How to modernise your state home

State houses are extremely sought after properties because of their robustness, high quality materials and affordable prices.
A small house with a lot of windows and a fence in front of it.
While their size and layout suited us as New Zealanders in years gone by, nowadays our needs, preferences and lifestyles have changed and made these buildings less suitable.

What modernisation does a State House need?

Traditionally a state home has a separate kitchen, dining room, lounge and either two or three bedrooms. Often made with native NZ timber, these houses were built using the same plans, giving little variation between neighbours. Wooden windows, solid wood doors and tongue and groove flooring is also still seen in these homes today. They are also quite dark and cold, which leads to the question, how can I modernise my state home to make it more suitable for my family and lifestyle?
A table with a bottle of wine and glasses under an umbrella in front of a house.

Create an open plan home. Removing walls between the kitchen, dining room and living areas will give you more space and a better internal flow.

A kitchen with white cabinets and a large island

Install a new kitchen. A custom designed kitchen should have your three major points connected within a triangle shape – sink, oven and fridge.

A house with a table and chairs in front of it



Introduce indoor-outdoor flow. Putting in bi-fold doors or a ranch slider out into your garden from your main living area is a lovely way of making use of the traditional quarter acre section most state homes have.

A living room with a couch and stairs leading up to the second floor

Excavate underneath the house. Many state built homes were placed on hilly land. If your home is one of them, consider digging underneath it to add an extra storey to use as your kitchen and entertainment area.

A living room with sliding glass doors leading to a deck.

Decking and outdoor entertainment areas. As many houses were raised up high on piles, achieving a great indoor-outdoor flow is rather tricky. Raised and tiered decks help solve this problem and help extend your living space too.

A kitchen with white cabinets and red stools and a table

Introduce more natural light. Sunlight warms and dries our homes, making them more pleasant and healthier to live in and cheaper to heat. Installing larger double glazed windows or skylights can help increase the light your home receives and lower your power bill.



Our design and building teams have modernised many state homes throughout the country. If you’d like to know if your ideas are possible, whether or not you need a building consent or simply some advice on what renovations we can help you with, book a free in-home and no-obligation consultation with one of our friendly team members today!