Page 42 - homestyle New Zealand (February - March 2020)

LEFT Decorating the meeting
been there forever but have some
modern takes that acknowledged their
personality. They chose some very bold
wallpaper and textiles and classic
finishes that have transformed the home.
We’re currently working on a Brent
Hulena-designed house in Whangapoua
on the Coromandel that was in
impeccable original condition. Our
goal is to honour its design and give
it another 30 years of life.
You also run Mr & Mrs Ward with your
husband — what does that entail? Mr
& Mrs Ward offers designers, architects
and everyone else bespoke furniture
made in New Zealand without the
42 homestyle
guesswork. We also recently embarked
on our 10 Favourite Things project
to mark 10 years of Mr & Mrs Ward
and 10 years of marriage, working
with some of our regular collaborators
to create objects we love and use in
our own home. The exciting, timeless
pieces include art prints, candlesticks,
pillowcases, marble trivets, cutting
boards, a kindling axe and a fire pit.
They’re things that celebrate the
relationships that build through
shared creativity.
So tell us about the building your JKW
studio operates from… It’s been one of
my favourite projects to date. Julian and
room with its bespoke table by
Mr & Mrs Ward are a French floor
lamp by John Stephens, Otto
chair by Tim Webber, No B49 Le
Corbusier chairs by Thonet and
pendant lights by Flos. The trivet
on the table was a gift from Italian
Stone that inspired Janice and
Julian to collaborate on others for
their 10 Favourite Things project.
I were about to build a new house in
rural West Auckland when we got the
speed wobbles and started wondering
what we could buy in town. That’s when
I stumbled across this 1967 building that
was once the headquarters of Wattyl
paints. I saw straight away that it
had a really high stud, natural light
and carparking, and was accessible to
all the motorways. We couldn’t afford
it on our own, so we bought it with a
like-minded couple. We cut the 300m
2
floor area in half, giving us a 150m
2
studio and the other space to tenant out.
Was much of a renovation required?
We had to completely gut it. We took
the interior back to the shell, removing
a suspended ceiling coated in deadly
asbestos to reveal the concrete-ribbed
subfloor and taking out asbestos floor
tiles, and restored the original steel
windows and doors.
What inspired the interior aesthetic?
A desire for flexibility and to show off
what we do. I wanted a fun, light-filled
space where the team felt at home and
that spoke to our clients. We used
diaphanous curtaining to divide
off the spaces — which helped with
the budget — put in a kitchen and
bathroom, and designed a sample
ledge so we can display our suppliers’
new samples. The snack drawer is
always full, there’s a shower with
towels and bodywash, and we also
have a pull-down bed so Julian and
I can use it as our city bolthole.
What else inspires you? Everything!
My children and husband, our clients,
fashion, art, gardens. Also, my peers;
I follow lots of designers on Instagram.
I love magazines and Pinterest, films
in bed on a winter’s day — like old Bond
films, just for the love of the interiors.
And travel, too. I went to New York
for my birthday last year and it was
next-level inspiration. I could live at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the
Whitney Museum of American Art.
jkw.nz