A few years ago, I served a lovely Titirangi couple in our showroom. Their major renovation project was nearing completion, and they were looking for an outdoor lounge suite for their home. In helping them select the most suitable set for their new home, I inquired about their outdoor space, aesthetic, and plans.
Their response was incredible—a captivating story of a paradise lost, filled with determination, grit, and the desire to honour and restore the magic of a bygone era. I was so absorbed by their story that I asked if I could share it. They kindly said yes and promised to help bring the story to life with some incredible before-and-after images, which I now have. Enjoy! K
When Shay and Ashley first walked through the open home of what would become their new property, they were instantly hooked—not just by the house itself, but by the wide, unencumbered view of the Waitakeres from the back deck.
The family that had owned the home for 60 years had recently felled a huge number of tall, invasive pines on the steep section specifically to reveal this spectacular view of the Ranges. As a passing comment, the real estate agent mentioned, “Oh, and there’s a pool down there somewhere—it hasn’t been used in years.”
Once settled, Shay and Ashley decided to tackle the steep, overgrown slope, hoping to gain access to that disused pool they’d only heard about.
As Shay put it, “I started just doing it for exercise. At that stage, there was absolutely no access for a vehicle or digger,” so Shay spent countless days and evenings, even through the winter, clearing the soil and weeds from the pool and its sides using just a shovel, bucket, and wheelbarrow. All that excavated earth had to be spread out on the opposite corner of the property.
In addition to the trees and vegetation choking the old swimming pool, a huge macrocarpa tree had also fallen over onto their slope. Shay chainsawed all of the dead trees and carried them by hand up the hill, selling most of it as firewood.
“We lost track of the number of tonnes of timber we managed to clear,” said Shay. As they continued to clear more timber and organic debris, the swimming pool that seemed more legend than truth finally started to reveal itself. After a year of effort, the once-hidden blue colour began to re-emerge with promise.
As the pool was gradually reclaimed, an intrigued Shay and Ashley reached out to the former owner, Jill (now in her 90s), and her daughters to uncover its history. That’s where the real magic of this story lies.
Jill recalled how her industrious late husband, John, had painstakingly excavated and built the pool back in the mid-1960s. He endured setbacks right at the beginning; early into the project, John broke his leg and while he was recovering, the hole he dug collapsed. He started again a few years later, digging it by hand once again. With no road or vehicle access to the site, all the materials—including concrete that was mixed by hand—had to be laboriously rolled down the steep path on switchbacks to form the foundation. Cement was even poured down a chute from the driveway right to the pool site! (The chute and switchbacks can be seen in the old photo below.) John also cleverly engineered a system of pipes on black corrugated iron to heat the pool.
Once John’s passion project was finished, the swimming pool became the focal point of the neighbourhood for many summers. Jill shared many incredible stories and old photos from its glory days in the 60s and 70s. (The pool never required a fence back then, as the council allowed exceptions if it was far from the house or surrounded by bush.)
With John’s passing in 2010, Jill couldn’t keep up with the upkeep, and the property became overgrown and the beloved pool slowly disappeared under a mass of vegetation.
Now armed with the full knowledge of the pool’s colourful history, Shay and Ashley approached the end of their monumental restoration. They repainted the original plaster, poured a new coping and concrete pad, installed a salt water filtration system, and got the pool back up and running. They also installed fencing, retaining walls, and completed the landscaping.
They then invited John and Jill’s two daughters and granddaughter back to see the pool restored to something like its original glory. That was a truly special moment, as they thought when they sold the house for their mum in 2019 that the old pool was a lost cause and would never be used again.
Looking back, Shay didn’t realise that his pet project—simply cleaning up an old disused pool for exercise—would result in their outdoor area looking the way it does now.
Shay and Ashley chose our White Bask outdoor corner sofa and outdoor ottoman, featuring those super comfortable Sunbrella Nutmeg squabs. The clean lines of the powdercoated aluminium frame perfectly complement the retro-modern feel of their restored oasis.
We’re thrilled they chose Outside Space to help kit out their beautiful, reclaimed and history-filled outdoor paradise.
A huge thanks to Shay and Ashley for sharing their incredible tale.
Kerry is the co-owner of Outside Space NZ, offering a range of contemporary outdoor furniture and sun umbrellas for coastal living kiwis seeking premium quality outdoor products and design at achievable prices.
