This young couple used their love of character homes to turn a prefab house into a unique family home filled with vintage treasures
This Christchurch family home is a vintage lovers paradise
Meet & Greet
Angela Fairmaid, 33 (founder of Miss Vintage), Julian Fairmaid, 34 (civil construction operations manager), Georgia, 2, and Cleo the cat.
Things I love
The solid mahogany vintage sewing cabinet under the television that has been converted into our entertainment unit. The quality of this kind of piece often surpasses a lot of new items available these days.
Our antique valve radio. Georgia and I listen to it while eating breakfast every morning.
The layout of the home. All rooms are easy to get to without a long hallway to trek down.
Our large kitchen. A lot of new-builds have a small kitchen that is not in proportion with the house. Ours is about one-third of the total open-plan living area space. And our kitchen island bench is 3.5 metres long! It’s great.
Things I’d change
I would increase the width of the hallway by 200mm and have a fourth bedroom/office. At the time of building, we didn’t think it was necessary, but now, working from home, it would be nice.
I would upgrade the carpet. It would have cost about $3000 at the time but will cost us much more if we ever want to change it.
I would have a locking handle on the door through to the garage so when the garage door is open I wouldn’t need to worry about Georgia getting outside onto the road.
Budget
- Land purchase price $175,000
- Build contract $265,000
- Landscaping (hard and soft) $40,000
- Window treatments $5000 (through McKenzie & Willis)
- Furnishings Around $30,000 for the entire house.
Total $515,000
Angela’s top second-hand shops
- Vintage Wonderland (Phillipstown)
- Seaside Vintage (New Brighton)
- Twine Antiques (Waikuku)
- Revamp Vintage Market (Christchurch Girls’ High School, Merivale, every 3 months)
Scroll down to see more photos:
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From left - Angela, Georgia and Julian Fairmaid.
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Lots of love and lashings of flair have made this predesigned house a unique and treasured home.
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The pieces decorated with script and bearing a dragonfly motif were embellished by Angela.
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Angela’s favourite spot is the cane basket chair. Julian made the vertical bookshelf behind it.
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The cosy couch is topped with an ever-changing array of cushions.
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This vintage velvet-covered glory box is great as seating and toy storage.
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The floral rug in Georgia’s room resembles one Angela had as a child.
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The bedrooms feature a mix of retro and recent purchases. The beds are new, as Angela says: “It’s important that where you sleep is comfortable.”
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Floor plan
Contacts
House and land: GJ Gardner Homes
Electrical work: Christchurch Electrical
Site works and hard landscaping: Hunter Civil
Kitchen design: Sandy Eagle
Words by: Ady Shannon. Photography by: Kate Claridge.
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