The previous owner of Gerard and Shelley's home was a builder who, in the process of doing it up, decided to sell it. At the time, it had no kitchen, no deck and no side windows. Half of the house was open to the roof, with no ceiling. Despite these shortcomings, Gerard and Shelley saw the old villa's potential, and were actually attracted by the fact that it was only half-renovated, as it meant that they could still put their own stamp on it, and add some value to the property.

Three years later, Gerard and Shelley love their home so much that they say there is nothing they want to change about it - what a complete turnaround! They have excavated down, to create a third level to the home (featuring a guest bedroom, bathroom and play area) and replaced the kitchen, fireplace, deck and side windows that were missing. The living area is now open-plan, and the bathroom has a curved wall and turquoise tiles. While most of the house has been painted in pale grey Resene Quarter Akaroa, the bedrooms are gorgeous shades of blue and green.

What did you want to achieve with the renovation? Just having a bigger floor-space, having a nice flow and creating a family home. We wanted to modernise the villa but keep the heritage look to some extent. So even though we knocked out old walls to make the living area open plan, we put the original style of architraves on the new walls. We kept the original kauri floors in the bathroom - they are now around 113 years old! The French doors at the back of the house are also original.

How would you describe your style? We wanted a modern look mixed with heritage villa style. We've got modern chandeliers and a modern claw-footed bathtub - new twists on old designs.

Where did your inspiration come from? Various places. The bathroom is a copy of one that Gerard saw in a magazine, with turquoise-blue glass mosaic tiles.

What was the biggest challenge? Finding the time and money!

What was the greatest success? The bathroom. It is a striking feature that most people like, and it works well.

Which space in the house do you get the greatest satisfaction from? The kitchen and living room, because we spend so much time there. It's relaxing and the flow from space to space just works so well.

What colours did you use? The boys' bedrooms are Resene Periglacial Blue and Resene Coastal Blue. Our interior designer, Amanda Neill at Designworx, asked what colour the boys liked, and went from there. We also used the same blues in the spare bedroom downstairs and on the box seats upstairs. The Resene Half Washed Green in the master bedroom was chosen by Amanda too, and it works really well. I'd definitely recommend Amanda, especially for choosing colours - she was great. The hallway and main bathroom is Resene Albescent White, and the kitchen and living room is Resene Quarter Akaroa, which I'd describe as a neutral, mushroomy colour. In the past we have had bright, colourful houses - which we like - but it is nice to have a more modern, clean look for a change. It's still more colourful than most people's houses!

The tiles in the en suite bathroom were chosen to match the Resene Half Washed Green walls in the master bedroom. The painted walls in the en suite bathroom are Resene Quarter Akaroa.

In the hallway, modern black chandeliers make a striking statement against Resene Albescent White walls.

The open-plan living area is painted in Resene Quarter Akaroa, which gives a clean, modern look to the old villa.

When Gerard and Shelley bought the house, it had no kitchen. The new, modern kitchen is one of their favourite spaces in the house.

The bathroom is a copy of one that Gerard saw in a magazine, and features a curved wall, claw-footed bath, and turquoise-blue glass tiles. The painted walls are Resene Albescent White.