Keeping up with the Joneses
There’s an adage that’s well known to many astute house hunters: buy the worst house on the best street. And it’s a piece of advice that Geoff and Miriam Whelan took to heart when looking to buy a home in Auckland’s well-todo Eastern Suburbs.
As a property developer and the owner of the building company Whelan Residential, Geoff has a good eye for the right property. He also has the skills and labour required to transform a tired home into something quite special.
In 2002 Geoff and Miriam found what they were looking for – a late ’80s, run-down three-storey home on Paritai Drive, one of New Zealand’s most prestigious harbour front streets.
Their goal was to bring it up to the standard of neighbouring houses by extending and reworking the interior spaces, and replacing the old plaster cladding with Linea™ Weatherboards. The home now features a new office and multi-media room on the lower level.
The main living level now consists of a much expanded lounge, dining and kitchen area that opens out onto a huge deck with a louvred roof. Upstairs, the bedrooms enjoy sea views. New fittings and fixtures in the bathrooms complement the contemporary décor, while a double garage with internal access replaces the old carport.
Ever practical, Miriam says the internal access from the garage is one of her favourite aspects of the renovation. ‘It’s so handy when you’re getting dogs, babies and shopping out of the car,’ she says. ‘We also love the extra space and the fact that our 20-year-old house looks so modern now.’
On the advice of their designer, Glen Cornwell from Avery Team Architecture, Geoff and Miriam chose to re-clad the exterior of their home in Linea Weatherboards. Painted black, they contrast strikingly with the stainless steel down pipes and corners, and complement the modern, angular lines of the updated house.
‘Everyone loves the look,’ says Miriam. And the black weatherboards and stainless accents always get a great response.’ But even when your husband’s building company is carrying out the renovations, Miriam admits it’s not all plain sailing.
‘The main obstacle we encountered was that Council consent was required to re-clad the house, and we discovered there were some special conditions we weren’t aware of beforehand,’ she says. ‘That added a lot of time and costs to the project. ‘Having Geoff’s company do the building work meant that it was easier to be involved in the process, and I felt more comfortable querying the work and why certain things were happening.
However, the saying about a builder’s house never getting built is quite true. I often had staff disappear from our job when deadlines on other jobs loomed, so it was difficult to be too demanding with timeframes.’
While she didn’t get too involved in the renovation – preferring to leave much of it up to the expert: Geoff – Miriam certainly gave her opinion when there were questions on design, colours, materials and costing issues. If they ever undertook a similar project, Miriam admits there is one thing they would do differently – move out. ‘It’s not a lot of fun having tradespeople coming in and out of your home day after day.
For major renovations, especially if you’re home all day, I would seriously consider moving out,’ she advises.
PRODUCTS USED
Linea Weatherboard by James Hardie
