Our Place: Quirky character

Rented beach house turned into a beautiful family home

Name: Meagan Goodchild
Occupation: Supply chain administrator
Suburb: Mount Maunganui
How long lived here: Six years

Meagan and Ben Goodchild loved their rental home so much, they decided to buy it when the opportunity rose.

The beach loving couple were quite attached to their iconic Beazley bungalow and its location in sunny Mount Maunganui even when they were renting it for the first three years.

"We basically live at the beach in summer so it was the perfect location for us," Meagan says.

"We rented it for about three years, then when the owners wanted to sell, luckily they gave us the first option to buy."

The couple and daughter Molly loved their quirky little home but it was too small for their growing family.

"The original house was definitely liveable but it wasn't configured in a very user friendly manner. There had previously been minor renovations done by previous owners but there were a lot of dead spaces and awkward living zones. It also only had two bedrooms and one tiny bathroom with no bath which didn't suit our needs as a growing family."

The couple recruited Adam Taylor Architecture for the concept design and plans, and Fenton Building for the renovation. The complete renovation included a new roof, insulation and joinery.

The main priority was to add a third bedroom and en suite. The laundry is now separate and the kitchen and dining/living room areas are in a beautiful open plan layout.

"Adam's design also retained much of the house's original quirky character and relaxed beach house feel by including plywood and white washing the original floorboards which were hidden under the old lino."

Adam says there were some limitations with what they could do.

"We wanted to create a home that was relaxed, robust, a touch quirky and not pretentious. We introduced an unusual amalgamation of textured claddings on the front facade, so from an external point of view, we could demarcate from what is happening internally. We wanted the house and site to be integrated so we recontoured the front area so it was more attached to the lawn."

The family love their new space - they have more room and storage and the house is more open and light.

"It's also warmer in winter and comfortable in summer. My favourite parts are the plywood wall and window seat which were custom built by our builder Hayden Burke including storage underneath. The window seat is a great spot for our morning coffee, but is mostly used by our daughter Molly putting her babies to bed!"