ALTERED STATE

An architectural designer and a builder used to creating beautiful homes for Kiwis added their distinctive personal flourishes to a former state house

- Catherine Steel

Sylvia Main and Sam Guerin are used to crafting beautiful homes for New Zealanders as part of running their building company. But the couple recently took on a project with a more personal flavour.

First-home buyers

In 2018, Sylvia and Sam were flatting in Brooklyn, Wellington and felt it was time to look for a home to buy. They couldn't find anything affordable in the central city, so their budget steered them to Lower Hutt. While it was unfamiliar territory for the couple, they felt it could offer them a decent home built from solid materials.

They found a 1939 two-bedroom former state house. With two bedrooms, this house was a good starting point for the couple and their two children, Harland and Finn. “It has higher ceilings than most, with a 2.7-metre stud, a large north-facing outdoor area, backing onto Boulcott’s Farm Heritage Golf Club, which means we don’t have a neighbour over the back fence,” Sylvia says.

Sam and Sylvia were looking for more than just a house. They also wanted a quiet setting with the right orientation.

“This house was in an amazing condition when we found it,” Sylvia says. And with the couple running their construction business, they were able to manage the build themselves. “Sam has renovated more houses than you can count, so we knew from its condition it was the right fit for us.”

Blue-sky thinking

While the plan was to initially renovate the bathroom and kitchen only, and keep the home in its existing footprint, over time the couple saw how they could improve the dwelling further.