Reality TV star-turned-real estate agent Sally Ridge is embarking on one of her biggest renovations yet – the restoration of a multi-million dollar-mansion in New Zealand's wealthiest suburb.
Records show Ridge, with partner Scott Fitchett, founder and managing director of AA Smartfuel, bought the rundown 1920s Arts and Crafts mansion in Auckland's Herne Bay at the end of last year for $4.9 million – well below its $6m CV.
Ridge told OneRoof that the couple had looked at the property when it was on the market a year ago, but didn’t buy then.
“We ended up buying it a year later. We’re very excited, I haven’t renovated for some time – just little bits and pieces.
Start your property search
“I love renovating,” she said of the house that had been on and off the market a handful of times since late 2020, and was billed as a “project with opportunity”.
The house, which has been held by the same owner for over 30 years, definitely fell in the “before” category for the television designer.
Other than a new downstairs bathroom, listing images of the three-bedroom property show it appears not to have been touched since the 1980s or 1990s. The home had a dated kitchen, modern timber ceilings and doors, with few of the original interior details evident.
Read more:
- Famed architect in demand: Ron Sang's signature house sells for $5.5m
- A $300K punch: Tough news for homeowners in St Marys Bay, Westmere and Seatoun
- The $1 Christchurch mansion is back on the market after multi-million-dollar makeover
Ridge said the house needed “a big bit of love”, which she plans to change from its mixture of eras and details (a “not anything-house, not a villa”) to a modern home, with lots of white, tasteful marble and parquet floors, enlarging it to a five-bedroom house, each ensuite, with multiple living areas.
The house has a rare 1315sqm site, a grand staircase, original shingled exterior and some original fireplaces – plus coveted views of the Waitemata Harbour from the upper floors – so there is more than enough potential to fuel Ridge’s creativity.
Progress appears swift, according to the Instagram account Ridge launched last week to document the makeover. Already the builders have stripped out a bathroom, and the dated 1980s kitchen, gutted the master suite, pulled off the rear decks and begun rebuilding a master suite, complete with an ensuite and walk-in wardrobe.
Ridge told OneRoof she made a last-minute change to the kitchen location last week before plans are filed with Auckland Council for resource and building consents. The couple aim to be in the finished house by Christmas.
Sally Ridge with her daughter Jaime renovated another house in Herne Bay, a rundown boarding house on Ardmore Road, for the 2012 reality TV show The Ridges. Photo / Instagram
Matthew Wilmar is credited with the design. Concept renders show a kitchen and television room in a new wing of the house, with bedrooms above, for Ridge’s kids Astin and McLane – her children with former partner cricket great Adam Parore.
“Matthew is absolutely fantastic to work with, we get on really well. With a home like this, that's really important, he's done a really good job.”
At the back, old decks have been ripped off to make way for a pool and entertaining area – with Ridge joking that landscaping is not her forte. The couple are debating whether a tennis court can fit on the lower lawn, but in the meantime, it's a great play spot for the family dog.
“Landscaping isn’t really my thing. Give me a house I have a million ideas, Give me a garden ... no idea,” she said on her Instagram post.
The 1920s Herne Bay mansion had not been updated for nearly 30 years, but had a huge section and views of the harbour. Photo / Supplied
Builders have already ripped out the old kitchen to begin the renovation. Photo / Instagram
The former television decorator has dealt with places in much worse condition. Ridge's last big renovation, with her older daughter Jaime, was a large former boarding house on Ardmore Road on the Ponsonby edge of Herne Bay that featured in the 2012 reality TV show The Ridges – complete with a mousy co-star that had Jaime in hysterics.
At the time the pair were known as the “most talked about mother and daughter duo in New Zealand”. The Ardmore Road property, which they bought for $1.6m, has a current CV of $4.55m and was listed for sale mid-last year before being taken off the market in October.
Concepts by Matthew Wilmar show the new rear of the house with a pool and extensive gardens. Photo / Instagram
Ridge and her daughter Jaime's renovation of another rundown house in Herne Bay also featured a glamorous pool and outdoor entertaining area. Photo / Instagram
The meticulously renovated former boarding house in Ridge’s favoured black and white palette, had a ground floor of five bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a resort-like pool and gardens, while the upper level had a further five bedrooms and three bathrooms. At one point the upper floor of the house was asking rental of $1300 per week.
The house that Ridge and Parore built on Paget Street, Freemans Bay, in 2004 re-sold last year for $6.15m, after changing hands three times in the previous 12 months.
Ridge, who is a real estate agent with Bayleys, had been a presenter on interior decorating TV shows, including TVNZ series Home Front and Changing Rooms and a craft columnist for New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, but now focuses on selling high-end properties including apartments in Auckland Central, and high-end houses in Herne Bay, Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, St Marys Bay and Remuera.
- Click here for more properties for sale in Herne Bay
