Double Olympic champion Eric Murray has switched an oar for a hammer and spent the last 18 months transforming a tired Cambridge villa into a modern family home.
But a change in life circumstances – and a serious case of the DIY bug – has meant he is now selling his stunning Victoria Street villa and is hunting for another renovation project to get stuck into.
The next home Murray renovates will be done with his family in mind.
Restoring the 1910 villa has been a passion project for Murray and partner Thea Lyle, who saw potential in the original property when it hit the market two years ago even though the only toilet on the property was outside.
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Murray told OneRoof he had “itchy feet” after completing his first unique renovation on a home on Vogel Street and fell in love with the Victoria Street villa.
The house, owned by a couple in their 80s for many years, hadn’t been lived in for about a year. It had an outside laundry and toilet, different carpets and wallpaper in every room, the house was sinking slightly on one side and a lot of the windows wouldn’t open.
“It was a really great character home, it just needed a lot of love.”
The kitchen before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen was relocated to create an open-plan kitchen and dining area. Photo / Supplied
The former rower paid $806,000 for the home, according to OneRoof records, and was given early access to the property before settlement. He wasted no time stripping back the overgrown gardens and ripping off the gib to return it to its framing.
Murray camped in what was basically a shell of a home for a month – relying on air fryer meals and takeaways until a new kitchen was installed.
“We lived pretty rough for a while.”
The exterior has been completely restored in keeping with its 1910 villa feel including a wrap-around verandah complete with authentic balustrades, lace and fretwork.
Inside, the home is unrecognisable and the layout – in collaboration with Nick Timms of Ink Architecture – has been flipped around to accommodate for modern-day living.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom villa now has indoor-outdoor flow with the open-plan kitchen and living area flowing out to the backyard through double-glazed stackers.
Murray said a fourth bedroom had to be sacrificed to find space for the toilet and laundry, which had been in the carport and unattached from the house.
However, to make up for losing the bedroom, they created a separate 18sqm multipurpose room that they use as their gym, spare room and office.
The original lounge had brown lino and floral curtains. Photo / Supplied
In his last home, Murray stamped his mark on it by putting a heated mineral pool and putting green and this time the quirkiest thing is a clever bookshelf concealing a hidden door from the lounge to the master suite.
While he lost count of the “thousands of hours” he’s spent on renovating the home in between juggling his business and coaching work or exactly how many hundreds of thousands of dollars it cost, Murray said he was extremely proud of what they’ve achieved.
“It’s a really unique property. There are a few villas around Cambridge because obviously it’s an older town, but there’s not too many that come onto the market and a lot of them are generally not in good condition.
“When we got it, it was a case of you do it right,” he said.
“We’ve got an old girl, but she’s fully insulated plus there’s a Rinnai Pro Series heating and air conditioning system. The climate control is second to none especially when you have 12-foot studs – 3.4m ceilings.
“We’ve put on a new roof, we’ve re-levelled the house, we’ve done basically everything it needs to last another 100 years.” The house had also been rewired.
The couple had been committed to keeping the character of the home by either re-using what was in the home or finding items that suited its style.
The couple reused some of the existing materials in the house including the bricks from the old chimney, which were repurposed as pavers. Photo / Supplied
The bricks from the chimney which had to be removed to carry out the releveling can be found in the path leading up to the home and the cast iron surround from the double fireplace is now a feature in the wall unit in the master bedroom. The original matai floorboards had also been retained and sanded back.
The whole renovation was also documented on its Instagram page Cambridge Villa NZ and had caught the interest of many locals who had driven past and watched on as the house was being transformed.
Murray learnt even more skills carrying out his second renovation and was selling to reduce some debt and to get stuck into another one.
Although, this time Murray was keeping his options open about where and what that might be.
Bayleys listing agent Amanda Merrington expected there to be a lot of interest in the home due to its well thought out renovation, a sought-after location and because of how many locals had been following its progress.
“We rarely are able to offer character homes so close to the township, where the vision has already come to life and the hard work done.”
While she was unable to give a price indication, Merrington said it would be “comfortably over the $1m mark”.
- 114 Victoria Street, in Cambridge, goes to auction on October 17
