Renovation wisdom from Ginamarie Riley

As well as rebuilding the stairwell to open the end of the hallway and gain more space in the main bathroom, we rebuilt the flooring in the entire back section of the house after discovering it wasn’t level, which was a massive expense we didn’t expect,” says Gina. The elegant oak parquet that replaced the old chipboard was painstakingly matched with the kauri floorboards at the front of the house. To embrace the distinction, the team added a brass strip at the end of the hallway, where the two materials meet.

The existing green paint on the walls was replaced with Resene Rice Cake on the architraves, walls and door frames, for a seamless effect. Gina and glass artist Matthew Hall made pendant lights to replace the old chandelier, and the Cane Wave console below them is one of many items throughout the house sourced from her shop, Ornament.

Among the pieces that beautify the smaller living space is a Folia light by Kenneth Cobonpue, a Manhattan bar cart, a Vitrine coffee table, an Almonte rug and a York sofa from Ornament.

A partition wall, walk-in pantry, carpet and terracotta tiles were removed to open and lighten up the kitchen, but the existing bifold windows were held onto. A new raw onyx sink slotted into the benchtop in Breccia Sarda marble in the gap where the old sink was — a tactic that meant the plumbing didn’t need to be moved. To make up for the lack of wall space, the oven and cooktop have been built into the island, where wrap- around seating (stools from Farmers Gina had reupholstered) makes it feel more social. Waiata by Karl Maughan from Gow Langsford Gallery hangs on the wall (far left), while the Opal pendant lights by Ferm Living are from Ornament.