ALLBYMYSELFHayley
andZanewerekeen
forkidsandadultsto
havespacetohangout
separatelywhilenot
feelingcutoff.A study
area,windownooks,and
a widenedhallwayforjam
sessionsarejustsomeof
the ways they’ve done this.
M
osthomebuyers
havea detailed
listofcriteriato
tickoffbeforethey
choosetheirnext
abode.However,
Christchurch
nativesHayley and
ZaneGeorgehadjustone:grass.
“I flewtoMountMaunganuifora dayin 2014
tobuyourfamilya home,andanagentshowed
mearound 10 properties,”saysHayley.“I visited
thisparticularhouseforjust 15 minutes,butit
wastheonlypropertythathada fullsection,so
I boughtit.Zaneandthekidsdidn’tseeit until
wearrivedwithourcontaineroffurniture!”
Theself-described“earthquakerefugees”
madethedecisiontomovenorthaftertwoyears
ofsortinginsuranceandlosingtheirhome– first
toNelsonfora coupleofyearstorecover as a
familyandthenontotheMount.
Theirnewhomewasinneedofwork.A lot
ofwork.“Itwastheugliesthouseyouhaveever
seen!”laughsHayley.“Wedidn’tloveanything
aboutit.Butwewantedthespace.”
WHERETOBEGIN?
Thehomewasoneoftheearliestbachesbuiltat
MountMaunganuiinthe1940s.Overthecourse
ofa fewdecades,fouradditionsandextensions
werebuilton,followedbya 1990smakeover
thatattemptedtopullthingstogether.It wasa
“higgledy-piggledy,rabbit-warrenhouse”with
a poorlyplannedlayoutandsomeseriously
offensivedesignfeatures,saysHayley.
“Thestaircaseandlandingswereinwhat
I fondlyrefertoas‘ritualsacrificered’– walls,
doors,architraves,everything.Theoverlapping,
HarryPotter-likestairslookedjustlikeladders
andthecarpetswereaquagreen.”Theliving
areawasdark,thegalleykitchenfeltclosedin,
andthehouseboastedeverywindowshape
imaginable.Totopit alloff,themainbathroom
openedstraightintothelounge.“Alittle
awkwardwhenentertaining!”laughsHayley.
It wasprettyclearthattheonlystepforward
withthispropertywouldbetocompletely
rebuildtheinterior.Witha fairlyclearvisionof
whattheywanted,theseexperiencedrenovators
engagedAdamTaylorArchitectureinlate
2015 tocomeupwitha concept.Aftervarious
refinementstheplanwasreadyandworkbegan
in July 2017 and took about nine months.
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