Personal touches make this Auckland villa a forever home

MAS Member Sido Kitchin’s Auckland villa is packed with personality and family history. 

Journalist Sido Kitchin had just about given up the search for a family home over the summer holidays when she happened upon a house on TradeMe.  

“It was early January, the worst time to look at real estate, but I spotted an old villa for sale in Western Springs, rang up the owner and popped over that day,” recalls MAS Member Sido, General Manager of Medium Rare Content Agency. “It was a simple house, but there was lots to love, including a big back yard, mataī wooden floors and high ceilings. My mum always had villas, so they feel like home to me.” 

Singer Reb Fountain was the owner, and she had been happy there with her 2 children. “I was also looking for a place to raise our kids, Cleo and Darcy, and it had a lovely vibe.” A couple of days later, Sido and her husband Conrad Armstrong made Reb an offer, she said “yep”, and the house was theirs – no real estate agent involved!  

That was January 2010, and 4 years later, they embarked on a renovation of the circa-1915 villa with the help of Conrad’s architect father, David. “We wanted to stay true to its old style, but open up the back of the house to take in the sun and the view, and provide open plan living for the family.”  

With a dirt-floored basement and a sloping section, “it was a major” to add a second storey downstairs, before doing the upstairs extension and adding a wrap-around verandah.  

When it came to interior design, they called on expert Janice Kumar-Ward. “I wanted her help with the kitchen, but she was so fantastic, she ended up helping with the whole shebang.”  

Sido went for a classic Resene Alabaster for the house exterior, but was “adamant” she didn’t want white walls in the new living area. Old-fashioned blues were mooted. But due to time pressure and indecision – and after some experienced reasoning from Janice – the new open extension was also painted with tried and trusted Resene Alabaster.  

“Janice said I could inject colour and personality into the living area with my stuff, and she was right. It’s a fresh and functional family and entertaining space all year round, and I’m constantly bringing more colour into the room with art, furniture, plants and my funny finds… and there’s coloured walls everywhere else in the house. 

“I wanted a home my kids could grow in and would want to keep coming back to,” says Sido. “My 22-year-old daughter is moving home for the third time this summer. Each time she leaves, I put a fresh coat of a new Resene colour on the walls for our ‘guest room’… but pretty soon she’s back, and I love that.” 

Memorable moments and custom touches 

Warm and spicy Resene Korma walls in the downstairs den offset a treasured loveseat that Sido’s beloved late grandmother had made in the 1970s. “I’m sentimental about family furniture, and I mix old and new in a pretty random way. When I sit in the loveseat, I’m right back to childhood holidays at Grandma’s, feeling like a princess.” The flax hanging was made by Conrad’s sister as a wedding gift, each guest picking a leaf woven into the piece.  

A custom arch was added to the Resene Alabaster hallway, which features a Czech glass light fitting from the 1970s. The kitchen and living room (both in Resene Alabaster) is the perfect backdrop for colourful furniture and fixtures, including an 1800s French dining table, 1960s French lights, bright Muuto dining chairs, a grey marble benchtop, tongue-in-groove cabinetry custom-made by Janice’s husband Julian Ward, and a lush green velvet sofa made locally by Modern Chair.  

Are you house proud? 

We’d love to feature more Members with a passion for interiors in our ‘at home with Resene’ series. Email us at onmas@mas.co.nz. 

Finally got your home looking its best? Make sure your hard work is covered with MAS House Insurance. Get an estimate or talk to a MAS Adviser on 0800 800 627.