Page 81 - homestyle New Zealand (February - March 2020)

HOMES

was dug out beneath it. Apart from claggy clay ending up
in every nook and cranny, it was all going to plan, until…
A replacement for the old retaining wall at the side of
the house was an essential part of the overhaul, but it was
winter, and when the rains came, the mid-construction
structure went slip-slidin’ away. “We woke up one night
to a big bang,” says Hannah. “The whole house was rocking.”
Evacuating at midnight to Steve’s parents’ place, they were
forced to abandon ship for the rest of the renovation — and
relocate their unimpressed moggies, Temperance and Solomon.
“It all became very stressful at that point, but there was
a little bit of luck involved,” says Hannah, who works as a
buyer for footwear brands Mi Piaci and Merchant 1948.
“It could have all collapsed and the whole house would
have rolled down the hill,” explains Steve.
The mudslide was a disaster in many respects; however,
the other upside was that the extra expense and time spent
undoing the damage meant the project had to be broken
into two phases. “At the time it was a big call to suspend
the renovation, but it worked out to be a bit of a gem because
we learned from the first stage and got to start again,” says
safety consultant Steve, owner of Integrated Safety.
“We probably spent twice what we originally planned to,
most of it going into that wall, so we ended up not finishing >

TOP Making a strong statement on the dining table is a Spin candelabra by Tom Dixon from Simon James. The granite island in the kitchen opposite is lit by a Lucca light
from Light Plan. The Enzo bar stools are by Danske Møbler and the tap is by KWC. ABOVE This fiery landscape by Graeme Brinsley was spotted by the couple on a trip to
Queenstown in the middle of phase one, when they weren’t in a position to buy it. They eventually headed back to find it again and make it theirs. Below it sits a sideboard
from Freedom dotted with a selection of curios, including a Layers vase from Città, a matching vase and dome from Kikki.K, and heirloom figures carved from bone.

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