O

n a hotsummer’sday

youcanpractically

smelltheseafrom

KirstyandSteveJob’s

homeinHauraki,

Auckland.Itsproximity

toTakapunaBeachwas

a majordrawcardwhen

theyboughtthepropertyin2009,anditslarge

sectionandthefactthereweregoodschools

nearbymadethedecisiontobuyaneasyone.

“Wefelttheareaofferedmorebangforitsbuck

thanotherpartsofthecity,”saysKirsty.

Althoughanupstairsextensionhadbeen

addedinthe1980s,thethree-bedroomhouse

• whichwasbuiltin 1915 – wasdark,coldand
  cramped.“Thekitchen,diningandlounge
  areaswerenotconducivetohangingoutor
  entertaining,”saysKirsty.“Themainbedroom
  wasupstairsandthechildren’sbedrooms were
  downstairs,whichwasn’tideal.”

THEMASTERPLAN

KirstyandStevestartedplanninga renovation.

“Butasourplansevolved,”saysSteve,“it

becameevidentthatourlayoutchangesand

theamountofremediationworkrequiredwould

meansignificantcosts.”Sothecoupletooka

coupleofmonthstoinvestigatewhetherit was

bettertorenovate,sellorrebuildfromscratch.

“Afterlookingatthemarketagainandgoing

tomoreopenhomes,werealisedwelovedthe

locationofourpropertyandthesmartestthing

todowastodemolishandbuilda newfamily

homethatwouldworkfor us for the next 15

years,”saysSteve.

Thepair’sarchitecturaldesigner,Shaun

StewartatXLNDesign,reviewedtheirwishlist

andcameupwitha planthatcapturedmostof

their needs – and some long-cherished dreams.

66 |yhg