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Meet and greet: Liam Messam (athlete development coach), Monique Corbett (clinical psychologist), and his sons Jai, 15, and Bodie, nine.
The property: Three-bedroom character bungalow in Hamilton.
What do you do when you love your home and its neighbourhood, but it’s not big enough for you, your partner and your two growing sons – let alone the friends and whānau that you plan to host for your fast-approaching wedding?
For former All Black blindside flanker Liam Messam and his then-fiancee Monique Corbett, the solution has been a two-stage renovation and extension of the three-bedroom Hamilton East character bungalow they share with his sons, 15-year-old Jai and nine-year-old Bodie.
“The renovation came about from having to have whānau sleep on the couch whenever they came to stay,” says Liam, who now works as an athlete development coach for the Chiefs. “We had outgrown the house, but we didn’t want to move because it’s in such a good location, close to the boys’ school, a good shopping centre and Hamilton Gardens.”
The Chiefs’ home ground, FMG Stadium, is only a short drive away, as is Waikato Hospital, where Monique works as a clinical psychologist.
The couple decided to renovate and extend the existing 132sqm house, adding a new garage at the front of the 850sqm section and repurposing the old garage at the rear of the property as a two-bedroom guest suite.
“We’ve both got big families and we like to host people, but it’s hard when you’ve got a three-bedroom home and everyone has to sleep marae-style,” says Liam. “It’ll be nice to have an extra space ready for when our families come and stay.”
The couple split the ambitious project into two parts – aiming to complete the sleepout, extension and kitchen before the hard deadline of their autumn wedding, then tackle the bathroom, laundry, living areas and new deck later.
“The ceremony was at Hamilton Gardens, but the next-day shenanigans were at home,” says Liam. “We invited everyone around for a couple of brewskies and a feed, and the goal was to have it not look like a building site. We wanted it to feel like a home.”
As well as a new garage, the extension will house a scullery adjoining the existing kitchen, and a new main bedroom with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe. “I say the walk-in wardrobe is for Monique, but actually I have more clothes than her,” Liam says.
In part two of the project, the dated bathroom will be modernised, a separate laundry room created, and large double-glazed sliding doors installed to open the lounge and dining room up to the north-facing deck, garden and salt-water pool.
“I love the pool, especially in Hamilton, where it gets bloody hot and humid,” says Liam. “We’re also putting in an outdoor shower and sauna to make a bit of a wellness spot, and maybe even an ice bath if the deck is strong enough to hold it up. I’m really big on recovery – looking after my health has been a big part of my career during 20-plus years in first-class rugby.”
The exterior of the house will be painted Resene Alabaster with a black roof and spouting.
“We had a Resene colour consultant recommend colours,” says Liam, “then we got testpots, came home and had a little paint on the house. We like the clean, all-white look.”
The crisp, fresh colour scheme will continue inside, where the walls will all be Resene Alabaster and a modern white and black kitchen will host a suite of new Haier appliances.
“We’re getting a nice big double fridge, which will help with three hungry boys in the house,” says Liam. “We’re also getting an induction cooktop and a new oven because the thermometer in our old oven didn’t work, and it took a while to heat up. And we’re finally getting a dishwasher. I’ve always done the dishes old-school, like my mum taught me.”
A Panasonic heating and cooling system will be installed throughout the house, and Liam is looking forward to the new Haier washing machine and heat pump dryer in the laundry. “Our lounge has always been like a laundromat, trying to dry everything out.”
Although Liam and Monique were fond of the 1930s bungalow’s character features, they had to make some hard calls when it came to modernising the home, including replacing the original rimu joinery and bay window in the dining room with new white PVC doors.
“I have always liked old-school character homes, so it was a tough one to decide to rip the beautiful windows out,” says Liam. “But old homes come with draughts and road noise, so we thought we’d give it a modern touch and do it properly.
“Luckily, my mate who’s building it is a master at making things look heritage when they’re actually brand new.”
Part-way through the first stage, Liam says it has been a little stressful organising and budgeting for a renovation and a wedding at the same time. “We may or may not have had to skip a course on the wedding dinner because of the renovations,” he says.
“We’ve faced a few challenges along the way, like an eight-week delay when we found out we needed to move an underground pipe in order to get council consent.”
While he would have liked to help things along by picking up a hammer himself, he’s the first to admit that building is not one of his many talents.
“I’ve tried to give my friend a hand, but I’m not cut out for it,” he says. “I’ll leave it up to the professionals. Our builders and tradies have been unreal. It’s exciting to see it come together.”
Stay tuned for part two when we reveal the completed renovation.
Liam Messam and Monique Corbett’s wish list
Resene Alabaster
$5.70 (testpot), from Resene
The couple, who favour a clean, all-white look, used a Resene colour consultant to help with their choice of whites. They went with Resene Alabaster both inside and out.
600 Series Laundry Centre
$4,599, from Haier
In the new laundry, the family-friendly Haier Laundry Centre with a 12kg washer and 9kg heat pump dryer in one unit is a welcome addition.
623L 600 Series Quad Door Refrigerator Freezer
$3,899 from Haier
The Haier 623L 600 Series Quad Door Refrigerator Freezer meets the needs of three hungry Messam males.
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