‘Built by the Victorians and Edwardians from our great native forests, the villa is New Zealand’s most distinctive housing type.’ Jeremy Hansen
In every town throughout the country, the villa is a familiar sight and anyone who has lived in one knows how difficult they are to heat and how much ongoing maintenance is required to keep them looking good.
Although there are countless variations of the style, villas are characterised by the bay window and a central hall corridor. This one in Ruskin Street, Christchurch has had its outer cladding of timber boards faced with plaster and a new kitchen added at the rear to provide a more practical living and dining area.