MY, MY, MY DELILAH

A property-improving couple took on their first villa renovation – a project that stole the heart of their son and his young family

- Text Debbie Harrison Photography Alice Veysey

For Tracey and Jason Smith, this villa wasn’t just their 12th renovation - it was their redemption project. A score to settle. Years earlier, the couple had purchased 8.9 hectares in rural Tauranga with grand plans to relocate a historic hotel and transform it into their dream home. But when the hotel sale fell through, they had to let the land go.

Life moved on. Projects came and went. But they never forgot about that patch of land - they couldn't really, as it was right across the road from where they lived.

Then, the stars aligned. Jason reached out to the neighbour who'd bought the property, only to discover she'd just decided to sell and move back to town. “Are you telepathic?” she asked. And just like that, 10 years to the month since they sold it, they bought the land back (at an inflated price).

“It felt like fate,” says Tracey. “We always like to have a project on the go and having one on our doorstep seemed like a great opportunity. We had an itch to scratch - we'd renovated modern houses, '70s houses and a bungalow but never a villa.”

Enter “Delilah” - a double-bay 1890s villa, listed on Trade Me that morning and snapped up by the couple that afternoon, before anyone else could get a look in.

“You have to act fast with villas,” says Tracey. “I saw the listing, jumped in the car and drove to Auckland and bought her on the spot. The guy already had a waitlist of eight others.”

Built almost entirely from kauri, Delilah had good bones, double-hung sash windows, plastered ceilings and original stained glass that hinted at her former glory. She’d been untouched since the ’70s but had the potential the Smiths look for.

Covid lockdowns and council delays meant Delilah sat in that Auckland yard for two years before being trucked to the site. But when she finally arrived, Tracey and Jason were ready.