It’s difficult to imagine what this house was once like, given the enormity of its transformation. The 2000s-era home has been brought up to 2025 standards and given dreamy additions, including an outdoor room and in-ground swimming pool. The layout has also been reconfigured, the kitchen extended, the first floor living turned into the main bedroom and a wood pellet fire fitted in the formal living room. It’s a lot, but the wedge-shaped Mount Pleasant site with views from the sea to the mountains and Kaikōura beyond, deserved the best. The exterior of the 400sqm two-level house is now decked out in plaster trimmed with durable and elegant Timaru bluestone.

Inside, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two living rooms all drink in the views. In the designer kitchen, in white and wood with marbled features, sleek pocket doors keep the space clutter free. The new outdoor room — with a louvred roof, heating, purpleheart decking and frameless glass sliding screens — seamlessly extends living spaces into the great outdoors. The first floor living room has metamorphosised into a main bedroom retreat with a new ensuite, dressing room and private terrace that also takes in the views. In winter, a ducted heat-pump system as well as the new pellet fire keep the whole house toasty. This skillful renovation is the perfect blend of smarts, sophistication and sanctuary.