FLYING COLOURS

A fashion designer’s approach to living and decorating adds a colourful touch to a cottage makeover

Text Caroline Moratti Photography Babiche Martens

FLYING COLOURS

The walls are painted in Resene Soothe, a task which Vaughan and Noel undertook themselves. A white cabinet from Ikea and a blue armchair from Freedom add texture. A large mug-shot painting from the late Dunedin artist and friend Ben Webb takes pride of place in the sunlit lounge.

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M E E T & G R E E T Vaughan Geeson (fashion designer), Noel Schroder (procurement manager) and Lilly the cat.

T H E P R O P E RT Y A 1912 cottage build in New Lynn, Auckland.

Homeowners Vaughan Geeson (left) and Noel Schroder. When the right house comes along, it should grant you creative licence to express all and any artistic desires. That wish came true for Vaughan Geeson and partner Noel Schroder, who found a home willing to give as much as they gave. “It’s a really quirky house, so it gave us full range to be quite quirky with colours and furnishings, ” says Vaughan. Originally a 1912 cottage build, the house had been extended and added to over the years, creating a potpourri of shapes and proportions. “It’s quite eclectic. I don’t think it would have suited white walls and beige furniture. ”

The original layout was left largely unchanged, but the cottage’s decor has been transformed. The Auckland home was a “ perfectly decorated ’90s time capsule” , complete with Spanish yellow walls, wrought iron light fittings, terracotta tiles and calico curtains. When the couple first viewed the house, three years earlier, all they saw was the warm glow of the late-day sun streaming into the north-facing living area. “I don’t think we noticed the work that would need to be done, ” Vaughan admits, but as avid cooks and entertainers, “the light-filled dining room sealed the deal” for him and partner Noel.

The pair estimates their style falls within the realm of contemporary eclectic, but don’t particularly ascribe to one design movement or another. “I’m a bit of a magpie, ” Vaughan says. “I find as I get older, I try to keep things a little more cohesive and curated – and a little less cluttered. I try, anyway, ” he emphasises.

Blue dining room chairs from Danske Mobler are arranged around a table from Hunter Furniture. The statement light is from Lighting Direct and the “rich but light room” is painted in Resene St Kilda.

“I knew as soon as we moved in I wanted a dramatic dining

room and landed on the bold blue quite quickly. ”

“I knew as soon as we moved in I wanted a dramatic dining room and landed on the bold blue quite quickly, ” Vaughan says. He decided to work room to room, rather than trying to decide on a colour scheme all at once. Once the dining room was painted, the pale pink in the kitchen living areas seemed like the perfect balance. Vaughan describes the colour, Resene Soothe, as “ a contemporary way to do a quirky neutral” .

The laundry was painted in Resene Moroccan Spice, another bold offering to add yet another dimension to the design palette. “The burnt orange in the laundry felt like the perfect rich colour to balance with the dining room and it looks great with the new wood cabinets; it has a Sahara Desert at sunset vibe. ” The pair saved money through painting all the interiors themselves, which was a smart financial decision.

Fashion designer Vaughan believes that all design is connected. “It’s a view of the world. Colour, and how you react to it, is a big connection between design disciplines for me, ” he admits.

A room to remember

The soft pink shade used in the living room is a revelation, almost bottling the feeling of sunlight and warmth that first captivated the pair all those years ago. A large monochrome mug-shot painting by the late Dunedin artist and friend Ben Webb takes pride of place on the wall, along with prints by fellow Kiwi artists including Gillian Pope and Tracey Williams.

“I’d say we’re probably not so much art collectors as art lovers, ” Vaughan summarises. Most of their pieces have been acquired from artist friends, were spontaneous purchases or created by Vaughan. Each one holds a significant meaning for the couple and are little slices of life captured in colour and brush stroke.

Among the treasured finds in the lounge, there’s still a strong sense of refinement, each piece playing their role to perfection within the interior landscape. A blue armchair here, a standing lamp there, all adding to a suave vibe that is well maintained throughout the house. “I’m definitely conscious of the space and function a piece needs to be used in, ” Vaughan says. “Everything has to have a purpose as well as look great and work in with existing pieces. Proportion is really important to me – the balance between something being a statement and not getting in the way. I have a horror of large, overstuffed furniture. ”

The piece de resistance, gold drapery from Harrisons Curtains, adds a heavy, luxurious hand to the garden view. “Gold velvet curtains will give any room a ’70s vibe, ” he says. Another favourite find is red Perspex shelves by designer Katy Wallace, which are in both the lounge and the bedroom. “We’ ve had them for years, in multiple houses. They always work and always stand out, no matter the interior or style of house. ”

ST R I P E D S U C C E S S

Tiger and monkey cushions from Nood decorate the bed, with striped bedding from H&M Home. Living room (opposite): A colourful rug from irug,co,nz makes a statement, with a standing lamp from Lighting Plus and glass table from Hunter Furniture. The gold velvet curtains from Harrisons Curtains perfectly frame a garden view and add a touch of luxury to the space.

The bedroom is painted in Resene Surrender (left) and the laundry is painted in Resene Moroccan Spice (below). “You can never try too many test pots, ” Vaughan advises.

“The burnt orange in the laundry felt like the perfect rich

colour to balance with the dining room. ”

VA U G H A N G E E S O N

Come dine with me

“The house has great natural flow, but it did have different flooring in just about every space, ” Vaughan says. To create a more open-plan connection, the couple relaid all the lower-level floors in the same COREtec flooring, saying it was “transformational in terms of visual flow ” .

Vaughan and Noel’s favourite room is the dining area, which flows on from the kitchen and lounge and offers a plethora of windows to admire the lush garden. “It’s such a rich but light room, ” Vaughan says. The vivid mineral blue of Resene St Kilda is layered and enhanced by the light blue dining chairs from Danske Mobler. It’s a combination that works in harmony with the large wooden table from Hunter Furniture and the eye-catching, matte black pendant light from Lighting Direct. “We love entertaining for family and friends. We’ ve spent many fun evenings and weekend lunches in there. ”

The house is Vaughan and Noel’s self-declared “dream home” and they have no intention of moving anytime soon. For now, they want to enjoy the light a little longer.

Shop their style

Hop on the retro train with plenty of colour and pattern for a playful, yet suave approach to living

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1 Malta armchah ir,i $ $399,399 f from N Nood.d 2 2 AstonA t pendad nt,t $ $32329.90,9 90 from Lighting Direct. 3 3 AzaleaAzalea rugrug, $298$298 fromfrom iRugs.iRugs 4 4 ForageForaged d cushioncushion c cover,over $69.99,$69 99 from Trade Aid. 5 Resene Soothe paint, $4.90 (testpot), from ColorShops. 6 Resene St Kilda paint, $4.90 (testpot), from ColorShops. 7 Putney floor lamp, $269, from Freedom. 8 String pocket metal shelf, $391, from Finnish Design Shop. 9 Bubble vase, $9, from Kmart. 10 Elden pouffe, $169, from Freedom. 11 Cady velvet dining chair, $300, from Target Furniture.

LONG TIME COMING

A couple finally found the view they always wanted and built a house around it

Photography Swell Productions

David and Shelley Proctor always had a house with a view on their wish list, it just took them a while to find it. Having lived in Hamilton and Waihi Beach previously, they also wanted to be up high

“because of the tsunamis” , laughs Shelley.

Nor can the site, perched high over

Ōmokoroa’s boardwalk looking out over to Mount Maunganui, ever have its vista encroached on by new building so they ’ll always be able to watch the godwits fly in to nest and the orcas in the harbour.

“We also wanted to have a view from every room and all-day sun so this house basically wraps around to get the sun from the morning to the afternoon, ” says David whose mantra is to build for the site you have.

As a result, the four-bedroom, threebathroom house with pool maximises the views to the extent where the large Vantage picture window measuring 2.3m x 2.4m had to be craned in. But sitting in front of it, coffee in hand each morning watching the sun rise is one of Shelley ’s favourite things.

The home also needed to work for the couple’s lifestyle, which includes two grown-up children, three grandchildren, David’s workfrom-home business and a love of entertaining.

In fact, they once ended up holding a barbecue lunch for one set of friends followed by hosting another set of friends in the evening.

Subsequently, the downstairs guest bedrooms have sliding doors, as does the garage, so there’s easy access for equipping the boat for a day on the water. It’s also here

Meet & greet David (consulting engineer) and Shelley Proctor (pharmacist) and Bella and Chloe the schnauzers.

you ’ll find David in his luxurious office just round the corner from a mini bar and selfcontained kitchen. The idea is that it could at some stage be a bed and breakfast.

Upstairs, the open-plan kitchen, living and dining space that has sliding doors opening up onto a deck, follows the modern, minimalist black-and-white theme Shelley was after.

David, meanwhile, focused on a concept for the stairs in which every second one extended across the entire well becoming impromptu bench seats. He also obsessed over every floor-to-ceiling picture window upstairs lining up exactly with the one downstairs. “It’s the engineer in me, ” says David. “It’s all about symmetry. ”

All that attention to detail has paid off for the couple. “We basically have to make an effort to go somewhere because we could just stay here, especially in summer, ” says David.

LIFE IN BLACK AND

WHITE Large Metro Series picture windows by Vantage are used extensively throughout the home. The Vantage Plasma door in Matt FlaxPod fits the modern black-and-white theme.

S E E M O R E O F T H I S H O M E AT VA N TA G E . C O . N Z / L O N G -T I M E - C O M I N G

EXTEND YOUR HORIZON The age-old dilemma of extending or moving house is never clear cut, but Jen Jones has some useful advice on page 72.

R E N O V A T I O N

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An ocean of opportunity Coastal inspo.

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Go big or leave home Build or sell?