Custom Home Lift Auckland:
A Discreet Four-Storey
Solution in Belmont
When the owners of a four-storey home on Seacliffe Avenue, Belmont, Auckland decided to future-proof it, they had one condition.
“Don’t wreck our home. It needs to work and look good.”
That was the whole brief. Simple to say, harder to deliver on a home with four levels, a much-loved view, and a lift that would end up opening straight into the main bedroom.
The brief: a lift that lets you stay
The owner and her husband wanted to keep moving freely through their whole home as they got older, without moving house and without compromising the things they loved about it.
The owner’s husband was not well at the time and couldn’t go up the stairs safely any longer.
They’d already been down this road once. A previous lift company had put together a quote and a design with a lift outside the property, but it wasn’t what they wanted.
On the recommendation of friends, they got in touch with Alan Cremer, Sales Manager at Vestner.
Alan’s approach starts with the client’s vision, not a standard product list. The job wasn’t to fit their home around a lift. It was to design a lift around their home.
The challenge:
four levels and a view worth protecting
A four-storey home lift is rarely a simple retrofit, and this one came with two extra layers of complexity.
First, the lift needed to open directly into the main bedroom on the top floor, which meant every detail of its placement and finish had to feel intentional rather than tacked on.
Second, there was the view. Looking out across to Rangitoto Island was one of the reasons the couple loved this house, and it wasn’t something they were willing to give up for the sake of a lift shaft.
And because the lift sits close to the front entrance, it’s also one of the first things visitors see. It had to earn its place visually as well as functionally.
The solution: built into the staircase, not bolted on
Vestner specified a Cibes A5000 Ecosilent by Vestner, installed through the centre of the existing staircase to serve all four levels. No foundations needed breaking, just careful building work to open up the space.
In the upper bedroom where the lift is, the outer wall was extended out 500mm to make the lift work, and the window was placed behind the lift to see Rangitoto Island.
The result is a lift that looks like it’s always belonged there. It sits where a staircase naturally draws the eye, so it reads as architecture rather than equipment bolted on as an afterthought.
Designed for the years ahead
This is where the fear about “what happens later” gets answered in practice. A seated chairlift was never on the table here. With a platform lift built into the staircase, the owners have a solution that will carry them whether they’re walking, using a frame, or one day using a wheelchair, without the stairs losing space for the rest of the household in the meantime.
That’s the thinking behind every custom home lift Vestner designs: solve for right now, but don’t lose sight of what the next twenty years might ask of the same space.
The fears behind every home lift decision
Every homeowner weighing up a home lift is really asking the same handful of questions. Here’s what we hear most, and what good design does about it.
Will it ruin the way our home looks?
A home lift doesn’t have to look like a hospital fitting bolted onto the hallway. Positioned well and finished in materials that match the rest of the house, it can read as architecture rather than equipment.
What if a stairlift isn't enough in a few years?
A seated chairlift can feel like the easy fix today, but it’s built for one level of mobility. If a wheelchair becomes part of the picture later on, that chairlift usually needs replacing altogether, along with the disruption you were trying to avoid the first time. A platform lift can be built to carry a wheelchair from day one, so it keeps working as circumstances change instead of setting up a second renovation.
Will it take up all the room on the stairs?
This one comes up a lot in busy, multi-generational households. A chairlift rail runs the length of the staircase and narrows it for everyone else using it every day. A lift positioned within or beside the stairwell, rather than occupying part of the staircase, keeps the stairs clear.
Will a lift installation mean months of upheaval?
Not necessarily. Many home lifts can be fitted with minimal structural work, especially where an existing stairwell or void can be adapted rather than a new shaft built from scratch.
Will it make the house harder to sell?
It’s a fair worry, but thinking here has shifted. A well-integrated custom home lift is increasingly seen as a considered, forward-thinking feature rather than a red flag, especially as more people plan to stay in their homes for the long haul.
The lift install for Seacliffe Avenue, Belmont, is just one story.
Quick answers
Is a platform lift better than a stairlift long term? For most families, yes. It adapts to changing mobility needs instead of needing replacement as mobility requirements change.
How much space does a home lift really need? Less than most people expect, especially when it’s built into an existing stairwell rather than added as a separate structure.
Can a home lift be installed without a major renovation? Often, yes. Many installations use existing voids and stairwells, avoiding foundation work altogether.
Thinking about how a custom home lift could work in your home, without wrecking it or boxing you into a solution you’ll outgrow?
Get in touch with the Vestner team for an honest, no-pressure assessment of what’s possible in your space.
Get a FREE assessment now
Or contact us on 0800 74 1000