One of the oldest homesteads in Matamata gets a contemporary New York loft-style update
Polished concrete floors, black steel kitchen cabinetry, black wood and smoked walnut ply on the ceiling combine to create a stylish industrial vibe.
Home profile
Meet & greet: Chris and Kevin Norris (owners of Stonewood Homes Tauranga franchise), with Jackson, 17, and 13-year-old shi tzu bichen Hugh.
The property: A historic four-bedroom villa with a new contemporary addition.
Chris and Kevin Norris have treated one of Matamata’s oldest homesteads to what’s been described as a “from nana-to-matriarch” transformation.
Their double-bay villa has been on the same site since 1906 and was one of the first two homesteads built in this Waikato town. It was a tired villa when this visionary couple bought it about 20 years ago, but they took their time before meticulously executing a transformation project.
This artwork by Steven Root is Kevin’s favourite and is based on a work by Steve Steigman called Blown Away.
The family loves character homes and lived contentedly in the three-bedroom, one-bathroom 110sqm villa for 15 years before any grand scale changes were made. They did beautify some spaces early on and promptly warmed the place up, as ice on the inside of windows was not cool.
The big transformation project was completed late last year. It has involved a sympathetic renovation of the villa and the construction of a contemporary section linking the villa with what was its separate garage and a granny flat.
The family retained the villa’s original fireplaces but this one is new. The old bricks around this fireplace were brought north after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Viva la villa
The plans Chris and Kevin initially had drawn up for their alterations had to be abandoned – they couldn’t get planning permission as three sides of the villa needed to remain the same. While not heritage-listed, the exterior of the villa is protected. Having to go back to the drawing board was a blessing in disguise, they now say, because they love what they’ve ended up with.
The villa was of standard design, with rooms feeding off a central hallway. That configuration has remained but many of the spaces have been repurposed.
Behind that plinth dividing wall is a bathtub, with a view out to the gardens, which is separate from the ensuite.
For example, what was the kitchen is now a third bedroom, the former lounge is the main bedroom and ensuite, a bedroom has become the bathroom, and the old bathroom became space that not only lengthens the central hallway but links the old part of the house with the new extension.
At the end of the hallway, three steps lead down from the villa to the new hub of the home, with its high pitch, industrial-styled ceiling and New York loft ambience.
The location of the garage was also kept. The new one is on the original footprint, and what was an attached granny flat is now a new media room and a spacious toilet (with its entrance hidden amongst timber slats).
Renovating the villa also revealed former ‘residents’.
“When we pulled the old bath out, for example, the whole space was full of walnuts and rat carcasses – the builders were gagging,” says Chris.
Better finds were an old medicine bottle and a cigarette packet that Kevin found in the roof. Those items, together with a tin toy car found under the house, have been framed and now hang in the living area as an ode to the villa of old.
Chris selected Dulux Motutapu Island for this room. The engineered timber flooring adds warmth in a rich, dark brown colour.
A labour of love
Kevin talks of their determination to get things just right when renovating, saying, “We made the old villa way better than it was.”
Their attention to detail included recladding all of the exterior, as well as insulating and adding a cavity system along the way.
Kevin and Chris estimate they bought the equivalent of about 1.5km of cladding by the time they finished. All the joinery was replaced, with double glazing. They also removed aluminium joinery, which had been added at some stage, and the fluting from the one remaining original window has been meticulously matched for authenticity.
The verandas all had to be rebuilt and some levelling of the floor was carried out at the same time. The kwila decking out the front has been machined to resemble timber boards of days gone by.
New architraves, skirting boards and also ceilings were selected to work with the villa’s early profile. Previous owners had put in recessed lights, which ruined the original ceilings. The couple also added fully ducted air conditioning, but with floor vents in the villa to suit its older era.
The New York loft
“We love how the inside of the villa ties in with what we have added,” Kevin says.
“The transition is just lovely,” Chris agrees. “I also love how, with villas, you can be a bit eclectic – you can throw things like black wood and black steel kitchen cabinetry at them, as we have in the new section, and they work.”
Chris turned to Nelson-based business The Inside for wallpaper, which was used in both her toilets. The one in the villa section, which depicts burlesque dancers is called Show Girls.
All the original fireplaces were retained, but a new “grunty” one was added in the new section of the house and new carpets, curtains and pendant lights were selected to suit the property. Even the original kitchen’s stained glass panels were kept, but they now adorn the powder room door.
There’s also an abundant use of timber, such as the ceiling of smoked walnut ply in this new section, which adds both visual warmth and appropriate timelessness. Oak wall slats also grace the sunken media room.
This new part of the home is its hub. It houses an open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge area, plus a study nook, laundry, pantry, a new formal entranceway and also access to a spacious covered outdoor area complete with a bricked-in fireplace.
The home now spans three levels, with the media room down two steps off the main living area.
The other powder room, which is off the media room, has a door concealed by timber slats.
Chris and Kevin’s big house project was a staged affair. They tell how they “got the new bit working”, then tackled the villa room by room. It took five years.
“We would go to work for 10 hours with builders working on the big stuff while we were at work. Then we’d come home and clean and tidy up. We sacrificed many weekend-away invitations as we didn’t want this to take 10 years,” says Chris.
“We had a mission and we just worked on it,” Kevin adds.
Wall dressing
Chris was well-equipped to make the many decor decisions involved in this project.
Part of her day job involves tackling interior design for Stonewood Homes and staging show homes. Making decor choices for their own home was much more time-consuming though, she admits. There was plenty to decide regarding the walls alone. She’s had fun with paint, wallpaper and brickwork.
Chris and Kevin lived with the villa’s brown exterior colour for 15 years. It’s now Resene Double Stack grey with white trim. Inside the old villa section has been painted predominantly with Resene Karen Walker Wan White, although Resene Truffle adorns the walls in two bedrooms.
The exterior of the house is painted Resene Double Stack, which is accented with white trim. All the old verandas, which were in “very average” condition, were replaced and the entire house was reclad.
White is also favoured in the new section – providing a wonderful backdrop to their art, which is for the most part by New Zealand artists.
In contrast, black is very much a feature in the kitchen where it’s the colour of choice for the powder-coated steel cabinetry, the splashback and the black porcelain island benchtop.
Chris selected a warm green “a great colour for snugging up a room” for the media room. Dulux Motutapu Island blends beautifully with the room’s slatted wall of oak timber.
Chris turned to Nelson-based business The Inside for her wallpaper, which elevates both the separate toilet rooms. The one in the villa section often attracts special attention. There, a Resene Black Jack painted grooved timber wall that is offset by three walls of flamboyant pink-clad burlesque dancers (the wallpaper is called Show Girls).
Meanwhile, old bricks brought north after the Christchurch earthquakes, form the walls around both the fireplaces both inside and outdoors, as well as featuring outside at the front of the villa and the property’s entrance.
Next on the agenda
There’s little left to do at this address. Possibly a swimming pool, maybe a large sculpture in the driveway’s roundabout, or some degree of planting to complement the park-like grounds?
One thing is for sure, there will be no packing up.
“We had eight moves in two years when the kids were little, but this is our forever home,” Chris says.
Corten steel panels provide privacy in the hot tub.
Home truths
What did you save on?
The generosity of our loyal suppliers and contractors led to good deals and savings.
Any splurges?
The kitchen, the steel and glass pantry door, and the concealed fly screens on the sliding doors.
Lesson Learned?
Living in the home while the renovations take place can be quite stressful at times.
Best advice?
Any major alteration requires a hefty contingency plan in time and money. When pulling apart an old villa you never know what can of worms you might open.
We are especially grateful for…
Our amazing builders helped push through the big chunk of work when required at stripping out and closing in the state. They were polite and respectful of the fact we were living on-site.
Budget?
For someone not involved in the trades what we undertook would have cost about $1.5m. We were very fortunate in the fact that the big chunky items were ordered and purchased pre-Covid. In today’s building environment, it would be more again.
Text Monique Balvert-O’Connor Photography Alice Veysey
Shop the Matamata home’s loft style
1. Modern Cloche in Black
$147 at Shop Your Home and Garden
At 360mm in diameter, this classy black pendant adds just the right amount of elegance to a room while not being too distracting or overbearing.
2. Love Is In The Air Unframed Art Print
$89 at Shop Your Home and Garden
This art print is one of Banksy’s most iconic stencil illustrations. Pair it well with a frame of whichever size and colour you desire to really bring it to life.
3. Den Leather Occasional Armchair
$1,849 at Freedom
Also available in an olive green, burgundy or nutmeg, this armchair slots into any setting with the utmost of ease.
4. Aero Fabric Sofa
$2,399 at Freedom
This Freedom sofa is truly one of the comfiest we’ve ever seen. With over 10 colourways available, the styling possibilities are endless!
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