Grant and Megan, with their two teenagers, wanted their Epsom bungalow to become a lively open family home, with space for everyone including the family labradoodle. They were also keen to extend and modernise their home, whilst staying true to some of the bungalow’s original features.
Murray Long Builders was happy to take on the challenge of this build – and at times we had to be really creative. The family stayed during the renovations, which meant we needed to work around them and their furniture – including a piano – which we moved several times! We opened up the home by removing walls and installing steel beams, which created a new open plan kitchen, living and dining area that flows out to the deck.
All of these challenges were overcome and the house completed. As you walk through the home it is clear that there have been renovations, but the extension is so seamless it’s hard to know where the old bungalow ends and the new extension starts.
What a house Grant and Megan’s family have now! They love the indoor-outdoor flow with the entertainer’s deck, complete with pizza oven – a real focal point for outdoor living.
Photography by Rachel Shields Photography
He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Our number one value as a business is ‘People Matter’, this is the substance behind ‘Enjoy building your home!’ The people we have on our team and the contractors we engage align to this value which results in both our team and our clients feeling valued and respected throughout the build.
Murray Long – Director
As director of MLB, Murray’s role is more than simply being the boss or solving problems — but also being the culture-setter. Learning how to handle those responsibilities well doesn’t happen overnight. In Murray’s case it didn’t have to, he began the company in 1996, so you might say the culture has grown around him. It’s the thing Murray is most proud of in MLB — the team culture and their desire to do the best possible work.
At the heart of this culture is the passion to build outstanding houses for clients who appreciate that level of detail. Being part of seeing designs unfold over the months of a build and seeing people’s eyes light up as they walk into a new space, or see some detail that has just been finished, or welcoming a family into their new home is something you can’t describe and what drives Murray to lead this team.
Murray’s dream home is a retreat away from the crowds with his family, one that looks out over the coast. But his favourite house among those built by his company is, no surprise, his own family home. ‘You get to live in what you have created,’ Murray says.