Thank you everyone for your comments. We live outside Christchurch, and the house was badly damaged in the quakes here. The post-quake rebuild process could safely be described as slightly chaotic, and the house company I am using are located some distance away (like on the North Island), which is why discussion with the architect has been - em - less than optimal. The architect threw something at me to get me out of my comfort zone I think and this is what's freaking me out! I think the windows on the east side are to come (no reason for them not being there), and probably a skylight in the kitchen roof. The section of land is narrow and steep, (this is a historic port town and with access from the south (where the view is); there is no parking other than on the street (south). Patricia - the laundry doesn't sit right with me either! Looks a bit like it's been glued on the side of the hosue. And it is too small as it is to store coats, shoes etc. This is the access to the back garden - thus the door (also means muddy boots can be dumped when we come in!). Entering a house through a living room is very common over here, especially where space is at a premium (small section, small house footprint).

There is no common link, no continuity that each dwelling share. i would introduce an element to both structures, borrowed fm the other, so for example the red brick and windows are the most striking design elements in the house, however the rendered garage with a parapet and no visible roof may as well be from another planet, I would brick up the front piers aside the door, with matching red brick, and then I'd install some post and beam rafters that could extend over beyond the garage door, almost like a flat eave, however just beams, no roof, and paint it chacoal, I'd then link a path from th garage to the house, and create the same detail at the porch entry of the home, same beams, colour and materials, so it looks like they belong on the same property. also, perhaps a little scary to consider, i would render the wall in between the door and the first window only, and paint the front door in the matching blue. Windows I'd go charcoal as per th beam structure, and apply a stained timber batten to the flat parapet above the garage, so paint that black, then fix timber battens vertically wh enough spacing to see that black shadowline, it will modernise it, emphasising the elongated design, which is both contemporary and popular, and tie this timber detail into the house with a generous deck. Both timbers will link, over scale th deck, perhaps stagger a step or two, as the garage is over scaled also. remove the fence, and landscape the corner with over scaled shrubbery, a meandering path to help invite ppl between the two structures., the visual disconnection is the fence, but it translates into everything else. if a fence must be, then consider a half height one, or an informal row of sleepers as uprights, to softly define the yard.

The all black kitchen looks scary as. Maybe because there's no lightness in there at all.

This two stage renovation included opening up the back of the villa for a large new living areas, and renovating the front of the house for a garage and more formal landscaping to the street. The villa needed some TLC, so bedrooms and other existing villa spaces were refurbished using traditional villa details. A pavilion style extension was added to the rear of the villa, to house a new kitchen, dining and living area, media room and study. A large deck flows out from the living areas and connects the house with a generous, private outdoor play area. A separate laundry/scullery and new bathroom were inserted into the villa where it meets the addition, and an ensuite/walk-in wardrobe was added to the master bedroom. BEFORE AFTER!