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This retro ’80s home is an idyllic forever home for this couple

Article by Your Home and Garden

Originally looking to build anew, an existing house’s plentiful garden and beach access proved irresistible

Meet & greet

Dorothy Anderson (grandmother) and Hugh Gladwell (lawyer).

The property

A four-bedroom, renovated ’80s home in Mahurangi East.

Dorothy Anderson loves her new kitchen. She’s cooking in it while we chat as she prepares to celebrate her husband Hugh’s birthday as friends and whānau flock to their Warkworth home. In the warm light, she makes salad with homegrown endive and radicchio, everything fresh from her garden that day. Her open shelves are brimming with ceramic delights, while a nearby window offers breathtaking views across Te Kapa River.

Having already downsized twice, Dorothy and Hugh were on the hunt for a place by the water. They wanted to build on a plot of land but were having trouble finding anything that matched their wishlist. That was until Dorothy stumbled upon a retro ’80s home on the coastal shores of Mahurangi East, which came with beach access and boat shed, while on a walk. It was the latter that sold it for avid collector Hugh, who owns a small fleet of around 20 yachts and sailing boats. “It was a funny, little, white stucco, unattractive house really, but we saw potential, so we bought it and instantly painted it black. That changed the feeling of it right away,” Dorothy says.

The couple immediately redid the large garage that abutted the property, turning the large empty space into a warm, multifunctional area, complete with bedroom, sitting room, laundry and bathroom; affectionately dubbed “the boat house”, perhaps due to the large quantities of sailing regalia adorning the shelves.

Four years later, they turned their attention to the main house, pushing back the living area to extend the dining room, alongside replacing the wood laminate flooring in favour of oak. A new wooden kitchen was also installed, with joinery and window casings replaced in the new open-place space. Now the house stands as a testament to the idyllic life that Dorothy and Hugh share, from sailing the ocean to fresh fruit in the bowl.

The great outdoors

A lifelong gardener, Dorothy adores her small green oasis. “We’ve pulled out a lot, planted a lot, but also enjoyed what was here,” she says, which includes enviable avocado and citrus trees that dot the greenery. The couple have also planted just about every fruit, from passionfruit and plums to tamarillos and bananas.

There’s no sprays or chemicals used here, only a bountiful crop of compost from the kitchen to grow the treats that will one day restock the kitchen cupboards. There’s hardly any lawn either; an intentional choice for the couple that favours the tussocks of native bush that tumble down to the sea, bringing flocks of kererū and tūī to sing sweetly outside their doorstep.

“We love swimming, and Hugh keeps a yacht off the property, I can see it now, moored out in the bay,” Dorothy says. “We go fishing, swimming, use the little sailboats when the grandkids come, or Hugh will go to a regatta up the way, so it’s very much a good place for both of us.” To better admire the view the pair expanded the deck, which boasts an array of treasured Trade Me furniture.

“We live outside, if we can.”

The kitchen

The most cherished room in the house is by far the kitchen, which was treated to a full makeover to make the most of their flourishing surroundings. “I’m a gardener and I like to cook what I grow,” Dorothy says.

Having been inspired by magazines and a previous kitchen that the couple had built in the ’90s, Dorothy and Hugh drew pictures of the open-shelves, wood kitchen they wanted and their kitchen designer Neil Taylor went ahead with the blissfully pain-free installation.

For the countertop, stainless steel was the only option worth considering for the culinary-minded couple. “The previous kitchen was an engineered stone, which you’re not supposed to put hot things on. It just drove me mad, I was always looking for a board,” Dorothy says. “I love stainless steel, you can make bread or pastry and wipe it down, straight into the sink.” For the tiles, Dorothy was keen to avoid anything too shiny, and ended up with a local clay tile from Middle Earth in Warkworth.

The icing on the cake belongs to a magnificent mustard cupboard, Dorothy’s favourite piece in the house. “I got it off Trade Me for $100, lugged it back on a trailer and painted it yellow,” she says. “I just love the pop of colour in the kitchen.”

That timeless look

You’d be hard pressed to find anything from Dorothy’s house in modern-day showrooms. “I don’t like showy things, I like a subtle style,” Dorothy says. “It’s just easy. It’s a ‘don’t take your shoes off when you come inside’ kind of house,” she says.

The chairs around the dining room table are op-shop finds, as are the picture frames that dot the house. A kilim rug under the table is yet another Trade Me find, while a zebra-skin couch, commandeered from a friend for only $200, has now stayed in the family for more than 15 years. “They’re getting more and more shabby, but they’re getting better and better,” Dorothy says.

When she does choose to splurge, she opts for timeless silhouettes from Nest and Citta, although she’s the first to admit that she has no process for her lucky finds. “I just stumble upon things, I don’t go out looking, really,” she says. “In fact, I’m so old now, I need to start getting rid of things, actually. I don’t need to shop any more.”

Future plans

Yet there’s dreams of doing more, as always. The rest of the house still has distinctly ’80s joinery, which Dorothy is keen to replace with double glazing. There’s also talk of installing board and batten weatherboarding in lieu of the pebbledash exterior. But the future seems far away when there’s swimming to be had and a garden to tend to. The rainy summer hasn’t been kind to the garden and the green-fingered duo are learning to rise to the challenge. “I learn every day, every day is new,” Dorothy says.

But for now, the focus turns back to Hugh’s birthday dinner. More than 15 people are coming to stay at the coastal cottage; the boat house soon to be packed with mattresses on the floor. Life is full and warm and deliciously easy. “This is where we are. This is our forever home.”