A heritage house is rarely preserved by expecting it to act exactly as it did a century ago, because contemporary lifestyles place vastly different demands on its rooms. The owners purchased this early-20th- century Auckland villa because they were immediately attracted to its history and character, yet their lives required an unapologetically contemporary interior shaped by art, books, gardens, fashion, classic cars, and two adult children whose returns from other cities and countries called for both privacy and welcome. Referred to as Papillon, no doubt as a symbol of the transformation and rebirth that was to take place, the house was entrusted to Christian Anderson Architects. The practice, alongside Jeffrey Construction was briefed to carefully restore and reimagine the heritage fabric through restrained improvements, retaining the clarity of its historic street presence while allowing the house to change register at the rear.
With the integrity and craftsmanship of the original architecture preserved, the rear shifts into a much more contemporary language, with steel-framed glazing and expansive openings to the garden. These interventions improve transparency and strengthen the connection with the terraced landscape and mature oak, while making generous room for a multigenerational family. A two-storey steel-and-glass orangery places a finely drawn, transparent structure against the white villa façade, drawing daylight into the home while resolving changes in elevation across the site. A freeform steel staircase rises through all three levels, adding a visual connection between each floor and the outdoors. There is an extraordinary sense of transparency throughout the house, with internal glazing, long sight lines, and views that move between rooms, garden, and sky.
Hannah Warren Interiors gave the rooms their more idiosyncratic charge, taking into account the owner’s eye for art and passion for eclectic furniture. Works by Max Gimblett, Karl Maughan, Peter Stichbury, and many other well-known New Zealand artists were combined with furniture sourced from international suppliers, including Edra, Cameron Design House, John Pomp, Eelco Hilgersom, and Ralph Pucci. The interiors use colour and materials with enough confidence to meet the owners’ collection without receding behind it. Lilac marble slabs envelop the bathrooms, lilac-toned glass was introduced into an existing stained-glass window, and a five-metre island gives the kitchen the scale required by a house intended to gather the family. Lighting from overseas studios and a custom-made dining table extend that sense of individual selection.
The home’s more private areas are equally considered, with a den and library accommodating an extensive book collection, while a dedicated dressing room and separate ensuites serve daily rituals. The children’s suites allow the house to expand when the wider family reconvenes, ensuring that extended stays do not impinge on anyone’s privacy.
A major non-negotiable was accommodating the owners’ collection of classic cars. With a desire to showcase the vehicles, which are treated as seriously as the art on the walls, Christian Anderson Architects designed a six-car garage that doubles as an exhibition space and is finished with split limestone cobble flooring.
That architectural openness continues into the landscape, designed by Aaron Bell-Booth in collaboration with an owner who had previously designed her own gardens and remained closely involved here. Around a mature oak, the formal lawn, outdoor dining and fire area, pool, cobbled vehicle court, and latticed garden pavilion occupy the terraced ground as a sequence of experiences. From each position, several elements remain visible, so movement through the garden continually reveals another relationship with the house.
