HOME
Tree lined P H OTO G R A P H E D BY E L I Z A B E T H G O O DA L L
Cec and Andy Buchanan’s new Wairarapa home is crammed with treasures they have acquired and made over the years. Sarah Catherall explores their changeable gallery showcasing their lives and interests.
A
t the end of a long, gravel driveway in Gladstone, the single-level house resembles a modern barn or contemporary farmhouse, clad with dark metal with pops of red aluminium joinery. It’s fitting that the home looks out on a stand of old native trees. For 16 years, the couple planted and developed the Assisi Gardens − rambling gardens of national significance − a couple of kilometres along the road. The 11 hectares of gardens consumed their lives, until Andy turned to Cec one day as they were tending the olives and asked: ‘What do you think about selling this house and garden?’ Recalls Cec: ‘It was like music to my ears. It was such a big job to run it.’ An artist, she has always loved a project or a challenge. Helping design and overseeing the new house project consumed her, and she has now turned her attention to the stand of natives on her new 4.9 hectare property, cutting a track through the forest. Andy designed the 310msq house in three separate wings − a living zone, their bedroom wing, and a guest bedroom wing and office. They then hired a draughtsman and a builder to turn their ideas into reality. After traipsing up and down two flights of stairs in their home for 16 years, they decided their new home needed to be on a single level. Cec also hoped for an open plan kitchen and living area. ‘Cec wanted a big room, which is a bugger to heat,’ Andy laughs. The kitchen and living room are filled with furniture, art, and the concrete sculptures that Cec made in her workshop
56
