Sunny Side Up

Pac Studio deploys light and fun through materials for a bungalow extension.

- Julie Hill

Some regard puns – especially egg puns – as the lowest form of wit. But the yolk’s on them, because this bungalow extension in Auckland’s Mount Albert, known as ‘Yolk’ house, features a bright yellow floor – a calculated whisk that shows off the occupants’ free-range thinking (and that’s all the egg gags omelettin’ you have).

According to Pac Studio’s Sarosh Mulla, the sunny hue of the flooring matches the disposition of the owners, who work in media. “Whenever we design, we always try and fold in some aspect of the client’s personality, and they are just super happy upbeat people,” says Mulla. Pac Studio had formerly been located in a white studio that had a yellow floor, “so we knew it had this effect of making the space feel sunny all the time. Even in winter, it still feels really good in there and in the summer, it just glows.”

From the front, the house is a classic 1940s bungalow on a quiet suburban street, but head out back and you’re in a different time-space continuum altogether. Facing a luscious garden of native plants that attract tui and piwakawaka, a generously proportioned, aluminium-clad verandah, seemingly plucked from the set of The Jetsons, sparkles in the sun, while inside, the golden floor radiates.

The owners have lived in the house for about six years. They have two daughters, one at intermediate school and one who has just started high school: in other words, at an age where they are beginning to appreciate their own space. Pac’s brief was to reshape the back end of the house to create a combined kitchen, dining and living space, plus bigger bedrooms for the girls and a bathroom.