This talented couple poured their creativity and craftsmanship into every element of this long-running renovation — but the finish line may finally be in sight.
Living among the trees. That’s the romantic notion that seduced interior designer Samantha Elliot and her builder husband Mark Hughes to buy this 1950s house in Titirangi, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland after it was passed in at auction several times. “Renovations that were not signed off put other buyers off,” says Sam. Intoxicated by a vision that capitalised on their combined competencies, they forged ahead.
Many sleepless nights. That’s the reality the couple had to deal with. The bank gave them a 90-day deadline to get compliance sorted before they withdrew their loan guarantee. It was touch and go. “No one really knew what it entailed,” recalls Sam. But, given they planned a virtual rebuild, eventually, common sense prevailed. They got the council go-ahead.
With the paperwork stamped, the mission to transform the two-level former bach began. The couple, who planned to do most of the work themselves, built a 20sqm studio with an outdoor shower to live in while they renovated. “A whole bunch of Mark’s mates came up from Taranaki and in two days, ripped the place apart back to the framing,” says Sam. It took them the best part of three years to put it back together.
A characteristically steep driveway winds up from the road, past gabion baskets holding back a hillside, to the house tucked in beneath the living umbrella of a giant pōhutukawa. It speaks a mid-century language, with a modern accent. Dark board-and-batten cladding recedes into the backdrop and cedar shiplap on the lower level will silver into the bush, but red joinery makes a bolder statement. It’s Sam’s subtle homage to the legacy of architect Ron Sang, who used a lot of red, and to the enduring language of Titirangi architecture.
While it felt right to add some colour, she has another vivid connection to the joinery. “I was eight months pregnant when I was helping Mark lift the windows into place,” Sam recalls. Having lived in the studio with baby Walt (now 3) plus a “crazy collie”, the race was on to get the house ready for their second son’s arrival. With the due date imminent, it was pedal to the metal: “All the tradies were here and rushing because they felt sorry for me.” At 9pm on the day they officially moved in, just as Sam was cleaning the new tilework, contractions started. “Billy was born in the early hours of the next day — in our new home.”
A sense of serenity. That was always the aim. A light material palette used to dissolve the edges into the surrounds. Keeping within the envelope, Sam brought her spatial skills to the internal layout. Upstairs in the living zone, a centralised staircase could not be moved, so she worked around it. To one side a wide entrance hall is furnished with a divider that also provides valuable extra storage.
Within this wall of light oak cabinetry is a hidden powder room. Encased in timber, this tiny space captures aesthetic warmth and is practical for a family with two young boys. To the other side of the stairwell, the repositioned kitchen is a joy to look at, and to be in. It’s galley style but wide through the middle so that the boys can access the fridge near the back door without bowling over the cook. Taj Mahal benchtops with a waterfall end and a handy curved-corner counter are soft hues within the layered scheme. “I wanted something light toned, that was not a flat colour,” explains Sam. “And quartzite is not as precious as marble or limestone — it can take the spills and spice.”
Alongside, bench seating with upholstered backrests and a custom-designed table make up the dining area. Ever mindful of the flow through the spaces (particularly with young children, where edges are at head-height), Sam initially envisioned an oval table but changed tack to one with curved edges that echo the breakfast bar and allow an extra setting at each end. “Not that there’s much entertaining going on. It’s meal-kits at the moment, so we don’t have to think about what’s for dinner.”
A wall and a couple of doors were removed to connect the kitchen to the lounge which, although still bach-sized, has the advantage of a new deck to expand the living beneath the canopy. A leather sofa on fine legs, with side tables built in, keeps the floor free for the forays of Thomas the Tank Engine. A baby swing hangs from a supporting beam.
Downstairs, once a dark, dank cave where clothes, shoes and bedware turned mouldy, is now remapped as a bedroom zone with milky-white walls and floor-set windows to let in the light. Sam and Mark’s room has been extended and an ensuite, with a shower frame in the same heritage red as the joinery, allows more relaxed mornings than the dash to the outside ablutions when they were living in the studio.
To say this was, and is, a labour of love is an understatement. “Every detail has been shaped in the evenings and on weekends — built by our own hands,” says Sam. While running a business, the project — challenging, demanding but ever inspiring — is ongoing. “We began renovating before we had children. Today, we have two young boys. Mark says he’ll still be working on it when he’s 70!”
With a lawn planned on the east of the 1500sqm section, a herb garden in the covered porch still a work in progress and the constant upkeep of a mini forest, there’s no time to pause. No matter. They’re getting there and the vision remains strong. “The house is part of our story,” says Sam. A continuation of the architectural spirit that defines this place.
Words Claire McCall
Photography Larnie Nicolson
The post Interior designer Samantha Elliot’s own Titirangi renovation, three years in the making appeared first on Homestyle.
