West Auckland
Full Home Renovation
in West Harbour, West Auckland
An ageing family home reworked top to bottom for three generations under one roof
Completed 2022
RENOVATION
Project Managed By
Kevin Yang
Project Management
kevin@superiorrenovations.co.nz
0800 199 888
Quick answer: A full home renovation in West Harbour, West Auckland – an ageing family home reworked top to bottom for three generations under one roof: a new kitchen, four bathrooms, five bedrooms, a re-roof, double glazing, full insulation and a landscaped section.
| Location | West Harbour, West Auckland |
| Completed | 2022 |
| Scope | Kitchen, 4 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms, staircase, re-roof, double glazing, full insulation, flooring, landscaping and automatic gate – full project management |
| Designer | Superior Renovations design team |
| Project type | Owner-occupier |
Why This West Harbour Family Stayed Put and Renovated
Seven adults. One home. Three daughters in their twenties, their parents, and their grandparents – all under the same roof, in a house that had run out of room.
The parents were ready to sell up and buy somewhere new. The daughters weren’t. They loved the sea views, and they loved that their cousins lived four minutes down the road.
“Our cousins are very close to us; they are like 4 minutes away and that is one of the reasons that we do not want to move. We have always been together,” Karishma told us.
West Harbour grew up through the 1980s and 90s – brick-and-weatherboard homes on the western shore of the Waitemata, plenty of them with the harbour and city views this family wasn’t about to give up. So they renovated instead of moving. The whole house.
They didn’t rush it. They got quotes from several renovation companies, ran the contracts past their lawyers, and spoke to people we’d worked with before – because they’d heard the horror stories.
“We had heard stories from friends that they renovated their house with a builder who ran away with the money. We just wanted to be protected,” said Vijitha.
The brief had to work for everyone. The daughters wanted their own bedrooms and bathrooms. Their mother wanted a kitchen that actually functioned, and a garden she could grow vegetables in. Their father wanted somewhere to entertain outdoors. The grandparents needed their own space. Pulling all of that into one house – and managing the whole thing from design through to the final coat of paint – is what this project became.
Why us? The answer was about fit. “He was very personable, but also had practical suggestions, and we felt like we really connected with him.”
The Kitchen – Two Cooks, One Connected Space
A kitchen almost always carries a full home renovation, and this one did double duty. Mum wanted space, storage and a clean modern look. The daughters wanted their own corner for baking, with appliances that didn’t get in her way.
So we ran the cabinetry out of the kitchen and along the dining area – same materials, same finish – giving the girls a dedicated baking zone and a long cabinet that doubles as a buffet when the family entertains. Black fronts against a neutral benchtop, no handles, the whole run reading as one piece from the living room.
Built for a busy household
A kitchen this size has to take traffic. Spices within reach, dishwasher beside the sink, storage everywhere it’s needed. The pull-out bins, the magic corner, the boiling tap – small decisions that make a shared kitchen workable day to day. It’s the kind of layout problem our kitchen renovation team works through on most builds.
Materials and appliances
- Water-resistant 16mm MR MDF carcass
- 18mm premium acrylic fronts, gloss finish
- Handleless profile for a clean contemporary look
- BLUM soft-close hinges and runners
- 30mm engineered stone benchtop, marble look, waterfall edge
- Pull-out rubbish and recycling bins, plus a magic corner pull-out
- SMEG 60cm built-in dishwasher, 60cm pyrolytic wall oven and 90cm six-burner gas cooktop
- Insinkerator boiling tap and waste disposal
Flooring
The old kitchen had tiles underfoot – cold in winter, hard on the feet. We swapped them for premium laminate in an oak finish running through the kitchen, dining and living, so the whole open-plan space reads as one floor.
Before
After
Four Bathrooms in One Contemporary Language
All four bathrooms were dated, so all four got a full redo. Because the whole house was being insulated, we took each one back to the framing and insulated it once demolition was done. Downstairs, a separate bathroom and toilet were knocked together into a single large ensuite.
One contemporary thread runs through all four, with the detail shifting room to room. Fitting four bathroom renovations into a single project is as much about a consistent language as it is about the individual rooms.
- 600×600 tiles throughout walls and floors, grout matched to the tile, for fewer lines and a calmer finish
- Smaller bathrooms: darker Tile Grey Glamour 600×600, with chrome tapware and shower fittings
- Larger ensuites: lighter Lux Silver 600×600, with matte black tapware and fittings
- Large tiled showers in every bathroom; one tight bathroom got a corner diamond glass shower to fit the space
- A standalone 1700 bath in one ensuite
- Modern vanities, LED touch mirrors and heated towel rails in all four
Larger-format tile wasn’t the default a few years back – smaller tiles were the norm. The move to big-format tile is what gives these rooms their quieter, less busy feel.
Before
Before
Before
After
After
After
A Staircase Brought Up to Date
Nothing was structurally wrong with the old staircase. It was just dated, like the rest of the house. We rebuilt it with glass-panel balustrades for a lighter, more open feel, and swapped the chandelier to match the contemporary look running through the home.
Five Bedrooms and Built-In Wardrobes
Paint and flooring
Every bedroom wall was plastered, undercoated and painted in neutral oil-based tones. The old carpet came out and new carpet went down in a greyish beige. Keeping the palette neutral gave all five rooms a fresh, crisp base.
Wardrobes that buy back space
We pulled out the old storage and built new wardrobes in every room. Glass sliding doors save floor space and make the rooms feel larger – handy in the girls’ bedrooms. The master got a his-and-her walk-in, and one bedroom picked up floating shelves for extra storage.
- Mr Blinds sunscreen roller blinds (Titanium) in every room
- Mr Blinds blockout roller blinds (Tundra) in every room
- Underlay and 30mm carpet throughout
- MDF carcass with acrylic panels in one wardrobe; glass sliding doors in the rest
- Two oil-based undercoats and one oil-based topcoat, neutral Dulux
- LED ceiling lights in every bedroom
Outside – Garden, Gate and a New Roof
The outdoors got the same full treatment as the inside.
A garden, and a vegetable patch
Mum wanted somewhere to grow vegetables, herbs and – non-negotiable – chillies. We landscaped in two parts: a small lush garden to the front right, and a tiled outdoor-living area edged with vegetable patches out the back.
Gate, fence and security
The plan started as a standard timber fence. The clients upgraded to an automatic electric gate – partly for the look, mostly for security. We added a pin-entry door and security cameras around the property.
Roof, glazing and exterior
The roof was replaced. Double glazing went in, the house was fully insulated, and the exterior and roof were painted top to bottom. New paving and a driveway finished it off.
Before
Before
After
After
What a Full Home Renovation Like This Costs in Auckland
Every renovation is priced to its own scope – the number of rooms, the materials, and how much structural, roofing or consent work is in play. A whole-house project like this one moves on far more variables than a single-room reno, so a headline figure would only mislead. For a realistic Auckland estimate built around your own home, use our renovation cost calculators.
💡 Quick tip: On a full-home job the budget is usually driven less by the finishes you can see and more by the work you can’t – re-roofing, double glazing, insulation and consent all add up before a single tile goes on.
“I am just so glad it finished before the wedding. We wanted time to move in and the renovation was done fairly quickly, so we have now moved in and can start preparing for the wedding.”
– Vijitha, West Harbour
One Home, Built to Hold a Whole Family
This was never a single-room tidy-up. It was a full home renovation in West Harbour that let three generations stay in the house – and the suburb – they didn’t want to leave. New kitchen, four bathrooms, five bedrooms, a re-roof, double glazing, full insulation, and a section reworked for both a vegetable garden and somewhere to entertain.
If you’re weighing up whether to renovate or move, that’s exactly the call we help Auckland families make.
➡ Book your free in-home consultation with Superior Renovations
➡ See how we manage full-home renovations across Auckland
➡ Request a free feasibility report for your project
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the full home renovation in West Harbour involve for this family?
The whole house was reworked. We renovated the kitchen, four bathrooms, five bedrooms and the staircase, then handled the building envelope as well: a new roof, double glazing, full insulation, new flooring throughout, and exterior and roof painting. Outside, we landscaped a garden and vegetable patch and installed an automatic electric gate. It was full project management from design through to the final finish, for a household of seven adults across three generations.
How do you renovate one home for three generations living together?
You design for separate needs under one roof. The daughters got their own bedrooms and bathrooms with built-in wardrobes. The mother got a functional kitchen and a vegetable garden. The father got an outdoor entertaining area. The grandparents got their own space. In the kitchen we extended the cabinetry into the dining area so the daughters had a baking zone of their own without crowding the main bench - a small move that keeps two cooks out of each other's way.
What kitchen materials and appliances were used?
The cabinetry is a water-resistant 16mm MR MDF carcass with 18mm premium acrylic gloss fronts in a handleless profile, on BLUM soft-close hinges and runners. The benchtop is a 30mm engineered stone in a marble look with a waterfall edge. Storage includes pull-out bins and a magic corner. Appliances are SMEG - a 60cm built-in dishwasher, 60cm pyrolytic wall oven and 90cm six-burner gas cooktop - plus an Insinkerator boiling tap and waste disposal.
Why were the kitchen floor tiles replaced with laminate?
The original kitchen had tiles on the floor, which are cold in winter and hard underfoot. Because the kitchen, dining and living now flow as one open-plan space, we laid premium laminate in an oak finish across all three. It runs as a single floor, warms up the space, and is easier on the feet in a kitchen that sees a lot of use.
What tiles and tapware went into the four bathrooms?
All four use 600x600 tiles on walls and floors with grout matched to the tile, for fewer lines and a calmer look. The smaller bathrooms use a darker Tile Grey Glamour with chrome tapware and shower fittings; the larger ensuites use a lighter Lux Silver with matte black tapware. Every bathroom has a large tiled shower, one tight room has a corner diamond glass shower, and one ensuite has a standalone 1700 bath. All four have modern vanities, LED touch mirrors and heated towel rails.
Did the renovation include the roof and exterior?
Yes. Beyond the interior rooms, the home was re-roofed, fully insulated and fitted with double glazing, then the exterior and roof were repainted. The section was landscaped into a garden and an outdoor-living area, and the original fence plan was upgraded to an automatic electric gate with a pin-entry door and security cameras. New paving and a driveway completed the exterior.
Could the family keep their West Harbour location and still get a modern home?
That was the whole point. The parents had considered selling, but the family wanted to keep the harbour views and stay close to relatives four minutes away. A full home renovation let them modernise every part of the house while staying in the West Harbour street they didn't want to leave - usually a stronger outcome than moving when the location is the thing you value most.
How much does a full home renovation in West Harbour cost?
There's no single figure for a whole-house project - the cost moves on how many rooms are involved, the materials chosen, and how much roofing, structural and consent work is required. A full renovation like this carries a lot of cost in the parts you don't see, such as re-roofing, insulation and double glazing. For a realistic estimate built around your own home, the best starting point is our online renovation cost calculators.
Further Resources
- More completed Auckland renovation projects
- Real client stories from across Auckland
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