Whoops, we bought a house! Couple end up with grand ex-Bollywood property

This story is from the team at NZ House & Garden magazine.

Some properties exude an air of mystique. When this home was being built in the early 90s on a lifestyle block in Clarkville, North Canterbury, the local community was intrigued by its grand scale, visible from the road through impressive iron gates.

Once completed, the gates were invariably closed and the owners were reclusive. That was until a production team from India took over the estate for a Bollywood movie set. Then it was all lights, action, activity and fast cars coming and going as glamorous stars and their entourages descended.

Mandy Donaldson had a long fascination with the estate – her mother’s property bordered the western boundary and her sister and brother-in-law had a lifestyle block on the north. In early 2019, when the property came up for sale, Mandy, husband Tim and her mother joined other curious locals at the first open home.

Mandy was in awe, Tim not so much. Having previously owned a lifestyle property he was aware of the commitment, time and energy required to “keep the place tidy” and in Tim’s opinion, this one needed some major upgrades.

At the time Mandy and Tim were living in a home they had built a few years earlier in Clearwater Resort, a luxury housing development north of Christchurch. “Everyone loved it. So did we but it was done. Finished. I had no outlet for my passion for gardening,” Mandy says.

The Clarkville property appealed enormously; the location near family, established gardens, paddocks for Mandy’s horses, and the sizable home that could accommodate visits from their blended family of six adult children and eight grandchildren.

Despite all the attributes, Mandy had no intention of attending the auction. “I loved the garden but I knew I would never put Tim in this position.”

Mandy and Tim decided to go to the auction out of curiosity and when the auctioneer announced that the property was “on the market” well short of the anticipated selling price, Tim quietly suggested they make just one bid. When the hammer came down and they had won the auction, Mandy felt ill: “I never wanted to get my hopes up. I was absolutely overwhelmed.” In June 2019, they moved in.

During their 15 years together Tim and Mandy have tackled eight major home restorations and two new builds. Despite that, completing renovations in time for a planned November baby shower for one of the grandchildren was a challenge.

“We started with the plan to upgrade the kitchen and paint some of the rooms. Once we started, we realised the house needed more. We found ourselves replacing the kitchen, reconfiguring the living rooms, repainting the interior and reglazing. And the red carpet in the entrance had to go,” Mandy says.

The biggest transformation was the entrance hall: “Lifting the original tiles was a huge mission,” says Mandy.

A new black tile inlay and the black base on the stairwell match black accents throughout the home. Choosing the paint colour for the interior was complicated.

“The paintwork on the staircase balustrading was a 90s spanish white and in immaculate condition. We couldn’t bring ourselves to redo it as it had such intricate detailing,” Mandy says. So that influenced the colours used elsewhere, and the new woollen carpet on the stairs, living areas and bedrooms.

A wall between the original dated kitchen and dining room was removed and the laundry was relocated, to provide a generous open-plan area that opens to the patio, pool house and gardens beyond. Adding french doors and a new veranda on the eastern side was a stroke of genius, opening the kitchen to the rose garden.

With the interior sorted, Mandy and Tim turned their attention outdoors. “My art is the garden, I come alive when I am working in the garden,” Mandy says. “Tim is a great yes man and skilled in all the technical details. If I want to do something, he knows how to make it happen. We have some courageous conversations.”

Used to establishing gardens from scratch, Mandy was initially reluctant to make sweeping changes to a garden with a 35-year pedigree. “The garden is parklike, very settled. We spent the first three summers chopping back growth, clearing areas and letting light in. Discovering what was growing was always a wonderful surprise. I was constantly like, ‘Oh hello there’. I valued all the treasures that popped up,” Mandy says.

Four years in, Mandy and Tim are making their mark on the 3.8ha estate. The large croquet lawn is now framed by conifers, carpet roses and buxus. Prudent pruning in the woodland is encouraging new life in the undergrowth. Beyond the olive grove, a parterre is taking shape.

A visit to the Taranaki Garden Festival was inspiring for Mandy and affirming for Tim. “It was wonderful meeting many like-minded people. We both came away feeling super enthusiastic.”

The current goal is to have the place ready to be part of the Ōhoka Garden Tour & Fete next November. Says Mandy: “This home has really grounded us as a family. Sharing it with the wider community is a bonus.”

Q&A with Mandy Donaldson

Best seat in the house: At the dining room table looking out at the patio and through to the pool house, covered with roses and surrounded by greenery. This is the place where family and friends gather, cementing many fabulous memories.

Favourite outdoor spot: The newly built patio that overlooks the rose garden. Tim and I meet here mid morning for coffee and plan our day amidst rose colour and perfume, with morning sun sending light and shadows through the surrounding trees. It is the best part of the day.

Flowers I couldn’t live without: The selection of spring bulbs, my roses and, more recently, I have a fad for dahlias.

I can always count on: The change of seasons reflected in the garden – prolific bluebell displays in the spring, transitioning to the rhododendrons, roses and later the hydrangeas, through to the incredible autumn colours, then the buxus and shrub forms in the frosty winter when the garden is at its quietest.

The thing I want to change next around the house: The main bathroom has remained untouched since we arrived. Plans to alter and possibly split the space into two bathrooms will be the next courageous discussion Tim and I will have.

A quote I often use: “Less is more” helps me to simplify my creative side when landscape planning and remain within the calming garden setting already in place.