Trusting the professionals: Know how can do

36 Burnley Terrace, Mt Eden.

Sometimes it pays to trust the professionals and do things on faith, even if you're not sure whether they're right.

there were several points during the renovation of the home of karen smith and her husband jeremy at which they felt compelled to ask their advisers, "are you sure?"

this question came up when their architect, philip jones, said they should take out a bedroom, make a living area completely separate from the rest of the house, and take out period features from their villa such as archways in the hall and stained glass in a door.

"i kept asking him, 'are you sure, are you sure?'" recalls karen, "but in every case he was absolutely right. "

then some interior specialists came through and suggested she paint daughter sophie's room mauve, and young claire's room green, with green curtains. Karen balked at this too, but nervously gave her consent. The results are gorgeous.

"i would never in a million years have thought to do what they did, but it was worth spending the money for their expertise. "

karen and jeremy came across the large, 1910 villa four and a half years ago when they were looking for a four bedroom house in a good school zone. Karen wanted a pretty house in a pretty street, with a section and secure fencing. Number 36 burnley terrace was all of that; it was also suffering from a 70s makeover.

"there were pastel coloured walls in blue, salmon and lavender; we had purple carpet and black curtains in the room upstairs, yellow vinyl squabs on 70s window seats, and the wall between the kitchen and the stairway up to the top bedroom had odd shaped holes cut in it that you could lean out of and talk to people down below. "

but she was charmed by the home's entry from the street, and its long, wide hallway.

"we could tell it had lots of its original character - you just had to look hard to see it. And we learned it had been lived in for 90 years at one stage by three generations of one family. It felt really loved. "

the house had already been rewired, replumbed and repiled, so the couple was not faced with that expense. They lived in it as it was for a year and a half to see how the sun and wind moved around it, then renovated in three stages over two years.

the biggest step was taking out the fifth bedroom in the hallway to turn the space into a dressing room and en suite for the master bedroom at the front of the house.

"but philip argued that the master suite should take up a third of a house. If you're paying the mortgage you should have your own retreat, and treat, in your own space. "

also in accordance with their architect's recommendations, the formal lounge was separated from the kitchen and given its own entry off the hall. The kitchen had a makeover and now flows better to the family dining and living, and out to a large elevated deck that catches the westerly sun.

karen and jeremy are moving further into mt eden to get into zone for epsom girls grammar, and karen also admits she feels like a new renovating project. One thing she'll miss the most, which she originally planned to get rid of but is now glad she didn't have the heart to touch, is a big feijoa tree in the back yard.

"children make a beeline for it, they climb in it, swing off it, it's the stuff of childhood. "


vital statistics

bedrooms: 4

bathrooms: 2

garage: 1

+ size: land 564sq m, house 205sq m.

price indication: interest expected above $800,000. Auction march 8.

inspect: sunday 12. 45-1. 30pm.

contact: charlotte marshall or james marshall, bayleys, ph 027 480 8525 (charlotte), 021 404 788 (james).

features: fully renovated villa in heritage street. Separate study and laundry downstairs. Gas fire in lounge. Copious storage in and under house. In zone for mt eden normal primary and balmoral primary schools.