Restoring glory

Richard Brasell from brasell + ojala at home with his pet sphinx cats in Ponsonby. Photo / Babiche Martens

Most people have a love/hate relationship with villas. They love the charm of the period architecture; they hate having to spend pots of money to bring these anachronistic dwellings up to today's standard of living.

Interior designers Richard Brasell and Darryl Ojala are not tired of renovating villas - but they should be. Their latest conquest is a gracious lady that sits elegantly on a corner site in Grey Lynn. This is their third villa do-up in less than a decade and it's testament to the stamina of their vision - and their relationship. "It takes Darryl and me a long time to decide on certain aspects of the design - we fight and argue - but it's better to try things out on our own home than on the houses of our clients," laughs Richard.

This time round the couple has opted for the soft, femme look: "Everything is based on the traditional but with a clean edge."

They were drawn to the property by its location and its L-shaped garden with resident pohutukawa that would allow the house to be opened up on three sides.

"Basically, the bones were good but it was in a shocking state. Someone had installed aluminium windows, the kitchen was a little box in a lean-to and it looked like they had given up halfway through re-decorating. The walls were back to the scrim."

While this may have proved daunting to DIY first-timers, Richard and Darryl considered it a bonus. "It meant all the rubbish was out and we could just get stuck in."

Two-and-a-half years later, the house is transformed. Externally, pristine weatherboards are offset by a manicured green-and-white garden that follows the line of the return verandah. French doors lead out from almost every room.

At the entrance, white roses and hydrangeas are a fresh take on the cottage garden while a hedge provides privacy from the busy thoroughfare out front.

On the day the duo moved in, they spent hours with a post-hole borer planting 30 Mexican alder trees to shield the property from the office block across the road. "Darryl wanted to give up and do the rest another day but I said 'Look, our bodies will have seized up by tomorrow, we better just finish' and I was right!"

Texture and tone is expertly mixed underfoot with flamed granite paving stones edged in basalt. The granite was originally imported for sale through the pair's stone boutique, Artedomus, but its pinky orange hue didn't appeal to the greater New Zealand public. "They want white or beige or grey," says Richard. "So we used the shipment here instead. It looks fabulous edged with the basalt; in summer it never gets glarey and on a dull winter's day it lightens up the courtyard."

Topiary hedges and shrubs lend a formal element. "Gardening is how we relax. Trimming the trees is therapeutic. We were mainly inspired by Tim Bell who is like a sculptor in topiary and has an incredible place at Karaka."

Raised planter boxes provide yet more sharp-edged structure but also an array of edible delights. "We've eaten out of the garden all winter and now my broad beans are just coming in."

Both Richard and Darryl love to cook so getting the kitchen design right was imperative. They needed a space they could work in simultaneously. Unlike most villas, where an acre of gleaming bench runs the length of the room, they took a different tack.

"One long bench would have cut us off from the guests rather like an 'us' and 'them' scenario," argues Richard. Two benches parallel to the dining area mean there's no separation. Anyone can readily walk through the kitchen to help themselves to a drink from the fridge.

The room features old-world glass-front cupboards and shiplap joinery juxtaposed with silky sleek benchtops in white stone from the Middle East that the pair's two sphinx cats, Humphrey and Axl, love to jump on.

"The stone's as tough as old boots. I've thrown hot pans on to it, red wine, lemon juice - it's been a good test."

Dark-stained kauri floors provide a contrast to all this lightness of being. "There's still a bit of gold running through them; they're not completely chocolatey."

This modern black/white framework means the pair's art collection delivers eye-enticing shots of colour. "I love the sense of space in villas - and the hallways are perfect for hanging artwork." The most visually dynamic is a work by Otis Frizzell, a self-portrait of the artist as a demon. Alongside, Otis' dad Dick was commissioned to do a companion piece. "Our clients first inspired us to buy art. We try to pay off one work a year." Richard's current favourite is a Shane Cotton painting entitled Red Shift. Based on a Maori legend, it features blue and red birds and changes with the light. "It is so beautifully rendered - as the light gets darker, the red birds become more prominent."

Gathering an eclectic array of special objects around them is one way Richard and Darryl stamp their mark on a home. "And we love to move things around." Above the fireplace in the winter salon, with its dramatic mammoth paisley-print wallpaper and Murano glass chandelier, hangs a Venetian-style mirror that Richard designed and had made. The Zettle Z lamp with its cascade of paper messages brings some fun and function to the dining room. In the living area, there's a lamp by Princess Margaret's son Viscount Linley and a B&B chaise that looks quite at home beneath the window but may be moved to the salon on a whim. "That chaise was planned for a bedroom that never got built two houses ago," admits Richard. "If there's one thing we've learnt along the way, it's always to keep an open mind but to stick to an overall plan."

Happily, he believes we are finally emerging from a time when what was fashionable in interiors is all anyone would do. "There are still lots of followers and DIYers doing generic looks but there is some good design going on. I think the answer is to do what you love - to do whatever cranks your handle."

RENOVATION RULES TO LIVE BY

Take some advice from serial renovators Richard Brasell and Darryl Ojala ...

•Every renovation begins with a dream and 9.9 times out of 10 you'll go over budget. Learn to accept that idea.

•Don't make cut-backs that you're going to regret in two years' time. Get the base right and push for quality. You can always change a tap but flooring or benchtops or cabinetry is a lot harder, so go for the best you possibly can.

•Only the mega-rich get everything finished at once. You always have to rationalise but stick to the overall plan.

•Invest in good storage and display space. If you want to run an efficient, tidy house, you need a space for everything otherwise you'll end up with piles of stuff in boxes at the back of a cupboard.

•Small tweaks that aren't completed up front when the major renovation is happening seldom end up getting done. That's because homeowners just learn to live with things. (We've been planning to do some detailing on the architraves for two years now.)

•Try to do as much as possible at the outset - before your partner cuts off the budget!