Photography: Emily Chalk.
When, on the promise of pizza and beer, friends turned up at Amanda Langerak and Mike Taylor’s house armed with sledgehammers and wrecking bars for ‘The Demo Party’, it was a bittersweet moment. The couple bought the Western Springs house in 2019, having fallen for the art deco charms of this two-level park-side house with beautiful mouldings and a lovely feel.
“We thought we’d modernise it for liveability and put our little stamp on it,” says Amanda. That is not quite how it turned out.
Home Profile
Meet & Greet: Amanda Langerak (business operations consultant and interior designer), Mike Taylor (chief technology and operations officer), daughter Emilia, four, and son Hugh, two, plus Arlo the border collie.
The Property: Four-bedroom, three-bathroom, plus study renovated art deco house built in 1930 in Western Springs, Auckland.
Surprising turn
Despite a building report that said all was well, a small damp patch in the downstairs bedroom was the first indication. But then the engineers came round. What was initially planned as a smallish reno mushroomed into a project where only a small section of the mid-floor framing and a nib wall remained intact.
Amanda and Mike were devastated, but determined to make things work for their young family. On the advice of their brother, an experienced renovator, they gathered a good team around them. Rome Smit from Buildology worked alongside Amanda on the spatial planning.
“It was Rome who suggested we flip the central stairs around so that light could get down to the lower living,” says Amanda.
Builder Simon Hill from Iconic Build Co was another invaluable collaborator.
Sunken treasure
“He does not accept mediocre,” says Mike.
“His team, as well as his subbies, were phenomenal.”
Details and dollars
The renovation began in 2023, as mates’ muscle power brought down plasterboard, mouldings, framing and pulled off tiles, by which time the couple already had a young daughter and their son was about to make his presence felt. It sounds chaotic, but it was far from it. Amanda was efficiently tracking everything in a spreadsheet.
“Having a client who knows what they want and has a clear handle on their budget makes the whole process so much smoother,” says Simon.
The new plan was to flip the layout – putting bedrooms upstairs and the living downstairs to flow out to the north-facing back garden. With everything apart from the upstairs rimu flooring gone and the mono-pitch roof removed, the house was shrouded in plastic.
Now was the time to rely on the solid foundations of their vision and hands-on management. One month before the deadline and $200 under budget (Amanda has the Excel figures to prove it), they moved back in.
To see and not to see
The rebuild kept the same footprint but took a giant leap forward. And while there might be a stroller parked outside, most other paraphernalia is hidden away behind cubbies disguised in the home’s new vertical metal cladding.
“The art deco house had such compromised storage that I think we’ve gone over the top with it here,” says Amanda.
While what you don’t notice – storage in the attic, beneath the deck and in myriad built-in cupboards – is important, it’s what you do that makes the biggest impression. Upstairs, where the ceiling stud is an immense 3.4 metres, the children’s rooms are fun spaces. Amanda has used squares of yellow and pale pink to define a reading nook in one corner of Emilia’s bedroom.
Hugh has offcuts of fluted panelling to craft ‘mountains’ on his wall, painted a lovely, serene green.
That same Resene Xanadu wall treatment appears in the couple’s room, where the view is across the neighbourhood to Western Springs and a glimmer of sea. A long, skinny kitchen became a walk-in wardrobe and ensuite, and although there’s a double vanity, there’s only one sink.
Main bedroom suite
“Mike and I seldom use the sink at the same time but I did place the basin to one side so I could be at the mirror doing my make-up if need be,” says Amanda.
White walls, black joinery and timber elements became the outline for the interiors. Touches of tan and green were the colour highlights. Arlo, the border collie, even manages to fit this framework.
“Don’t worry, we had him first; we didn’t buy him to match,” says Amanda.
Shades of yesterday
What she did do was tie the whole house together, with texture and colour. Downstairs, where a picture window and skylights now usher in swathes of light, the open-plan living zone features a step-down lounge furnished with tan and velvet green sofas. This is tied together with a rug and artwork that combines every aspect of the palette.
“The sunken lounge was always here; we just made it a little smaller,” says Amanda.
Here, a repeated motif – the distinctive profile of fluted panels – lines the island, a built-in bench seat in the dining area and the fireplace wall. These curves are a contemporary nod to the art deco origins of the home and bring interest and character to what is, effectively, a new-build.
Every day eating happens at a statement bench with one angular waterfall side and a demi-lune overhang to make it easy for young kids to pull up a seat for breakfast. The deep grey engineered stone was Mike’s only solo decision.
“Its finish looked the most like natural stone and the grey contrasts nicely with the flooring,” he says.
A glass splashback brings in greenery and was a real labour of love for builder Simon.
All hands on deck
Personalising the home with their own efforts has made all the difference. Rimu framing rescued from the demolition was transported to Mike’s dad’s house in Hawke’s Bay. During the summer holidays, father and son made a dining table that can easily seat 10, removing nails, sanding and cutting the elements to size. It is now the centrepiece of formal and informal occasions, alongside a bench seat Simon made.
“Amanda showed me a hand-drawn sketch and trusted me to bring it to reality. It was such a fun piece to build and ended up being one of the standout features of the living space,” he says.
A custom-built bar with reeded glass fronts that reference the 1930s era is another design extra.
Outdoor space
The garden, which opens directly from the kitchen and living area, was levelled and retained so that a flat lawn could be installed. Amanda’s mum contributed her easy-care plant knowledge while her dad assisted with some grunt work: “The blocks of grass for the ready-lawn were much heavier than expected,” says Amanda, “which we found out when we had to lug them all up and over the retaining wall.”
Now that the hard labour is done, the house bears only a trace of its ancestry, but the life contained within is already filling up the photo drive.
“We lived and breathed this project,” says Mike.
The day they officially moved in, they took their kids for a sleepover at their grandparents.
“Then we settled in with a bottle of Champagne and some charcuterie and wondered what on earth we could talk about now,” he says.
Amanda, who was in her element throughout, barely dared tell him: he may not have long to wait.
Home Truths
Any saves?
We got some great deals on tiles at the sales. Also, the laundry cabinetry, which we installed ourselves, then had cabinetmakers do the benchtop.
Splurges?
The custom-designed bar, which has stone, fluted glass and fluted wood backing. We could have put in a cupboard, but this adds so much character. The living room fireplace, because the house has ducted heating and cooling throughout and is fully double-glazed. It’s a lovely focal point, adding ambience on winter nights.
Lessons learned?
Stick to your guns about what you want, whether it’s something practical or something you’ll love. It’s the home you’re building for yourself, so nobody has the same perspective. The more you plan upfront, the fewer decisions you’ll have to make on the fly. And the experience becomes a lot more fun.
Best advice?
- Be certain about what’s important to you and how you want to live before renovating.
- Have a contingency fund and be okay about spending it.
- Reserve some money for the finishing touches since all that effort won’t be worth it if you don’t.
- Be bold – colour and paint are easy and make all the difference
- Don’t forget about landscaping.
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