5 Top Tips for Renovating Your Villa

The classic villa design is a coveted, iconic style for New Zealand homeowners. While most of its features add charm and character, others elements are dated and potentially hazardous. Navigate your Waikato villa restoration with these five tips from the pros:

Tastefully mix classic with contemporary

Kiwi villas were typically constructed in the suburbs and along the coast as spacious, single-storey, functional homes. Over a century has passed since the arrival of this home style, and they are still in high demand for their charm and durability.

One challenging part of renovating a villa is determining the traditional details to restore versus the modern influences you’d like to incorporate. More often than not, New Zealand villas retain a spruced up, traditional exterior and incorporate those bigger, contemporary design changes inside. This Hamilton villa renovation included cleaning up and repainting the exterior, while adding modern character to the bathroom and laundry.

Enhance the lighting

Villas are typically very dark, so an impactful renovation tip is to enhance the natural light in your villa with added windows, skylights, or solar tubes.

Consider your other light sources as well. While chandeliers are traditional light fixtures that adorn villas, you have freedom to get creative and explore artistic pendant lights for a more modern feel. Your Waikato Renovation Consultant can help you brainstorm options that will best suit your villa, aesthetic, and budget.

Inspect your flooring

Villa floors can go wonky as the years pass, so it’s important to check the piles under your house. If your floors are quite uneven, the piles might need to be replaced or levelled. Start with the floors before you renovate any other parts of your villa, as moving the floor piles can cause interior wall linings to move or crack.

Many villa style homes in New Zealand were constructed with inadequate foundation bracing and insufficient subfloor ventilation and insulation. Inspecting your floors from the outset of the project can save you time, energy, and money down the road when it comes to villa renovations. Your Renovation Consultant can connect you with the best suppliers and contractors to work on your flooring. They can also arrange inspections and paperwork to ensure your home is code compliant.

Create more space

Opening up your interior to create space and enhance functionality is high on the list of common villa modifications. One of the most effective areas to create space is the kitchen at the heart of the home. Most potential homebuyers look to the kitchen first, and having a spacious, functional kitchen makes your villa highly marketable.

Open plan living is also a major perk. You might choose to create flow between your kitchen, dining, and living areas with an open floor plan layout. Your Waikato Renovation Consultant can provide you with a series of concept drawings and tools to help you design and visualise your new space. 

Hire an expert

Take some of the stress out of your renovation when you choose to hire an industry professional, like the Renovation Consultants at Refresh Renovations Waikato. Our consultants act as your single point of contact for the entirety of the project, from the first briefing meeting to the final walkthrough. They will help you plan your budget and use their extensive industry network to source the best quality suppliers and villa building experts for your renovation.

Having clear, curated steps helped this Karapiro homeowner simplify his art deco bathroom renovation. The Renovation Consultant on the job helped the homeowner land on a reasonable budget and stay within that budget the entire time, even despite an issue with the original flooring. The project was completed on time, too – thanks to a skilled project manager.

FAQs

What is the difference between a villa home and a house?

In New Zealand, villa homes are typically single-story homes built out of timber with metal roofs and wrought-iron lacework detail. A typical house might be one or two storeys, and constructed from other materials like bricks. What makes a villa so precious is its nod to the pre-WW2 days with a specific look and feel. 

Can you build a custom villa house?

Yes, it is possible to construct one of these character homes from scratch with the right team of designers and builders.

Are villas more expensive than other homes?

The cost to build or renovate your villa depends on a variety of factors. Villa renovations in New Zealand can be pricier and more involved as you’re dealing with an older home that could have issues with foundation, electrical wiring, etc. Reach out to a local Renovation Consultant to get a clearer idea of the cost to build or renovate a villa in Waikato.

Ready to transform your villa?

Get in touch with a Renovation Consultant from Refresh Renovations Waikato to start going over your villa house plans, get advice about old villa renovation ideas, and more!