How renovation saved these homes from being ugly
How renovation saved these homes from being ugly
One of the smartest buys in today’s real estate market is to take a house that nobody wants and turn it into a thing of beauty. That’s one of the things we at Pzazz Building love most about what we do.
Here are some amazing examples of ugly ducklings that have been turned into swans.
This may look to you like a standard New Zealand home from the 1970s, but to the new owners, it looked plain and ordinary, and they wanted something special. Believe it or not, the image at the top of this article is the result of their home extension and renovation project. Not only is their new ‘Screen House’ bolder and more remarkable than before, but it also benefits from being bigger and having sweeping views from the new top floor.
The home extension gave the designers more freedom to experiment with the interior spaces, heightening and opening up the living area and using a clever mezzanine to create more space without spoiling the expansive, airy feeling below.
Here’s a bit of Kiwiana for you. Before the 1950s, Aucklanders used to get about in trams. When they were de-commissioned, some bright spark got the idea of shipping them down to the Coromandel Peninsular and using them as holiday baches. Unfortunately, as the photo below shows, the result was less than pretty.
However, some Kiwis have taken the opportunity to renovate and modernise their tram baches while still reflecting the glory of yesteryear. The speckled Formica-style benchtop, mosaic glass splashback and poster art in the kitchen and dining area pictured above have retained some of the tram’s original character while providing all mod cons.
We don’t have any ‘before’ shots of this renovation, but as you can see from the enormous suspended timber beams, this was once an old farm barn. By brightening up the interior with natural light and white-and-grey modern décor, the best of old and new has been achieved.
Sandwiched between two other buildings, this renovated home in Montreal, Canada, looks sleek and modern, but it wasn’t always his way.
This is what the house looked like originally. But for all its dowdiness, the old place had some features worth keeping – old brick, natural wood beams and a hardwood floor.
Although the new living space is bright and airy, some of the original home’s character can be seen in the exposed beams and timber ceiling.
If you have an, ahem, ugly home with the laudable intention of adding value through renovations or extensions, talk to us
about your plans. As we mentioned earlier, we love nothing more than transforming ugly ducklings into swans and would love to hear your ideas and share our ideas and 3D Design Modelling
with you.
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