Architect Mark Leong and his wife Lucy Coote (of Salad Days ceramics) lived in Sydney when their twin daughters were born. Used to a life of small apartments and terraced homes, the girls' arrival led them to reevaluate their priorities, bringing them back to Aotearoa and closer to whānau. Hunting for a home, Leong admits that they had "A big, long list of things we wanted," which boiled down to a new or nicely renovated home. "We were at a time in our lives where we didn't have the capacity for a build of any size," says Coote. "We were tired," summarises Leong.
But then a two-bedroom villa came up online. Adorned with a nineties-era cafe-scene mural, the home was well-known in Wellington as the Rintoul Street Cafe. Lying on a prominent corner site, it ticked very little off their wishlist, but its heritage features and potential studio space (aka outhouses) culminated in an undeniably "good feeling", says Coote. Although it needed a generous overhaul, they had the creative nous to transform it into something special, so following an initial visit, Leong did a rough sketch of how they could renovate. A few years down the track, that's essentially what we see today.
It's a perimeter house built against the southern boundary. A long extension is deftly stitched onto the back of the old home, wrapping around a sheltered courtyard. Getting rid of all the tired bits and pieces, Leong relocated three bedrooms, a bathroom, dining area and utilities into the original form, with the open kitchen and versatile main bedroom/den/playroom out the back. "We've kept the layout flexible so it can grow with us as our needs change," says Coote sagely. Three high Vantage windows on this back wall provide a playful connection to the wide rooftop deck while drawing in the morning sun.
Leong orientated the home with its back to the south, allowing the central kitchen space to spill out to the north-facing courtyard through double-height Vantage glazing. Minimal, delicate detailing around the joinery helps the glazing disappear into the home so the outlook takes full focus. For this reason, window placement was paramount. "We built the house around the glass," explains the architect. "What you get is a really nice effect of the building just ending with the view, the sense of borrowed space, of the exterior coming into you."
In the old villa, stormy Wellington nights would come whistling through the floors, doors and windows, so the renovation stepped up the home's thermal performance. The original external walls were strapped, lined, and insulated, and the windows were retrofitted with Vantage double-glazing. In the extension, Leong introduced an exposed, insulated concrete slab floor. The Metro Series joinery is completed with The AGP System with Solux-E low-e glass. These high-performing features allowed the architect to instigate an open layout without fear of heat loss. "It feels calm and solid," says Coote of the final result.
The home eschews trends in favour of a timeless, international feel. It's robust enough to withstand the knocks of family life yet emits a warm and comfortable feel, a balance the couple achieved by partnering honest, hard-wearing concrete and steel with natural materials and soft furnishings. A cohesive colour palette and fresh joinery unite the new and old, while high ceilings and rich natural light open it up to unexpected views. In 2024, it was named the winner of Here Magazine's best house Aotearoa. "It's sleek but not too pretentious or precious," summarises Coote. "A canvas for our family life."
