Marrying old with new, this beautifully balanced renovation by Shaun Bradley Builders has delivered a superb contemporary family home and the perfect backdrop for the owners' impressive collection of art.

WORDS Kathy Catton PHOTOGRAPHY Charlie Jackson

ARTWORKS The impressive painting featured in the dining area is 'Ascent into thin air' by Simon Edwards, sourced from The Central Art Gallery in the Christchurch Arts Centre.

Tucked away in the quiet suburb of St Albans, Christchurch, but close enough to the bustle and charm of the city centre, sits a villa with equal bustle and beauty. What passers-by on the street may fail to see is the magnitude of work that has gone into creating this beautiful home. While the front of the property has been restored to its near-original state, the back of the house has had an extensive renovation to include a modern living and dining space that flows seamlessly together with its frontage.

“I wanted to link the old villa to the modern extension, restoring all the lovely details of the villa, while at the same time giving a fresh and modern feel to the extension,” says the homeowner. “I wanted it to be completely different from the villa, but at the same time linked.”

Shaun Bradley of Shaun Bradley Builders was contracted by the homeowners to take on the task of stripping out the property to its “bare bones” and managing the renovation.

“This was a combination of insurance repairs post-earthquakes, and the homeowners wanting a major renovation,” says Shaun. “The whole house was re-piled and re-levelled. Ninety per cent of it has new bracing, new insulation and there is a totally new reconfiguration of the subfloor.”

With the internal linings, fittings and fixtures all gone, this was a great chance to start anew. However, a large-scale renovation such as this was not without its complications. “We were re-piling in the middle of winter,” states Shaun. “We had high water levels to deal with, which meant we were digging deep piles with a large amount of concrete.”

The biggest obstacle of all for the builder was the fact that nothing was square or level or plumb as they were dealing with a 100-year-old property that had seen countless earthquakes in the last ten years alone. “It certainly was an enjoyable challenge,” smiles Shaun. “This is one of the joys of building, and it’s something I love to do.”

The freshly updated and redecorated interiors now exude modern elegance and class without compromising the home’s traditional character.

“It was a great team environment where everyone worked together to get a fantastic result for the homeowners. The homeowners were active in this team as well. It was a combination that really worked,” states Shaun.

Wilson and Hill Architects were part of this combination and were engaged by the homeowners to bring these ideas to reality in the form of comprehensive plans and instructions. The brief was to enhance the historical character of the villa and renovate the contemporary family areas. Chris Wilson, of Wilson and Hill Architects, had worked on several projects with Shaun in the past, so it was a natural fit to work together again on this one.

“The main challenge in this project for us as architects was to increase the light in the family rooms. By reorganising the space and relocating the kitchen, we already had better use of the space. Still, when compared to the villa, with the high ceilings and high windows, the existing extension lacked light,” says Chris Wilson. “What we did to overcome this was to raise the doors and windows in the extension and add new skylights. This has made a huge difference to the space.”

“We are really pleased with how this home now looks and feels,” says Chris. “We have managed to maintain that strong historic atmosphere of the villa and add a contemporary extension that feels modern and can fit in with family’s day to day needs.”

And the kitchen area certainly reflects this family’s needs for space and sanctuary. The dark oak floors add depth in predominantly white surroundings with an array of stunning artwork on the walls.

What is particularly stunning is the use of granite in the kitchen. Shane Boyd, of Shane Boyd Granite Benchtops, worked with the homeowners to choose a striking green- and black-veined quartzite benchtop from Italy (sourced originally from Norway). The granite was then polished and mitred by Shane to 60 mm.

“The tricky part for me was creating a substantial steel frame to support the overhang at the breakfast bar area at the end of the island,” says Shane. “The steel frame was needed, so there was no sag due to the weight of the granite. It’s all do-able for us, and I think the radical green-veined island that the homeowner has chosen really pops,” smiles Shane.

Indeed the homeowners were impressed with Shane and his willingness to support them in their choice of colours and materials.

With a fabulous outdoor flow leading to a great private outdoor space with plenty of options to develop a garden, the homeowners chose to install a swimming pool, using the services of Mayfair Swimming Pools. An outdoor pool was not without its complications, but Owen Johnstone and his team took it all in their stride.

“We had a major excavation issue due to high groundwater levels and running sand layers in the ground. We had excessive rain at the time of excavation, as well as limited access due to its location,” says Owen. But the team managed it well with the use of mini excavators and loaders. The fibreglass saltwater pool, heated by a heat pump and with an electric pool cover adds a definite ‘wow-factor’ to the property and certainly contributes to making it a fabulous family home.

The nature of a project like this meant that the painters always had to be in communication with the builders to ensure they worked in sync with other tradespeople. Wisker Contracting recognises the need for excellent communication between painters and homeowners with regards to fine-tuning colour schemes and timeframes.

“With a combination of new and old surfaces we had to use a wide range of preparation methods on this project,” says Garth of Wisker Contracting.

We used one of our experienced teams on this project,with Johnny ”the Rock” able to support the younger members of his team, making sure their attention to detail never faltered. Mick looked after all the wallpapering and his vast experience hanging wallpaper proved to be invaluable. I`m really proud of the performance and finish achieved by our guys and girls involved with this particular project”

KITCHEN Sourced and installed by Shane Boyd Granite Benchtops, the green and back quartzite benchtop adds a striking feature to the sleek kitchen.

Everything about this property exudes consideration and thoughtfulness. For example, the sense of continuity between the two spaces is honoured with the dark oak flooring that Shaun’s team installed in herringbone style in the dining, living, and kitchen areas. This de-marks a change in space when entering the space from the villa, where the boards are installed straight. Replicas of antique brass hardware were used in the villa and new brass elements, including contemporary hardware (sourced from the US by the homeowner), were used in the renovation of the existing extension. Shaun is particularly proud of the flooring. “The flooring got delayed arriving from Italy, but when it did arrive we made sure we installed it as perfectly as possible. We took some time to set it out, but that was all part of the joy of making the space flow.”

Old embraces new as character and contemporary charm combine. Spacious and streamlined, this impressively updated home has everything its owners could have dreamed of. The results are certainly worth celebrating.

“We were really impressed with Shaun and his team,” states the homeowner. “They had a great can-do attitude and proactively addressed issues as they unfolded. They were always solution-focused, punctual and tidy and provided a quality finish throughout.”