Take a look at some the best villa transformations on Your Home and Garden

Sometimes Fay Clarke pinches herself and is reminded that the spacious historic three-bedroom villa she shares with her family is all theirs.

After struggling to enter the Auckland property market, the stars aligned in 2021 when her husband Julian, a logistics manager, was given the chance to transfer to Blenheim for work. After the couple viewed the property in Blenheim, they knew it had potential.

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 was after the renovation process started.

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 embraced its heritage quirks but knew one day they’d renovate it for modern living while keeping its character.

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.

At the same time, their daughter Jess Ryder and her husband Tom sold their home, bought a section in Hauraki, and began searching for a relocatable villa to place on it. Having moved and reworked other villas over the years, they knew what was involved.

Lucy and Elliot Kemeys bought this 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 was immediately jumping 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.

For 10 years, Xenia Marcroft walked past a big weatherboard house a stone’s throw from Point Chevalier Beach in Auckland’s inner west. She liked the size of the two-storey home, the full north-facing section with a pool and the property’s proximity to the sea. She thought she’d like to own it one day.

Then, in 2020, the 340sqm house came up for sale.

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. 

Sometimes, it takes rare vision to conjure renovation magic. Not everyone is tuned into the potential of a property, but Amanda Johnson knew a diamond in the rough when she saw one.

In 2017, she and her husband Michael bought their rundown, overgrown 1930s property and spent the next five years overhauling and extending it while staying with family or in the 10sqm sleepout in the backyard.