A century-old Californian-style bungalow in New Brighton, which fell into disrepair after the quakes, is restored to perfection
Damaged by the earthquakes, boarded up for three years and stripped by vandals, the century-old, two-and-a-half storey California bungalow in New Brighton was rather down at heel when Matthew Ayton and Tanya Boe bought it as-is at auction in 2014.
“As soon as we saw it, we fell in love with it,” says Tanya, explaining how the quakes that rattled the city for nearly a year put on hold their plans to build a house on their 40ha block in the picturesque bush-clad Okuti Valley in Banks Peninsula.
Tanya lost her shop in the centre of town in the quakes, their children their school, and Matthew his job. Distressed at the seemingly wanton and wasteful demolition of old buildings in the city, the couple restored several dwellings before finding the character-filled six-bedroom house, which they decided they wanted as a home for themselves and their family.
“It had amazing bones,” says Tanya. “It has so many windows, it’s sun-filled all day long, with wonderful light.” And it’s a two-minute walk from the beach.
Despite its abject appearance, only a little structural work was needed to bring the house back towards its former glory – some minor repiling, gibbing downstairs where the original lathe and plaster had fallen off in the shaking, and rebuilding one of the chimneys.
The only alteration was opening out the kitchen into what they think was the maid’s bedroom at the back of the house and adding French doors. “It meant we can see out to the back garden,” explains Tanya.
This created a “wonderful flow of light through the house,” enhanced by the addition of glass in two of the original wooden panel doors downstairs, and the installation of toplights above.
Fortunately, the magnificent two-metre wide red tuff volcanic rock fireplace in the living room – what was originally the billiard room – survived. The billiard table was long gone, but while digging out for some minor repiling Matthew found the six piles upon which it once stood. Like all the piles, they were old kerosene cans filled with concrete and set upon the sand dune.
Other works revealed more of the house’s architectural past. Repairs to the living room ceiling showed it to be the lower of two false ones, which were hiding the much higher original one. Needless to say, that was restored, complete with its boxed beams.
When removing the 1970s chipboard lining the hall, Matthew discovered remnants of wood panelling. So, he painstakingly recreated it there, up the stairs and in the front sitting room.
Apart from this panelling, which is painted a soft grey, and the darker media room, the interior is all white, which Tanya finds is the perfect canvas for what she describes as her eclectic and international style of interior design. She says it provides a simple, clean backdrop that works well with worn things – for little in this household is new; almost everything has a cherished story behind it.
Having travelled a lot since her early 20s, Tanya has an eye for the unusual. “I just know what I like,” she says. “I don’t think too hard about it, I know I’ll make it work.”
Matthew, too, with a fine arts degree, has a keen sense of aesthetics. Three years ago, the family took a break from house restoration to spend six months travelling through Asia and Europe. In a restaurant in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, the sling leather and wood dining chairs took their fancy, so they asked if they could buy them. Subsequently, never ones to do things by halves, 10 were shipped back home.
The massive 1.5sqm ornately framed mirror above the equally impressive kauri sideboard in the sitting room was rescued by Matthew from a flat he was living in. The old house was about to be demolished and the landlady didn’t see any merit in it. In the 30-odd years since, Matthew has carted it around 13 flats and 10 houses. The sideboard itself belonged to his grandmother, who owned a junk shop in Sumner for 40 years. “Lots of people say we should repaint it,” says Matthew, “but we love its patina, all it previous colours showing through.”
Above the stairs hangs an intriguing artwork. Closer inspection reveals it to be a collection of wooden shoe moulds from India, which the couple found in a second-hand shop in Ferry Road, and assembled for display. A tapa cloth on the wall in the craft room was cut from a larger cloth and gifted to Tanya by a Tongan friend.
The house has no window coverings of any sort. The windows are one of the nicest things about the house and should not be covered, explains Matthew. Almost all have leadlight and cutglass sections, which throw rainbows on the walls, he says. Each room has its own set of leadlights, and each is different. “It’s as though the butcher who built the house went through the catalogue, and said “I’ll have one of those and one of those,’” he laughs.
What has helped give this home its singular identity is that almost all the work has been done by the couple themselves, with only occasional help from tradespeople and friends.
“We are both very good with our hands and we can turn them to anything,” says Tanya. “Matthew is very good at looking things up and working out how to do them if he doesn’t know how, and I am artistic and creative. Spatial architecture is my passion.”
Words by Mary Lovell-Smith. Photography by Sarah Rowlands.
EXPERT PROJECTS
Create the home of your dreams with Shop Your Home and Garden
SHOP NOW
