EPSOM, CENTRAL AUCKLAND
Character Bungalow Home Renovation
in Epsom, Central Auckland
A two-storey Epsom bungalow brought up to modern family life — without losing the character that made it worth keeping.
Completed July 2020
RENOVATION
Project Managed By
Kevin Yang
Managing Director/Project Management
kevin@superiorrenovations.co.nz
0800 199 888
Quick answer: This was a full character bungalow home renovation in Epsom, Central Auckland — a modernised kitchen, two bathroom updates, a whole-house repaint, restored timber floors and new carpet throughout, all done while keeping the original chandeliers, panel ceilings, stained glass and casement windows intact.
| Location | Epsom, Central Auckland |
| Completed | July 2020 |
| Scope | Kitchen, ensuite bathroom, standalone guest toilet, full interior repaint, timber floor restoration, recarpeting — full project management |
| Home type | Two-storey character bungalow, five bedrooms |
| Project type | Owner-occupier |
A Five-Bedroom Epsom Bungalow That Needed to Catch Up With the Family
Bungalows and villas are part of New Zealand’s heritage, and Epsom has some of the best of them — two-storey timber homes sitting back on leafy, tree-lined streets. The owners had bought a five-bedroom, two-storey bungalow on one of those streets, and they had no intention of stripping its character out.
The house came with the things you hope to find in a home this age and rarely do all at once: original timber flooring, stained glass windows, elaborate chandeliers, panel ceilings, french doors and casement windows. It even dodged the usual bungalow headache — the old wiring was sound, so there was no full re-wire to budget around.
The problem was the kitchen. It looked the part, with timber cabinets, a gas burner and a granite top, but it did none of the things a young family with two small children needs a kitchen to do. No magic corners, no real storage, nothing that wiped down in five seconds flat. So the brief was specific: modernise the kitchen, repaint the whole house, lay new carpet, and restore every timber fixture — without making the place feel like a different house.
This was a whole-home job rather than a single room, which is where full project management earns its keep. We pulled the kitchen work, the two bathroom updates, the painting, the flooring and the timber restoration under one programme — see how our Auckland home renovation team runs a multi-trade project from design through to handover.
BEFORE
AFTER
Modernising the Kitchen Without Modernising the House
Keeping the integrity of a historic home was the whole point, and the kitchen was the one room the owners felt they had to change. They wanted easy-clean materials and the conveniences you expect today, but a sleek, handle-free, hard-edged kitchen would have looked wrong against the rest of the house.
The answer was a classic traditional Victorian theme. They skipped the popular no-handle cabinet look — too modern for the room — and went with textured cabinet doors and antique-look black handles instead. The panel ceiling above the kitchen was closed in so the new kitchen, not the ceiling, became the focal point of the space. It’s the kind of call you can only make room by room, which is what a proper Auckland kitchen renovation is really about — matching the work to the house, not to a showroom.
Storage Built for Real Family Use
- 350mm rubbish bin pull-out
- Cabinets fitted with shelving and baskets for condiments
- Extra storage cabinets built in under the breakfast island
Appliances and Fixtures
- SMEG 60cm stainless steel dishwasher
- SMEG 90cm Portofino Pyrolytic stainless steel freestanding oven
- SMEG 90cm powerpack rangehood
Custom Cabinetry and Benchtop
- 16mm MR MDF high-water-resistance carcass boards
- Plywood used for cabinets where extra water resistance was needed
- Drawer and cabinet fronts wrapped in Dezignatek Thermoform in a ‘Ronda’ pattern for a vintage look
- Antique-look black handles
- 16mm HPL high-water-resistance sink carcass
- BLUM soft-close hinges
- Blanco Silgranit stone sink for durability
- 30mm engineered stone benchtop in a white-marble look
- City White Gloss 100×300 glazed ceramic wall tiles as the splashback
Preserving the Bungalow’s Old-World Charm
The rule running through the whole job: keep the old-world character, and only change what genuinely made family life better.
Panel Ceilings
- Panel ceilings ran through the lounge, dining room, kitchen and the downstairs family living room
- The owners kept the panel ceilings in the family room and formal lounge
- The kitchen and dining room panel ceilings were closed in
- That kept the eye on the new kitchen rather than the ceiling above it
Timber Floors
- All timber floors and fixtures sanded and treated
- Epoxy filled into the gaps and holes in the timber
- Three coats of commercial-grade waterborne polyurethane to protect the timber and give it a satin finish
Light Fixtures
- The elaborate chandeliers in the lounge and family room stayed
- Pendant lighting added in the kitchen and dining room to suit the updated look
- All other hallway and bedroom fixtures retained
French and Casement Windows
- Every french and casement window kept
- Frames and sills repainted to bring them back to their best
Floating Gas Fireplace
- The floating gas fireplace — the star of the living area — was kept exactly as it was
Two Bathroom Updates: Ensuite and Guest Toilet
We updated a downstairs ensuite and a separate standalone guest toilet, lifting both without fighting the character of the house. The fittings here came largely from Reece — a single supplier for the bathroom work kept the look consistent across both spaces. This was the bathroom renovation side of a much bigger whole-home project.
Ensuite Bathroom
- The existing wet area was kept
- Cassini freestanding bath, 1500 x 700, from Reece
- Frosty Catrina Caesarstone bathroom cabinet with a pearl-white finish, from Reece
- Quadra 420 x 380 Athenite basin, from Reece
- Waterfall shower in the wet area
- Illuminar Demist 690 LED round mirror, from Reece
Standalone Guest Toilet
The owners had a very tight space to turn into a standalone toilet with a basin for guests.
- Toilet and toilet-roll holder, from Reece
- A compact basin mixer, from Reece
- Full repaint
Painting and Flooring Through the Whole House
Plenty of plastering, GIB work and painting ran right through the interior. Downstairs, the timber floors were restored; upstairs and through the bedrooms, old carpet came up and new carpet went down.
Interior Plastering and Painting
- Repaired holes, damage and defects on ceilings, walls, skirting boards, door frames and window frames
- Light sanding and plastering
- Two coats of Dulux waterborne undercoat and low-sheen paint on ceilings and walls
- Dulux oil-based undercoat on all skirting boards, window frames, door frames and doors
- Dulux oil-based topcoat over the same
Flooring
- All timber accents and floors restored
- Light sanding of the timber floors
- Three coats of commercial-grade waterborne polyurethane for protection and a satin finish
- Old carpet removed from all bedrooms, the upstairs hallway and the staircase
- Underlay laid through every area being carpeted
- Scenic Rise 0090 carpet laid
What a Character Home Renovation Like This Costs in Auckland
Every renovation is priced to its own scope. A whole-home job like this — kitchen, two bathrooms, painting, flooring and timber restoration across a two-storey, five-bedroom house — moves on the size of the home, the materials chosen, and how much restoration the original features need. Rather than quote a figure that won’t match your house, use our Auckland renovation cost estimate tools to get a realistic range for your own project.
💡 Quick tip: On a character home, the budget line people forget is restoration — sanding and sealing original timber floors, repainting casement window frames, making good around panel ceilings. It’s labour, not materials, and it’s usually money well spent because it’s the part that keeps the house feeling like itself.
The Result for the Family
The owners ended up with a five-bedroom Epsom bungalow that works for two young kids without reading as a renovation. The kitchen wipes down, stores what a family actually owns, and still suits a Victorian-era home. The chandeliers, the panel ceilings in the lounge, the stained glass and the gas fireplace are all still there. The timber floors look the way they were meant to. That was the whole brief — comfort where it was needed, character everywhere else.
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Character Bungalow Home Renovation in Epsom — Your Questions
What was involved in this character bungalow home renovation in Epsom?
It was a whole-home renovation of a two-storey, five-bedroom bungalow in Epsom, Central Auckland. The work covered a full kitchen modernisation, an ensuite update and a new standalone guest toilet, a complete interior repaint, restoration of the original timber floors, and new carpet upstairs and through the bedrooms. Original features — chandeliers, panel ceilings, stained glass, french and casement windows and the gas fireplace — were kept and restored rather than replaced.
How do you modernise a kitchen in a character home without ruining the character?
You match the work to the house. In this Epsom bungalow the owners wanted easy-clean materials and modern storage, but a sleek handle-free kitchen would have clashed with a Victorian-era home. The solution was textured cabinet doors with antique-look black handles, a white-marble-look engineered stone benchtop, and closing in the kitchen panel ceiling so the new kitchen became the focal point. Modern function, traditional look.
Can you renovate a kitchen and two bathrooms at the same time as painting and flooring?
Yes — that's exactly what whole-home project management is for. On this Epsom project the kitchen, the ensuite, the guest toilet, the interior painting, the timber floor restoration and the recarpeting all ran under a single managed programme, so the trades were sequenced rather than tripping over each other. It's the practical advantage of pulling a multi-room renovation under one roof.
What kitchen materials and appliances were used?
The cabinetry used 16mm moisture-resistant MDF carcasses with plywood where extra water resistance was needed, fronts wrapped in Dezignatek Thermoform in a 'Ronda' vintage pattern, BLUM soft-close hinges, and antique-look black handles. The benchtop is 30mm engineered stone in a white-marble look, the sink is a Blanco Silgranit, and the splashback is City White Gloss 100x300 glazed ceramic tile. Appliances were all SMEG — a 60cm dishwasher, a 90cm Portofino pyrolytic freestanding oven and a 90cm rangehood.
How were the original timber floors restored?
The floors were sanded and treated, epoxy was worked into the gaps and holes, and then three coats of commercial-grade waterborne polyurethane were applied. That protects the timber and leaves a satin shine rather than a high-gloss plastic look — which suits an older home far better. The same three-coat finish was used on the restored timber accents through the house.
Which original features were kept in the renovation?
Quite a lot, by design. The owners kept the elaborate chandeliers in the lounge and family room, the panel ceilings in the family room and formal lounge, all the french and casement windows (frames and sills repainted), the stained glass, and the floating gas fireplace in the living area. Only the kitchen and dining-room panel ceilings were closed in, to shift the focus onto the new kitchen.
How much does a whole-home renovation in Epsom cost?
It depends entirely on scope — the size of the home, the materials, and how much restoration the original features need. A two-storey, five-bedroom character home covering a kitchen, two bathrooms, painting and flooring sits in a very different place from a single-room update. Rather than guess, the most accurate way to get a figure for your own home is our Auckland renovation cost estimate tools, which let you price to your actual project.
Do you renovate character bungalows and villas across Central Auckland?
Yes. Epsom, Mt Eden, Remuera, Parnell, Ponsonby and the surrounding Central Auckland suburbs are full of pre-war villas and bungalows, and renovating them well means respecting how they were built. Our showroom is at 16B Link Drive, Wairau Valley, and we work across the greater Auckland region. The best starting point is a free in-home consultation.
Further Resources
- More completed Auckland renovation projects
- Real client stories from across Auckland
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