This cottage has a stunning, architecturally designed secret

There’s something deceptively modest about the “cottage” at 4 Kenley Place, in Avondale, Auckland.

From the street, it looks like a smart, yet simple 1960s-built bungalow, with an artfully overgrown garage and funky pergola-style outdoor seating area off to one side.

On closer inspection, though, architect Maria Hosking and builder James Hosking’s home is anything but simple - or cottagey.

"I was working in a firm. It was my first personal project," says Maria, who now co-runs her own architectural practice.

The couple were “on the lookout” for something they could afford and that was close to the city.

Working on her thesis and full time at an architectural firm, Maria didn’t even get to see the house before they bought it. James was able to purchase the home in a private sale.

“We were looking for a project,” Maria says. “And this was ripe for us to do something with. I also grew up in Titirangi, so it was nice to be on that side of the city, closer to my mum and dad and extended family as well.”

They had a master plan that started with a few little jobs to tide them over until the consents for the major extension came in: a new fireplace, and a slatted pergola in front of the house, then a very funky concrete and crazy paving fire pit in the far corner of the garden, to catch the last of the sun.

"It's a nice space to be in. I used to sit in the two-bedroom cottage and watch the last of the sun fall in that corner at the end of the day, and I was like, 'Oh, we need to do something special there', because my eye kept being drawn to that corner."

Then they began an extension which would include two guest bedrooms and a master suite connected to the home via a wide, glass-enclosed corridor that almost acts like a sunroom.

If what they achieved in the garden and the extension gives mid-century vibes, it's in response to the original house rather than a deliberate choice.

"When you're doing such a major extension to an existing house, my approach is usually to do something that is quite different. It's not trying to be the same, but is quite sympathetic. Not a stark contrast, not a black box on the back of it."

They added “really generous” sliding doors from each of the bedrooms into the wide corridor. With the glass sliding doors open, the rooms spill out into the courtyard as well.

“It extends the size of the courtyard as well,” she says. “In the winter, the kids like to play in it, like a sunroom, and because it's got the thermal mass and catches the sun, it's naturally really warm.

“The way you circulate the building, you quite often go from inside to outside to inside through that space as well. I think it makes the whole property feel more generous.”

There are two outbuildings in the garden, one a garage to the side of the house and the other a sleepout at the rear, by the fire pit.

“It's been a man cave, had a sports TV and a beer fridge out there. It's been a kids’ playroom. And at the moment, we use it for a bit of everything," she says. "It's actually really practical, because we can put the bean bags and the squabs from the outdoor furniture in there in the winter when it's raining."

Now, however, this architect-builder couple has decided to sell the home and seek out another project.

“It's not like we've done it and we're flicking it on. We've really enjoyed it. We've raised their children there, and they are just old enough that we feel like we have capacity to do another project.”

Maria can see another young family like theirs was living in it very happily. But equally, it could be a good home to downsize into from a huge family home.

"My mum says that she would love to live in it."

With a CV of $1,275,000, the home is for sale by auction, which kicks off at 2pm on May 21. The listing is with Dylan Tracey, who is hosting open homes on Friday, May 8, Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10 from 12.30pm to 1pm.