Nine stunning white villas with that classic appeal we’re all looking for

It’s hard to believe looking at it now, but Jono Taylor and Sophie Henderson’s beautiful Grafton villa in Auckland was nowhere near the polished property it is today when they first viewed it.

In its former life, the four-bedroom house served as a long-term rental – mainly to students – so the couple found it unloved and rundown when they first viewed it. Despite that, they saw many things that ticked the boxes.

If a gang of talented Dunedin tradies needed an incentive to finish a renovation project smartly, Courtney Henderson provided it. Well, Courtney and her newborn son, Otis.

Courtney and her husband, Mark Todd, laugh about it now. But back then, there was a little bit of pressure, thanks to a little guy. “Halfway through my pregnancy with Otis, we decided we wanted a bigger home, so we started looking around. But the options weren’t in our favour,” says Courtney. “So, we decided to make our home bigger and renovate.”

It’s said that a change is as good as a holiday, which certainly rings true for Connecticut-born Kady Buchanan. When she and her family left their home in Hong Kong for a property in Aotearoa, her approach to interiors celebrated a new beginning.

Life in Hong Kong was a string of apartments, so the 1920s arts and crafts home Kady, her husband and their two children moved into in St Mary’s Bay, Auckland, allowed her more space and flexibility to decorate.

As the saying goes, there’s only one way to eat an elephant. Faced with restoring the faded glory of their New Plymouth villa, Paul Thompson and Natasha Bell took a ‘one bite at a time’ approach, slowly chipping away at what seemed an insurmountable project.

In five years – a surprisingly short time for a real-world DIY endeavour – their persistent efforts have raised this grande dame from her deathbed to be queen of the street.

When Lena and Haydn Lloyd stumbled upon their dream home – a rare characterful bungalow in Mount Maunganui on a full-site property – they couldn’t imagine a better place to raise their family.

They’d grown up in the area, with Haydn from Pāpāmoa and Lena from Tauranga. Surrounded by family and just a stone’s throw from the beach, the Lloyds couldn’t have found a more idyllic spot so close to shopping centres, cafes, a primary school and the beach.

Renovating an older home can feel overwhelming, but for Lena and Haydn, the process was effortless thanks to a seamless collaboration. “We had a trusted team,” they say. “An old friend from Bold Build and Jason from Cannon Architects made everything smooth and enjoyable.”

The McDonald family’s house dream started with a simple walk around the neighbourhood – and the courage to be a little bit cheeky. Professional renovators Rebecca (Becs) and Blair McDonald spied a run-down, old villa on a tree-lined street near their home in Palmerston North, and an idea was born.

With several home renovations under their belt, it was easy for the couple to see what the villa could become. Becs imagined how it would look with fresh white weatherboards and envisaged games of cricket in the backyard. “The house was just waiting for someone to come and unleash all that potential,” she says.

Within salt spray distance of the ocean, on a street full of adorable period homes, this dollhouse-style double-storey villa was an easy sell, and Rupert and Sarah – who both work in real estate and know a special property when they see it – viewed and offered on it immediately. “We brought our friend, who’s a builder, and we looked at it once at 8 pm, then bought it that night,” says Sarah.

So far, so straightforward. But things got complicated after the renovation process started.

It’s been two years since Helen and Greg Lay sold their family home in Hauraki on Auckland’s North Shore, and the journey to their new home has been a truly family affair.

In 2021, the couple looked to downsize to a lock-up-and-leave property in the same area, which would free them up to spend more time in their second home at Mangawhai while keeping them close to their family.

This couple bought the villa as newlyweds back in 2016, instantly falling in love with its historic charm. “I don’t have much of a poker face; I’m quite expressive, so I walked in the door and immediately jumped up and down, all excited. Which was really embarrassing,” says Lucy.

Having grown up in Dunedin, living in and surrounded by villas, Lucy adores a character home. This one had character in spades. The previous owners had loved the house for 13 years, doing all the grunt work (repiling, rewiring and the like) to leave it in wonderful shape for its next custodians.

Lucy and Elliot might have been very happy living in the home as it was if not for two life-altering events: the arrival of their first child, Penelope, and the 2020 Covid lockdown.