ALL WHITE NOW

Renovation experience? Zero. Buy a rundown rental and turn it into a family home? It was a rollercoaster ride

- Text Debbie Harrison

It’s hard to believe looking at it now, but Jono Taylor and Sophie Henderson’s beautiful villa in Grafton, Auckland, was nowhere near the polished property it is today when they first viewed it. In its former life, the four-bedroom house was a long-term rental – mainly to students – so it was unloved and rundown when the couple first viewed it. Despite that, they saw many things that ticked the boxes.

“There was so much to like about it, even in that state,” says Sophie. “We fell in love with the ornate details, high ceilings, sash windows, fireplaces and traditional kauri timber flooring. We particularly loved the archway in the hallway, the grand original door in the hallway leading into the kitchen/dining room and the ceiling roses.”

The top level of the home is a century-old traditional villa, built back in 1910. A lower level was built in 1996, which added two bedrooms and a bathroom. As Sophie tells it, when they moved in at the end of 2021, every room (and the garden) needed renovation – “an overhaul, really” – to turn it from student flat to family home. But the couple was up to the task, despite never having renovated before.

“We had absolutely zero experience with renos, so we learnt a lot of lessons with this house,” she says. “We have made countless mistakes and some regrettable design choices, which I think is part and parcel of renovating for the first time. It’s been an enjoyable rollercoaster ride. The positive is that we have developed many new skills and interests along the way.”