Photography: Emily Chalk
Heritage villas carry undeniable charm. But when families outgrow them, they hit a familiar crossroads: undertake a renovation or start a new chapter elsewhere? For Luci Marshall, her husband Craig and children Taylor and Enzo, the answer came in the form of a modern, four-bedroom house just a few hundred metres from their previous villa. It gave them the space they needed and an easy lifestyle.
Home Profile
Meet & Greet: Luci Marshall (founder of public relations agency Rise and Shine), Craig Marshall (procurement manager at Spark), Taylor, 12, Enzo, 10, and Charlie the Labradoodle.
The Property: A modern four-bedroom, three-bathroom home across two levels in Northcote Point, Auckland.
Change for the better
The family had been living in their villa in Northcote Point since 2015. Before that, a brick and tile house down the road since 2011. A quaint waterfront suburb, it’s an area they love for its close-knit community and proximity to the city.
But as the children grew, the need for more space became harder to ignore. “Our villa was, at that point, a proper do-up,” Luci says. “We’d put ‘lipstick’ on it and made it very livable and beautiful. But it was either hot in summer or cold in winter. It also had sloping floors, and it needed a full reconfiguration and renovation. We had plans drawn up and costs listed, and the price was eye-wateringly high.”
Plan B saw them visiting open homes before stumbling upon this nine-year-old, two-storey, architecturally designed dwelling, with wide views across the Waitematā Harbour. “We loved it from the first viewing. The house ticked all the boxes for us and had such a great feel,” Luci says. “It made so much more sense to spend half of what we would have on a renovation and buy something already finished, complete with a pool for the kids. Really, it couldn’t have been more perfect.” Moving wasn’t too much of an issue as the house was only 300 metres from where they were living.
An airy space for changing times
Spacious and bathed in natural light, the home’s high ceilings add to its sense of openness. Its tall glass sliders embrace the view of the harbour and Rangitoto Island. The house has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, plus a powder room and an open-plan living area.
The landscape – native bush which rolls down to the harbour – adds to the home’s tranquillity. “When we first walked in, we were immediately struck by how light and open it felt,” Luci says. “It’s gorgeous. We never imagined we’d have a view like this, so it truly feels like a dream come true.”
Upstairs, the children have plenty of space, with their own bedrooms and a room that’s been transformed into a lounge. “That was a big tick for us. We wanted an extra room that could double as a hangout for the kids and a place for guests to stay.” Taylor’s drum kit, a television with Xbox, and a large corner sofa make it the ultimate retreat, while the downstairs lounge remains a more grown-up space.
With Taylor and Enzo getting to that age where they need a bit more room, the multiple bathrooms accommodate that. “Our last house had one bathroom.”
An internal balcony runs across the upper floor, connecting the bedrooms and lounge while offering a visual connection to the living spaces downstairs: “A friend nicknamed it the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ balcony, and it’s stuck. It creates such a nice sense of connection, and even with the high stud, the space never echoes.”
Making it theirs
It didn’t take long for Luci and Craig to start making the place their own. Even in this home, which needed little work, they found opportunities to personalise it and craft a relaxed, comfortable decor narrative that captured their style. But while Luci was used to decorating a heritage villa, stamping her style on a modern home in Northcote Point felt tricky.
“The house is so modern that our old villa furniture felt too heavy and warm-toned for the space. What looked beautifully Scandinavian in the villa suddenly appeared orange in the bright light here, so we needed to start fresh. We wanted a clean, contemporary look with soft greys and earthy greens and tones that reflect the view outside.”
Luci enlisted interior designer Shelley Ferguson, who had recently helped revamp her office. “I knew she’d help us come up with an overall plan. Shelley was able to offer a fresh perspective and great ideas.”
The first priority was the flooring on the lower level, where three different finishes competed – grey tiles, a dark grey carpet and a dark timber gangplank, which stretched from the front door to the glass sliders with boards that were in poor condition. “Because of the sun, the lounge carpet had faded and didn’t look great, and the gangplank looked so odd, so they both just had to go.”
The tiles remained, but the mismatched materials were replaced with a whitewashed hardwood floor and a silvery rug in the lounge, while a pale wool carpet was laid on the stairs and upstairs to complement the home’s serene palette.
For a seamless feel, the couple chose a marble-look engineered stone to replace both the dark grey tiles around the lounge fire surround and the sparkly white kitchen splashback. They installed a television recessed into the fire surround’s existing cabinetry. “We love the ambience and warmth of the gas fire in winter,” Luci says.
Through Shelley, they were able to have several pieces custom-made, including a dining table, allowing the home’s interiors to feel cohesive and tailored to the space. The dining nook, for instance, was personalised with a custom seat squab and matching cushioned wall panel – a design detail repeated in the main bedroom, where another panel acts as a soft visual statement.
Art for art’s sake
Although the home’s palette is calm and refined, Luci and Craig’s art injects personality and character. A circular print by the dining table, Magic of the Sunstones by Penny Stotter, is a warm reminder of a project Luci worked on with the artist.
While these works have sentimental value, others simply bring joy. In the children’s upstairs lounge, The Big Spill by Simon Lewis Wards makes a playful statement, with colourful glass lollies spilling from a bag across the wall. “I love this piece because it resonates with both adults and children. I remember buying 50-cent lolly bags just like it as a kid.”
Home for good
Now they’ve shaped the home to suit their family, the Marshalls can enjoy simple daily rituals together. “We like to sit around the table every night and chat about our days over dinner. I feel so grateful looking out to Rangitoto as the sun sets and the sky turns pink.”
Home truths
What areas of your Northcote Point renovation did you save on?
The kids’ rooms. We’ve kept them pretty simple and just invested in good beds but inexpensive furniture and art because they’ll outgrow it quickly.Splurge on?
The floor. We used: Hurford’s Genuine Oak wide-plank timber in White Wash, and beautiful Bremworth Samurai carpet in the colour Kawa. We also invested in marble-look engineered stone to replace the fire surround and kitchen splashback. Furniture was another big investment. With the house being so different from our old villa, we sold nearly everything and started again. It wasn’t a cheap exercise.Best lesson learned?
Having interior designer Shelley Ferguson on board. She created an overall look and feel for the house after spending time with us and understanding what we wanted. Her plan included detailed furniture suggestions for each room, complete with links to shops. Even if we didn’t choose those exact pieces, it helped guide every decision.What would you never do again?
If I was to build a house, I wouldn’t oil the weatherboards – I’d paint them. They look great, but we were stung with a $25K surprise six months after moving in, learning they needed to be re-oiled every four years due to sun exposure.
