A HAPPY HERITAGE

LIVING ROOM/DINING

ROOM One of Lisette’s favourite stores is Auckland’s Babelogue, a textile store that features mid-century through to ’80s decor and furniture. Outdoor rug and hall runner both from online rug store Miss Amara. The sideboard in the dining room and the glass and metal co ee table in the living room are both from Republic Home.

An Auckland couple discovered there’s an art to downsizing after leaving a large family home

A happy heritage

Text Leanne Moore/Cave Bureau Photography Helen Bankers/Cave Bureau

Meet & greet Lisette Cross (make-up artist), Gavin Lendich (mortgage broker), Joseph Lendich, 26, and Lucy the English Staffy.

Make-up artist Lisette Cross is used to translating the wants and needs of clients, using her flair for colour and composition. Her creative background and years of experience came into play when Lisette and her husband Gavin Lendich moved into their heritage home in Auckland 18 months ago. “We could see this place had great bones and we’ve really enjoyed making it our own,” says Lisette. “She’s an old girl who’s had some nips and tuck over the years but she didn’t require any major work.”

Lisette has created a home where the white walls and pale timber flooring act as a canvas for her bold artworks and eclectic furniture collection – and, just like her work in make-up artistry, it exudes style, beauty and balance.

“My aim was to make this place feel welcoming and casual.

I wanted to maximise the natural light and create a bit of a bohemian vibe with lots of colourful art. It’s not a precious house – I’m happy for people to leave their shoes on, or lounge on a sofa. Everything is designed to be used and nothing is put aside for a special occasion.”

CASUAL DINING The large wooden dining, which has been matched with stylish brown leather chairs, is made for relaxed entertaining with the couple, their two sons and friends. EXTERIOR The heritage home is the perfect size for the family. “You can’t beat a two-storey return veranda villa,” says Lisette.

“I wanted to maximise the natural light and create a bit of a bohemian vibe with lots of colourful art.”

LISETTE CROSS

Small and practical

Now that their sons Joseph and Dominic are in their 20s, Lisette and Gavin were looking for a smaller home that would work well for this ‘empty nest’ phase. “The layout is perfect for the way we like to live. We wanted enough room in case an adult child boomeranged, which is exactly what happened when Covid-19 struck. Joseph came back to live with us but there’s plenty of room for everyone. We’ve got three living areas downstairs and his bedroom upstairs has its own wing.”

Previous owners extensively renovated so they haven’t had to do too much to the house. “We like the way it’s been designed for practicality and easy living. The fact that we didn’t have to do any major work has been a bonus. I just had to decorate,” says Lisette. “We didn’t really need much new furniture. In fact, we had to sell quite a bit as we were coming from a larger home. But I did find there was more wall space and I decided to go for a gallery look and fill it with art.”

Working in a creative field has given Lisette a deep understanding of colour and the confidence to go for some strong personality-packed pieces. “I love colour, especially mixing different colours together. I’m not into matchy-matchy. The art is all mediums and textures and

ANIMAL MAGIC The cow hide rug give warmth to the bleached floorboards while the eye-catching longhorn cow skull wall hanging adds to the boho-chic look.

styles and genres. In fact, all the art and furniture is a bit of a happy coincidence rather than anything that has been particularly planned. Some furniture was bought new, some second-hand, and some of it was even found on the side of the road back in the days when we had inorganic collections.”

Old versus new

Finding a smaller property with low maintenance grounds was a priority for Lisette and Gavin. They also wanted a character home, after a new build experience did not live up to their expectations. “We downsized from a three-storey townhouse in St Mary’s Bay, which was the only new house we have ever lived in. Up until then we’d always had villas or bungalows. Being a new build, we thought it would be low maintenance but we couldn’t have been more wrong. We bought it from developers and, over the six years we were there, we had plumbing and electrical fails and a never-ending list of repairs. In hindsight, older homes are much more forgiving to the everyday wear and tear of kids and dogs, and I think they suit and absorb that lived-in look,” she says. “Plus, you can’t beat the character of a two-storey return veranda villa.”

The villa is believed to have been one of the first homesteads built on Grey Lynn farmland in the 1890s. It originally included a tennis court, but that was carved off a few years ago for a house that was being built next door. “From what we have been told, a major renovation was done a couple of owners ago. We heard that they put a lot of attention into the details and restored much of the character back into the home. I believe at one stage it was even in two flats. They did a really great job as nothing urgently needs doing.”

The only change the couple has made was a lockdown-induced project. “When we moved in the floors were a very dark brown shellac, which looked good with the white walls, but seemed impossible to keep looking clean,” says Lisette. “It drove me mad during lockdown when there was nothing much to do but look at the floors, and we decided to go the opposite route and bleach them. The floor sanders warned us that the shellac had soaked into the boards and it would be impossible to bleach them right back. This didn’t worry me, and I really liked the rustic look that they have now. It actually gave the old girl a real facelift.”

Style tip To keep a leather sofa in mint condition, be sure to place it in an area away from direct light or heaters.

HALLWAY Lisette loves colourful prints and her art collection in the hall includes Dick Frizzell’s Big Kiss, featuring comic book hero The Phantom, and Ryan Fowler’s Pug on a Bike.

MAIN BEDROOM A wooden bed frame with padded headboard pumps up the cosy factor for relaxing weekends. A textured throw is the perfect contrast to crisp white bed linen. OUTDOORS The outdoor rug is from online store Miss Amara and it looks great teamed with classic, comfortable Adirondack chairs.

Style tip Transform the ambience in your back garden at night with vintage festoon string lights.

SHOP THEIR STYLE

Colourful art, one-off fi nds and even more art give a relaxed vibe to a stately two-storey villa

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1 Kendall cushion, $129.99, from A&C Homestore. 2 Frida Kahlo Meditation poster, $29.95, from New Zealand Fine Prints. 3 Rattan wing chair, $799, from Green with Envy. 4 Halie indoor outdoor rug, $317, from Miss Amara. 5 Silica 1600 sideboard, $3099, from Danske Mobler. 6 Marcello & Co Swerves vase, $19.99, from Farmers. 7 Living & Co Himalayan pink salt lamp, $29, from The Warehouse. 8 Cross lamp table, $149, from Danske Mobler. 9 Eton 2S sofa, $2499, from Freedom. 10 Dick Frizzell Big Kiss print, $59.95, from New Zealand Fine Prints. Best thing about the house? As well as the layout being perfect for the way we live, this house is built to get lots of natural light, which makes it nice and warm for an old home. We’ve positioned the sofas so you can follow the sunny spots around the house. What’s one thing you would change about your home if you could? Not much. It really is ideal for us. The only thing I’d do is make the driveway a bit wider, if I could. It’s so narrow, I wouldn’t like to back down it. Most memorable experience you’ve had in your home? Some pretty cool sunsets from the second storey and some good fireworks displays from the Sky Tower.

Lisette’s style tips

+ Beauty of random My decorating style has changed over the years, depending on where we’re at with our life stage. Now that the boys are grown up, it’s much more about our space and less about accommodating their needs. I’ve never been keen on following trends, I prefer an eclectic look and tend to be drawn to things that have a story or a meaning behind them. I find if you gather a collection of things you love they will always look good together – don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. One store I find hard to go past is Charlotte Rust’s shop Babelogue in K’ Rd. I always come out with something. I’ve bought art from her and a ’70s-style cane chair. + Rest & relaxation We enjoy entertaining and this house is well set up for it. We’ve only been here for 18 months, so with Covid-19 and lockdowns, we really haven’t done a great deal. It’s always nice to start the evening with a glass of bubbles or a special cocktail. When we have people over, it’s always very casual. There’s a gathering space between the kitchen and the dining area that people are drawn to. And, when the weather’s warm, it flows easily to the outdoor seating area. I like to prep as much

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of the food as possible, so by the time everyone arrives, I can relax and enjoy their company. + Work & play We both work from home. My work as a freelance make-up artist takes me all over the place but I do all my admin from my off ice at home. Gavin is a mortgage advisor and his clients come here for appointments, so we needed a space where we could work and play. What’s great about this place is that Gavin and I have an off ice upstairs and all the living is downstairs, so it’s easy to keep the two separate. We’ve got it set up so we each have our own work stations, with a good desk and chair. We were both working from home before Covid hit, so we were well aware of how to create a work space where you live. Now the rest of the world is catching on. + Love where you live We’ve been enjoying getting to know our neighbourhood. We moved to Grey Lynn a couple of months before Covid hit so we were just getting to know the local community. But after many hours of dog walking during lockdown levels 3 and 4, we’ve developed a good lie of the land and discovered parks and walkways we never knew existed. Over the last few months we have got to know the neighbours a little more, too, and they are all super friendly and welcoming. It’s quite a mixed bag, with people who are older than us, younger than us and from all walks of life, which adds real interest to the community. And we are doing our best to shop and eat out in the ’hood to support all our local businesses.

Shops & contacts

Favourite store Babelogue @babelogue_shop Leather sofas Freedom, freedomfurniture.co.nz Outdoor rug & hall runner Miss Amara, missamara.nz Sideboard and glass coff ee table Republic Home, republichome.com Floor sanding Good Wood Flooring, goodwoodflooring.co.nz

KEY 1 Deck 2 Bedroom 3 Off ice 4 Main bedroom 5 Bathroom 6 Ensuite 7 Wardrobe 8 Stairs 9 Entry 10 Lounge 11 TV room 12 Dining room 13 Family room 14 Kitchen 15 Laundry 16 Pantry