"With its long window seat and painted tongue-and-groove ceiling, the deck is reminiscent of an old-fashioned sun porch. It faces north, so it gets the sun all day, and it has lovely views of mature trees and Mt Eden."
The extension features similar painted weatherboards to the original house, and has matching bay windows. It also has large bifolding windows in the kitchen that open out to the deck, creating a flush serving hatch for the barbecue area.
"We kept the kitchen in the same place, as the owner liked the way this worked," says Aimer. "But everything else changed."
The new kitchen has a large island that is almost a square. This provides plenty of bench space for food preparation and serving. The front of the island features backlit Opalite translucent laminated glass that helps to bounce light around the room. The large pocket doors concealing the pantry are also frosted glass. These can be pulled right back, so the entire pantry is open to the kitchen.
To add visual definition to the rear wall of the kitchen, the high bank of cabinets around the tall appliances features a dark-stained timber veneer, while the rest of the cabinets have a white lacquer finish.
"The stairs from the garage come up into the house on the other side of the pantry wall, so the access is a lot easier than it was with an external garage," the architect says. "The owners virtually arrive straight into the kitchen."