Page 67 - homestyle New Zealand (February - March 2020)

HOMES

ABOVE With towering totara and rimu on the neighbouring land on one side and a gorgeous maple on the other, outside the scene was set for greatness. Everything has grown
like mad in soil that was formerly part of a market garden, including the olive and citrus trees along the front fence. OPPOSITE Cedar sliders open onto a courtyard where the
garapa steps are intended to double as seating. The exterior of the home is painted Resene Double Black White. PREVIOUS PAGE The dried display above the built-in cabinet
in the dining area was created by Mark Antonia for the couple’s wedding. The blue vessel below it is by Neil Castle and the bowl is by Dinosaur Designs.

One-year-old George Hosking may not be an architect like 65m home before they settled by private sale. When she finally
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his mum or a builder like his dad, but he’s a hands-on judge saw it, she was confronted with a cottage painted baby blue.
of form-follows-function design. Now that he’s getting around It’d been moved onto the site in the 1970s and there was no flow
a bit more, he can vouch for many elements in the Avondale, between its spaces or connection to the generous backyard.
Auckland home he shares with his parents Maria and James: She was unfazed. “We thought we’d just do it up and sell,”
the built-in daybed in the dining area where he likes to she says. “We didn’t intend to stay.”
snooze in the morning light; the low-silled window in the With Maria’s eye for spatial synchronicity and James’s
olds’ bedroom that means he can be busy in the garden and resources (he owns building company JR Hosking Carpenters
still keep one eye on Mum; the way the winter sun warms up & Co), they had what could be called the best-laid plans. They
the concrete floor, keeping his toes toasty while he zooms his didn’t count on falling for the charms of this area close to town,
wooden crane up and down the corridor; and the custom-made in a quiet street with a backdrop of mature trees. Within a year,
mobile kitchen unit filled with pots and pans at just the right six groups of friends had moved into the suburb. The renovations
height to make a convenient play station. took on new meaning.
Yes, life is pretty good in the Hosking household, yet when With James and some of his team on the job, they relocated
the couple bought here five years ago, they considered it a for five months while the work took place. Walls were removed
temporary move. Maria, an associate at Strachan Group to achieve a visual link from the front deck, past the kitchen
Architects, was working full-time and completing her Master’s and centralised dining area to the rear courtyard, and the
thesis at night, so she put her complete trust in James to seek remaining walls were lined with grooved ply to give the
out a property they could afford, never even laying eyes on the unremarkable bones a characterful lift. >

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