NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Property

Joy is 40 years of renovation

By Robyn Welsh
NZ Herald·
1 Feb, 2019 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied

26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied

Former town planner Ray Therkleson has put his stamp on every inch of this property during 40-plus years here. It'sin the lush and colourful front courtyard, in the rear courtyard, with tall trees and a grape-laden kitchen pergola.

Underfoot, it's in the 1600 or so recycled bricks he laid himself, and which add integrity to this 1910 transitional villa.

This is the family home Ray has lovingly renovated. Even now, he can't stop touching it up as he prepares to retire to his sister's place in Nelson.

Back in his mid-1970s varsity days, he paid $19,000 for this property, filling it with flatmates so he could clear his government suspensory loan.

He loved the diversity of pre-gentrification Grey Lynn back then. The evolution of this house reflects the wider changes in the area.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Once mustard-coloured, it has modelled every design trend, inside and out. "It has been bright and it has been dark — it has seen all the fashions," says Ray.

26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied
26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied

In the front of the house, he installed a new bay window in one bedroom and restored the veranda with French doors off the opposite bedroom.

Original features include rimu doors and architraves and the board-and-batten ceilings, some all-white and others with original dark beams. Elsewhere, features hark back to previous eras, too, including the art deco light-fittings and the 1950s pelmet above the sliding door into the lounge.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

FOR MORE PROPERTY NEWS AND LISTINGS GO TO ONEROOF.CO.NZ

Beyond the architectural details, it is clear that Ray never baulked at following through on his visions. "There was always a project on the go."

He worked his way through the patchwork of carpeted and linoleum-clad floors to return the kauri floorboards to pristine condition.

26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied
26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied

He opened out the original kitchen and the dining area into the lounge, installing a wood-burning wetback for hot water and winter heating.

Ray had just finished the kitchen in the farmhouse style that exemplifies his love of timber when something else caught his eye.

It was the way the sun shone through the conservatory dining area on to the wall above the lounge.

He needed to coax the sunlight further inside. So he designed three leadlight windows to do so, each with a hint of the colour mirrored in leadlights elsewhere in the house.

The windows repeat the same detail in the framework that Ray took great care to restore and, where appropriate, replicate.

The matching French doors, which he had built for the front bedroom and from the dining area to the courtyard, continue that design consistency.

26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied
26 Dryden Street, Grey Lynn. Photo / Supplied

There's another significant door that has its own story. It's the sliding door in the rear lounge, which Ray salvaged from Gleeson's Hotel in central Auckland, shortly before it was demolished.

Ray knew it from his father's days as the publican there and he believes the door was between the public bar and ladies' bar.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Beyond this door, and beyond the kitchen and the bathroom/laundry on the opposite side of what was once the back porch, there is still more of Ray's handiwork. He built the 60 sq m one-bedroom, one-bathroom dwelling set among more garden.

As a child, Ray's family moved multiple times and it was hard for him to put down roots. He is sad but accepting about leaving his great pride and joy and looking ahead to a new life in the South Island.

26 DRYDEN ST, GREY LYNN
• 5 bedrooms, 3 bathroom, 2* parking spaces.
• Land 491sq m, house 145sq m.
• Auction: Feb 20.
• Inspect: Sat/Sun 11-11.45am or by appointment.
• Schools: Grey Lynn School, Auckland Girls' Grammar and Western Springs College.
• Contact: Malcolm Low, Ray White, 0274 18 18 18.
*Plus 4 OSP

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Property

Property

$6m mortgagee mansion finally finds a buyer

10 Jul 03:30 AM
Property

Fletcher Construction fatality reported in Vanuatu

10 Jul 01:31 AM
Property

Revealed: The surprising cost of an Auckland home - if prices were affordable

10 Jul 12:38 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Property

$6m mortgagee mansion finally finds a buyer

$6m mortgagee mansion finally finds a buyer

10 Jul 03:30 AM

Painstaking renovation ended in forced sale.

Fletcher Construction fatality reported in Vanuatu

Fletcher Construction fatality reported in Vanuatu

10 Jul 01:31 AM
Revealed: The surprising cost of an Auckland home - if prices were affordable

Revealed: The surprising cost of an Auckland home - if prices were affordable

10 Jul 12:38 AM
Premium
Quattro plans office upgrades to create $650m of assets in Auckland CBD

Quattro plans office upgrades to create $650m of assets in Auckland CBD

09 Jul 10:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP