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Residential properties are usually urban properties within city or town boundaries but you will find the same styles of homes on lifestyle blocks and farms. For examples of a cottage, gothic influence homes, Californian bungalow, grand old houses New Zealand style, post war homes, railway and state homes also modern homes view the properties listed below.
The styles of New Zealand residential properties vary considerably. Because you’re going to view a lot of them before you make your choice, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the different styles. Even if you’re buying from overseas, you need a good working knowledge of what you can expect from each category.
New Zealand has a short history of ‘western’ settlement (less than 200 years) so there’s no comparison in age with many of those in the USA or Europe. And often it’s difficult to put an exact date on homes, as many are ‘hybrids’ that have been renovated over the years.
Cottage
Cottages are cute. They were built during the early pioneering days from 1850 to 1900. Usually the cottages were plain and the front door central with two evenly spaced double hung windows on either side. The first cottages did not have a veranda but later it became a feature and you will see terms such as “bellcast” and “bull-nosed” in advertising. It is describing the form of the roof over the veranda. All the cottages are built with timber called weatherboard. The original homes had no insulation. Around the 1920’s and 1930’s fretwork decorations were added to these cottages. There is a definite market for these homes in New Zealand and they are hot favourites of first time homebuyers. In their original state they are small homes and most have been extended and renovated by adding extra living and bedrooms. At the back, usually in a lean-to structure is a bathroom and toilet.
Gothic influence homes
Those homeowners (1850-1870) craving a bit of opulence to the otherwise very functional homes would ask a carpenter to create very decorative bargeboards, finials and other decorations, usually to houses with very steep roofs. Some excellent examples are still very popular today but I’ve also seen some very neglected homes. They can have all the aches and pains of the character homes but when restored and modernised, can be quite expensive as they are in sought-after areas close to city centres.
Villa
Villas (1860-1910) were decorated with fretwork on eave brackets, veranda posts and on the roof gable, bay windows, bull-nosed verandas and decorated bargeboards. The villas have high roof studs (3 - 3.3 metres) and double-hung windows. The front door faces the street. The layout is simple with the rooms opening into a central hallway. Some villas still have a decorative archway of Rimu or Kauri (richly coloured New Zealand timbers) in the main hallway. The parlour or lounge was opulent in comparison to the rest of the home and it is not uncommon to find beautiful stamped metal ceiling roses in the living room.
The villas usually look good, with good proportions and there is a market for these golden oldies, especially if renovated in keeping with the period with modern luxuries added to the basic floor plan.
Californian Bungalow
No one knows exactly where this name has come from, as the New Zealand Californian Bungalow doesn’t have a lot in common with the true Californian style, but it has stuck (period 1910 –1940) and you’ll see it quite frequently in advertising. There was a transitional period of more or less ten years and you will find houses with the characteristics of both the villa and the bungalow.
The evolution from villa to the bungalow was interesting. The ceilings were lower and double-hung windows replaced with casements, lead lights made an appearance, fretwork was phased out, the front door moved to the side of the home, the entrance adorned with a porch. The gable ends and the roofs over bay windows were shingled (timber tiles) and the eaves were exposed. Halls and lobbies were still panelled in Rimu or Kauri and a telltale sign of the bungalow is the old picture rails being replaced by a shelf.
For the first time the house was oriented towards the sun and the floor plan more user friendly. For the first time New Zealanders could order window frames, doors and balustrades out of a catalogue.
Grand old houses - New Zealand style
These houses were built on large blocks of land (from 1910 onwards) for affluent customers, but these days the land has usually been subdivided, leaving the original homestead with reduced garden areas. They were mostly inspired by English architecture, built with weatherboard or brick cladding and two-storied. Advertising often describes these as Arts and Crafts homes, as the style reflects elements of the Arts & Crafts design era. You can expect, steep tiled roofs, open fireplaces, lead light windows and bay windows, abundant Rimu and/or Kauri panel work in the main living areas and a library or reading room. Servants’ quarters were at the back of the house. These homes are lovely, as architects usually designed them and no expense was spared to make them unique, enjoyable homes. You will find these homes all over New Zealand in the old established suburbs. Today they often sell for over a million dollars, depending on its location and quality.
Art Deco
Art Deco style … love it or hate it, it’s had an impact on New Zealand houses. They were built in the 1930’s but every so often there is a comeback when someone decides to build a new home in this style. The style is unmistakably robust - flat roofs hidden behind parapets, zig-zags, chevrons or stepped stream lines painted in a bright colour to contrast with the stucco on the facade. Not only was the exterior shockingly different to the traditional style home, the interior was also quite upbeat with sandblasted glass in doors between living rooms, the use of stainless steel in the kitchen, ceramic tiles and louvre windows. Because of a major earthquake in the 1930s, the North Island township of Napier is a remarkable example of almost a whole town built in this style.
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