The Entertainer House – Saint Mary’s Bay, Auckland City, New Zealand

Historic villa style properties are offering plenty of old world charm but are mostly at odds with modern lifestyle because of their small rooms, often with problematic daylight conditions and little flow to the outside.

A desire for additional living space and a better connection with the garden area was the main driver for the owners to transform their villa. The client wanted to turn the existing layout with an aging and ill-proportioned extension at the back into a contemporary three-bedroom house with seamless access to the backyard and plenty of space for entertaining guests. They also wanted the result as sustainable as possible.

Someone had already previously made a start on updating the house by taking advantage of the natural slope and adding an extension, a carport and a small storage room underneath the existing house, but these weren’t executed particularly well.

Aside from this previous renovation that incorporated a modern kitchen, the house had mostly kept its historic villa detailing. While not a heritage site itself, an important consideration was to maintain the existing character, which along with the street facing façade include plaster ceiling decorations, a detailed front porch and the arch in the hallway.

Maintaining these elements, while giving the renovation its own distinction, came down to creating a seamless flow from the front to the back and highlighting the contrast between old and new by the choice of materials and the hierarchy given to the various spaces.

Coming in at the front door, you’re at the heart of the original structure, the central hallway, leading off to the rear of the property. As one moves through the space, there is a sense of the hallway falling away as the space opens up while entering the new extension with the lounge, the dining area and the open-plan kitchen with a small scullery.

The relationship between old and new is marked by contrast: the extension, a strong, uncomplicated solid form as opposed to period details of the villa, polished concrete as opposed to Kauri timber floors, black steel cladding in contrast to white painted weatherboards and an expanse of glass as opposed to the small, historic sash windows.

Practically, the whole house functions as the owners wanted it to. The new open-plan area with its generous openings is blurring the lines between outside and inside and can be one big space to accommodate a lot of people or closed down for just a few. The spaces work really well because we attempted to distinguish the new from the old. This creates the opportunity to intensify the experience of the villa through contrast, while the character of the original remains tangible.

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A house of contrasts with a traditional street facade and a modern addition to the rear.	The refined details of the street frontage. A story across the ages, this house combines the original transitional villa with a modern addition at the back.	The previous extension lacked a proper integration with the surrounding back garden.
The monolithic form of the dark steel cladding of the extension enhances the contrast to the historic parts with its white-painted weatherboards.	The generous sliding doors help create a sense that the living/ dining area are at once internal spaces as well as external ones.	The "before" picture shows the variety of building styles on the rear of the villa.
Boundaries between indoors and outside have been deliberately blurred with the open plan seamlessly transitioning into a generous outdoor dining and sitting areas.	Demolishing previous alterations and extensions to the villa.	A number of original features were retained including the original hallway. The openings at the rear wall help to visually reinforce the axial progression from the front door to the back of the property.
A refurbished bedroom in the historic front part of the house.	The rear of the property prior to renovation.	The richness and playfulness of the backyard complements the clear and simple lines of the extension.
Enjoying city views from the transformed, all-important outdoor spaces without compromising the interiors.	The ensuite bathroom of one of the bedrooms.	The newly positioned kitchen with a separate scullery.
The crisp, white kitchen in contrast with a black benchtop and the polished concrete floor of the extension.

The Entertainer House – Saint Mary’s Bay, Auckland City, New Zealand

Back to Projects page

A house of contrasts with a traditional street facade and a modern addition to the rear.

The refined details of the street frontage. A story across the ages, this house combines the original transitional villa with a modern addition at the back.

The previous extension lacked a proper integration with the surrounding back garden.

The monolithic form of the dark steel cladding of the extension enhances the contrast to the historic parts with its white-painted weatherboards.

The generous sliding doors help create a sense that the living/ dining area are at once internal spaces as well as external ones.

The "before" picture shows the variety of building styles on the rear of the villa.

Boundaries between indoors and outside have been deliberately blurred with the open plan seamlessly transitioning into a generous outdoor dining and sitting areas.

Demolishing previous alterations and extensions to the villa.

A number of original features were retained including the original hallway. The openings at the rear wall help to visually reinforce the axial progression from the front door to the back of the property.

A refurbished bedroom in the historic front part of the house.

The rear of the property prior to renovation.

The richness and playfulness of the backyard complements the clear and simple lines of the extension.

Enjoying city views from the transformed, all-important outdoor spaces without compromising the interiors.

The ensuite bathroom of one of the bedrooms.

The newly positioned kitchen with a separate scullery.

The crisp, white kitchen in contrast with a black benchtop and the polished concrete floor of the extension.

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