This Dunedin home features original fixtures that are enjoying a new wave of popularity. Kim Dungey takes a look.
It might be a time capsule from the 1950s, but the new owners of this Andersons Bay home say it fits their lifestyle perfectly.
From its yellow front door to its patterned wallpapers and pegboard cupboards, the house is a perfectly preserved example of mid-century architecture.
It was built in 1957 - the year Janet Frame's first novel was published, 75-year-old Walter Nash became New Zealand's oldest prime minister and Elvis Presley bought a Memphis mansion and called it Graceland - and was owned by one family until sold last year.
Current owners Greg MacLeod and Heidi Hayward liked the open-plan layout, which was a new concept in the 1950s, but were not so keen on the orange and brown carpet which was probably laid in the 1970s.
In the main bedroom, it clashed with two different patterned wallpapers and a "purplish'' ceiling so they exposed the rimu floorboards and painted the walls white, then did the same in their son's room.
"Our intention was to go through and Scandinavia-ise everything,'' Ms Hayward says, a reference to the Nordic preference for clean lines, neutral colours and natural elements.
"But we lived in the house about a week, then stopped all redecorating. We decided we needed to live here a while and we're appreciating more and more what's here and not feeling the need to change things.''
Designed by Bob Middleditch, the four-bedroom home sits below street level, surrounded by greenery, and has a brick basement with vertical timber cladding above.
Inside are all the defining features of 1950s architecture: timber and brick textures, open-plan living spaces separated by built-in storage units, and a change of level between the dining and living areas.
Glass panels allow light into the stairway, which can be reached from the hallway or, less conventionally, by walking through the wardrobe in the main bedroom.
The living area has a floor-to-ceiling window, with a drinks cabinet and poured concrete fireplace set into brick walls in the opposite corner.
The hourglass and saucer-shaped light shades, the patterned wallpapers imported from England and the cupboards of perforated hardboard panels are all original.
In fact, the only changes made over the years appear to be the exterior paint scheme, the orange carpet and the addition of a downstairs library which now serves as a rehearsal room for The Little Cabaret Band, a group that Mr MacLeod sings in and Ms Hayward manages.
The couple, both school principals, plan to create "indoor-outdoor flow'' but there is nothing that they or children Charlotte, Ben and Lucas have wanted for in terms of mod cons: "We're a family who don't have a microwave or a television,'' Ms Hayward says.
"We don't ‘do' modern to a degree. But we haven't missed anything.''
Heritage consultant Michael Findlay says the home's design was influenced by popular British modernism that was showcased during the Festival of Britain in 1951, and was a lighthearted style meant to lift spirits after the war.
The approach involved mixing internal and external materials such as plaster, stone and timber; the red brick in the living room is a good example of this and a favourite motif of Middleditch's.
Overseas, mid-century homes are increasingly sought-after by architectural enthusiasts and those seeking a dose of nostalgia.
Ms Hayward says one reason the house appealed to her when she first saw it was that it looked like her grandparents' place.
"Greg thought we were going away to consider but I was already planning the house-warming in my mind. It just made me smile.''
