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This Auckland villa is the perfect union of heritage features and modern style

Article by Simply You

Take a tour through the grand Auckland home of Sido Kitchin, editor-in-chief of Woman’s Day and New Zealand Woman’s Weekly

This Auckland villa is the perfect union of heritage features and modern style

Just over a decade ago, Sido Kitchin left the Seven Network in Melbourne where she had been publicity manager to take the reins at New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, moving back to Auckland with her husband Conrad Armstrong and their daughter Cleo, now 14. But like all best laid plans, it wasn’t the neat transition they’d hoped for.

After an unfruitful house hunt and stint in France Kitchin spied an advert on Trade Me for a villa in Western Springs in January 2010. “This lovely woman was living there with her two kids and I could tell they had been very happy there,” says Kitchin.

The couple knew they would eventually open up the house to take advantage of those jaw-dropping views, but they decided to live in it for a few years first. So by the time Armstong’s father, architect David Armstrong, drew up the plans for the renovation, their vision was clear: they wanted to retain the villa front with its original matai floors and the high stud ceilings then add an open-plan dining room, living room and kitchen area, a wrap-around verandah and a second level downstairs – without it looking like they’d tacked a modern annex onto an old villa.

Words by: Nadine Rubin Nathan. Photography by: Duncan Innes/proof agency.

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