Cool, Charm & collected

Michelle Hall Collins and Michael Collins are “serial renovators”, but they may have done themselves out of jobs. The Aucklanders have spent almost 20 years having their 1930 bungalow in the city’s seaside suburb of Point Chevalier updated, renovated and extended to suit their family’s needs, but without stripping away any of its original charm or distinctive character. And now the green weatherboard house with its fairytale features – a curved roof and gables, arched entranceway and door, and niche in the chimney – is just how want they want it.

Their latest project, a 55sqm extension, has given them a new family room that flows from the kitchen and onto