The Bungalow They Always Wanted
Hillsborough 1930s Bungalow 2026
A young family ready to come down from a three-level townhouse.
Maddy and Carl had two young children and were done with stairs. They wanted a 1930s bungalow — single-level living, sun in the morning, a kitchen that opened to the garden.
The Hillsborough listing they found was 1930s, just under 100 m², last lived in as a rental and chopped into four small rooms. But Carl had spotted something on the floor plan that made him pick up the phone before they signed.
We met them on site, walked the house, and gave them the verdict.
The full 12-page Hillsborough design story.
Every design decision behind Maddy and Carl’s bungalow extension — the pre-purchase walkthrough, the walls that came out, the bathroom debate, the porch reborn, and how a 1930s rental became their family home. Drop your email, we’ll send the PDF straight to your inbox.
One wall down. The house finally breathed.
Carl had spotted a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and the living, and another small wall between the kitchen and a small fourth bedroom. If both walls came out, the whole back of the house could breathe again. The old layout didn’t suit modern family living — the question was whether opening it up was possible.
“The house just transformed. It was supposed to be dark. It wasn’t anymore.
Yes — the wall could come out with a structural beam concealed in the ceiling. The bedroom window could come out too, replaced with French doors direct to the deck. The old back porch could be pulled into the building envelope and become a laundry plus minibar with a hidden microwave. The tired old bathroom could become one stunning one. A new bedroom could be carved from the existing patio space. Cost planner priced every line before they signed. While council read the plans, Jonna — our in-house interior designer — picked every finish. Fixed price. Fixed dates. Master Build Guarantee.
On time. On budget. Six months on site.
The bungalow they always wanted — for the next twenty years.
Today the kitchen, dining and living are one open room. Light comes in from four directions. The French doors swing wide to the deck on a summer afternoon and the kids run in and out. The bathroom is the room nobody wants to leave. The minibar — opposite the kitchen, in what used to be a rotting back porch — has become one of the most-used corners of the house.
The new bedroom flexes between guest, office, and future master bedroom as the kids grow. The original Rimu doors and native timber floors were restored, not replaced. The new kitchen and bathroom are modern. The doors you walk through and the floors under your feet are the same ones the 1930s family walked across.
Maddy and Carl’s verdict: “If we did this again, we wouldn’t renovate any other way.”
Before & After
The kitchen as we found it — cramped 1990s cabinetry, boxed-in, no room for two people to cook at once.
Wall down. Fluted island. Brushed brass. The kitchen, dining and living — finally one room.
Want to know what this project actually cost?
The full budget breakdown for this Hillsborough bungalow extension lives inside the 12-page design story — line by line, room by room, including what sits inside each investment level for a 1930s extension of this scope in Auckland.
- The actual budget range for this project
- What sat inside each investment level
- Where the money went, room by room
- How design-and-build keeps the number fixed
Inside the finished bungalow.
The fluted islandThe bathroom
Laundry + minibar
Kitchen wide view
Brushed gold shower set
Pantry & cooktop
Indoor-outdoor flowFive steps. Same process, every job.
The scope, in plain English.
A bungalow extension and remodel — structural, layout, finishes, and a restored character home. Here’s what was involved.
Wall + Beam
Engineered removal of the load-bearing wall between kitchen and old fourth bedroom. New beam concealed in the ceiling, opening the back of the house into one room.
French Doors
Old bedroom window replaced with full-width French doors opening onto the existing deck. Maddy wanted sliders — we made the case for French doors in a small house.
New Kitchen
Melteca Snowdrift Satin + Classic Oak Organic cabinetry, fluted Laminex Demi-round 40 island, Pure White stone benchtop with Classic Oak overhang, Quantum Majorca Mint mosaic splashback, Bosch oven + induction cooktop + dishwasher, Sirius rangehood, brushed gold mixer over a stainless double-bowl.
New Bathroom
6.48 m² fully-tiled wet room in Quantum Venture Travertine Silver. Newmark 1500 freestanding bath, walk-in shower, Pettine 900 Legna timber-look vanity, SEU brushed gold tapware throughout, Newtech heated towel rail, Halo LED mirror.
Porch Conversion: Laundry + Minibar
Old back porch enclosed, insulated and converted to a laundry zone with full plumbing plus a minibar with hidden microwave (behind a normal-open door, set low for the kids). Designed by Jonna Jeong, AVR’s in-house interior designer.
New Bedroom + Dressing · Character Saved
12.28 m² bedroom plus dressing area carved from existing patio space — flexes between guest room, office, and future master bedroom. Original Rimu doors stripped and re-varnished. Native timber floors sanded and re-coated.
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Maddy & Karl, in their own words.
Four minutes inside the finished bungalow — what they wanted, what changed, and why they’d do it the same way again.
If we did this again, we wouldn’t renovate any other way.
Get an instant estimate for your renovation.
Answer a few quick questions about your project — rooms, scope, and size — and we’ll give you a realistic Auckland cost range in under two minutes. No phone call needed.
