Only one wall and some flooring survived this heroic renovation in Mt Maunganui which turned a notorious eyesore into an airy home full of thoughtful spaces the whole family can enjoy

- Jean Brooker

Most home buyers have a detailed list of criteria to tick offbefore they choose their next abode. However, Christchurch natives Hayley and Zane George had just one: grass. “I flew to Mount Maunganui for a day in 2014 to buy our family a home, and an agent showed me around 10 properties,” says Hayley. “I visited this particular house for just 15 minutes, but it was the only property that had a full section, so I bought it. Zane and the kids didn’t see it until we arrived with our container of furniture!”

The self-described “earthquake refugees” made the decision to move north after two years of sorting insurance and losing their home – first to Nelson for a couple of years to recover as a family and then on to the Mount.

Their new home was in need of work. A lot of work. “It was the ugliest house you have ever seen!” laughs Hayley. “We didn’t love anything about it. But we wanted the space.”

WHERE TO BEGIN?

The home was one of the earliest baches built at Mount Maunganui in the 1940s. Over the course of a few decades, four additions and extensions were built on, followed by a 1990s makeover that attempted to pull things together. It was a “higgledy-piggledy, rabbit-warren house” with a poorly planned layout and some seriously offensive design features, says Hayley.

“The staircase and landings were in what I fondly refer to as ‘ritual sacrifice red’ – walls, doors, architraves, everything. The overlapping, Harry Potter-like stairs looked just like ladders and the carpets were aqua green.” The living area was dark, the galley kitchen felt closed in, and the house boasted every window shape imaginable. To top it all off, the main bathroom opened straight into the lounge. “A little awkward when entertaining!” laughs Hayley.