Trends New Zealand Trends Volume 31 No 13 New Zealand

Above: The reconfigured entry opens to the dining room, which was originally the living room. A stairway to the second floor also leads off this central connecting space. Broad entablatures, strong, simple crown mouldings and dark wall tones are all part of the new look. Original wood floors were retained and continued in a wider plank format in the new family room. Rill says a major benefit of the renovation is the approachable scale of the house, and the way it now opens up to its surroundings. The low massing, facade detail and wide front porch keep the house in proportion to other homes in the neighbourhood. “Adding a floor could have made the house overbearing, especially when seen alongside its neighbours. To avoid this, the mass of the upper level is broken up by a gabled form, in keeping with the style. The ample front porch acts in a similar way, breaking up the mass of the house at street level.” search | save | share at trendsideas.com Indoors, the rooms were reshuffled to better suit the needs of the owners and to optimise flow, natural light and connections between rooms. The entry was reworked to improve the organisation of the spaces, and this now includes a stair to the master suite. The remodelled entry leads directly into the expansive dining area that was previously the living room. In turn, the original dining space is now a casual office beside the new kitchen. “As one of the owners loves to cook, we created a professional-level kitchen with all the bells and whistles,” says Rill. “This opens to the

Trends New Zealand Trends Volume 31 No 13 New Zealand | Page 86