An ’80s house gets a contemporary update that makes the most of its compact footprint
Meet & greet
Erin (lawyer) and Ryan Drew (marketing team leader).
The property
A small 1980s home, converted from two bedrooms to three, and modernised.
Small in size but big on charm, Erin and Ryan Drew’s Auckland home not only reflects their work creating it, but also honours their grandparents’ input. “Our whole house story ended up bring very grandparent-focused,” Ryan says.
The couple had been living in a Kingsland apartment for two years while looking for a starter home, with no luck. But their path took a turn in November 2020 when Ryan’s grandparents Barbara and Terry decided to sell the 1980s Mt Roskill property they’d been renting out for 30 years. “One night,” Ryan recalls, “we got a phone call from them saying, ‘We have a house and we’re putting it on the market. Are you interested in buying it?’ We said, ‘Can we see it first?’”
View it they did, and it fitted their brief for a two-bedroom do-up with potential for a third room, so they bought it.
The work begins
The couple were given the keys to the house on Christmas Day before settling in January 2021. “We came with Barbara and Terry to see the house at Christmas to figure out what work the main bedroom needed before we moved in,” Erin says.
The dated interior, with yellow-painted wallpaper and dark curtains and carpet, needed a fresh aesthetic. “We especially wanted our bedroom to be pleasant, as we were about to live in a renovation site in the rest of the house,” Erin says. “So we spent the week of the Christmas break stripping wallpaper and painting the main bedroom and office.” This meant that when they moved in, the bedroom was ready.
The next major job was the kitchen, followed by the bathroom. Now they’re in the process of turning what was the laundry into a third bedroom and finishing the backyard.
Simple and efficient
The front door to the home opens into a small foyer that forms part of the living room, which includes a dining and lounge area. Out of sight is the semi-detached kitchen, while down the hallway in the opposite direction are the main bedroom, a combined bathroom and laundry, and a space that the couple are turning into a bedroom.
Another bedroom is used as an office and music room – Erin, a lawyer, and Ryan, a marketing team leader, are both also musicians. The house may be compact but the flow is efficient, with decks out front and back adding to the footprint.
Kitset kitchen
The kitchen was originally galley-style, a thoroughfare leading to a separate laundry. There was a lot of dead space, Ryan says, so the couple installed a wall to block off the laundry, which also created bench space and storage in the kitchen.
“As soon as we saw the galley kitchen, we thought to close it off,” Erin adds. “It was screaming out for that wall to be built, because it didn’t have a lot of storage – it just had these skinny cabinets down the sides – so we thought it made sense to close in the back of the kitchen.”
Ryan and Erin ordered a Kaboodle Kitchen kitset, navigating the layout online before a consultant visited the home to measure the space. “We got everything and installed it all,” Ryan says. “It was a total mission but worth it.” He and his father Warrick installed the kitchen cabinets over a weekend. During the month-long renovation, the couple cooked from an electric frying pan in the lounge and washed up in the laundry sink.
Timeless with pops of colour
Aware of the small footprint but wanting personality, the couple selected a base of white walls in Resene Alabaster because it toned in nicely with the wood elements, and brought in colour through furnishings.
“With the house styling, we wanted to go relatively safe on the bare bones,” Ryan says, “but with art and furnishings, like our couch, providing colour. We were conscious of wanting it to be timeless.
“As it’s not a massive home, we wanted to make it look as big as possible, hence the white walls. Installing a tongue-and-groove feature wall added interest without putting a dark colour in. We thought colour might close in the space.”
With this pale aesthetic in mind, the couple replaced a full-length ’80s brown-tinted glass window in the small foyer with colourless glass and added a coat hook rack.
A bold, bright artwork – a wedding present by a Hamilton artist friend – greets those who enter the living area, where the weave of new oatmeal-toned curtains lets the sun filter in. Above the piano, which both Ryan and Erin play, is a sign spelling ‘Erin and Ryan’ from the couple’s wedding, which offers a soft glow when lit.
The teal couch is originally from Nood but the couple got it after viewing an open home. “The real estate agent had done the staging herself and told us we could buy the couch for $100 if we bought the house,” Erin says. “We missed out on the house, but the agent still sold us the couch.”
They replaced the lounge carpet and kitchen vinyl with floorboards. As the house purchase coincided with a move by Erin’s grandmother, Pat, into a retirement village, the couple were given items she no longer needed, including a rug they now use in the living room.
“I have loved that rug for a long time,” Erin says. “It used to lie under her dining table for 30 years and hadn’t faded.”
The ’80s build included villa-style ceiling roses that were not in keeping with the era of the house. The couple removed those but kept an ornate cornice in the living area, painting it white to freshen it up.
Dark and dramatic
While the home is pale with elements of colour, the kitchen makes an unexpected contrast with its striking black decor paired with warm timber elements. After viewing several open homes with white kitchens, the couple felt drawn towards a dramatic space.
“We both loved black kitchens that we’d seen on Pinterest. I was apprehensive it would look closed in but it was either that or white, and we wanted something exciting,” Erin says.
Among the hardest things to source were black appliances. “There were loads of double-door fridge styles but they wouldn’t work here, and finding a black slimline dishwasher was a mission.”
A multi-use space
What was previously a separate toilet and bathroom is now a spacious bathroom with bath, shower and toilet, plus a laundry nook that was configured so it feels like its own area.
With the help of a friend, they installed the tongue-and-groove feature wall – which was more budget-friendly than a tiled wall – and painted it a dusky green, along with the laundry cabinet. “The inspiration for the colour came from an Airbnb we stayed in that had a green feature wall behind the bed,” Erin says. “We’ve future-proofed the laundry by installing a plug in the top corner in case we want a wall-mounted dryer.”
A tropical oasis
The outdoor garden already looks established, thanks to mature plants courtesy of Erin’s grandmother. “She had a sprawling tropical-style garden and she gave us some of her plants when she moved out of her home, and helped us plant the garden.”
With the help of friends, Ryan built the decks, streamlining them to maximise the limited space, and landscaped with pebbles and pavers out to a table with benches and an umbrella. The back garden is only a few steps from the kitchen and is where the couple like to entertain with friends. Future plans include a pizza oven and barbecue area, and a firepit with an outdoor couch.
The work continues
The third bedroom is a work in progress, which Erin and Ryan aim to finish soon, and the hallway and bedroom carpet are due to be upgraded. As the renovations continue, Ryan’s grandparents are regularly updated. “They live out of Auckland, so when they are in town they come to see the changes,” Erin says. “We FaceTime them to show them the renovation process and keep them in the loop.”
The home’s character is a testament to the couple’s vision. Knowing how easily a renovation budget can expand, Ryan suggests to anyone wanting to enter the property market to look for something with good bones that doesn’t need significant alterations or major repairs. But, adds Erin, don’t be disheartened by offerings smaller and less polished than you’d hoped for. “Be patient and don’t be put off by a rough-looking house,” she says. “You’ll be amazed what you can turn it into – I was apprehensive about this house when we first saw it. You can do a lot more than you think.” @thedrewup
Words by: Catherine Steel. Photography by: Babiche Martens.
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