KEY POINTS:
52 Tainui Road, Cheltenham.
Clayton O'Connor can't resist a damsel in distress, and when he spied this old Cheltenham villa in 2004 he decided he was the man to restore it to its former glory and relieve it of some unsympathetic additions acquired in the 1970s. "It
was disastrous," he says.
A joiner, cabinet maker and builder by trade, he could see beyond the so-called improvements and realised it would benefit from "being put back together again, properly."
He's been renovating the property for the last three years and says that it's more than half finished. Most of the grunt work has been done. Landscaping work and the excavation of the basement level are complete. The back deck that shaded the basement was removed. An ill-advised box-like room on the roof still needs to be dismantled.
The house was re-piled in order to remedy what Clayton describes as "an incredible lean". Insult was added to injury when he discovered joinery had been installed to suit the flawed lines of the tilting house.
But this home is on the market before the work is finished.
Enthusiastic new owners - keen to stamp their mark on the property and complete the renovation - are required. Clayton is disappointed he won't be the one to realise the villa's ultimate potential but he has to face the fact that he's been spreading his energies too thinly.
With two other renovation projects on the go, four children (including a baby) and one wife, something had to give.
"I can't do everything," he says. "Most of the structural work has been done. It's not that far from being finished."
The street facade of the house and the front rooms are complete but the further you venture up the nine-metre long hallway, the more obvious it becomes that this 100-year-old villa is a work in progress. The large back room that is destined to become kitchen, bathroom and family living space is virtually a shell. New owners have the opportunity to install the finishing touches.
Completed architectural plans, with full resource consents and permits, contain all the details required to do the work, although new owners can have input into the design if they desire. Instead of a single, large open-plan room fitted with bi-fold windows as the plans dictate, Clayton says some people may prefer to re-install the verandah and add French doors.
According to the drawings, an internal staircase will lead down to the lower level which will contain two bedrooms (taking the total bedroom count to six), a laundry and a second bathroom. But new owners have the option of choosing to create a self-contained flat or even a dedicated work-from-home space if they like.
Clayton says the basement level is ready for the concrete to be poured.
Character elements such as kauri floors, stained glass windows and exterior fretwork have been retained or restored wherever possible. The master bedroom has a classic bay window; the bedroom opposite has French doors opening onto the front verandah. The room leading off the open plan living area has a pressed tin ceiling, and could be used as a separate formal sitting room, media room or formal dining room.
Located in a road lined with other restored character houses, this villa is just a two-minute stroll to pretty Cheltenham beach. Clayton says that thanks to this proximity, and the cluster of thriving neighbourhood shops nearby, living here is never boring.
* The next North Shore page in Midweek Heraldhomes appears on September 12.