Living with history
Giving items a new lease on life is a passion of author Sarah Heeringa, who has just launched her new book Upcycling with Style. She’s reinvented several pieces of furniture throughout her 158-year-old, two-storey villa, Allendale House, in Mt Albert, Auckland. Heeringa enjoys entertaining and Allendale has been the centre of many parties.
Describe your house in two sentences...
A two-story weatherboard villa. It was originally an old farmhouse – big and draughty but with bucket loads of character.
Describe your style in three words...
Modern, vintage, maximalism.
Who lives there with you?
My husband Vincent, and two of our four children, Theodore and Wilhelmina. There’s also Oscar the labrador, Gary the cat, a few chickens and some beehives.
Your favourite room/area in the house and why?
The front lounge. We call it the green room, though I’ve recently repainted it more of a duck-egg blue. It has a big open fireplace which is it great on a chilly winter’s night. This room has seen plenty over the past 158 years, including a historic meeting of settlers in 1866 to approve proposed district boundaries and to push for the formation and repair of the New Great North Rd.
Finish this sentence. ‘‘Once someone came to my door and…’’
...said that they had lived in this house as a kid in the 70s and could they have a look around. It turns out lots of people we know have also been here in the past for parties and weddings.
Your proudest DIY moment:
Sewing curtains for the front lounge room. I bought some good-quality Italian fabric for a steal because it was the end of the line.
Title of a book, film or television show that best describes the mood in your home?
The Royal Tenenbaums meets The Good Life.
Best money you have ever spent on the house?
Getting it painted and rewired. At the same time, we also bought an extra-long wooden slab and built a basic but sturdy outdoor table. The best money spent is in creating spaces that bring people together.
Worst thing that’s ever gone wrong while entertaining?
The kitchen tap once came off in my hand (with water gushing everywhere) just as our first party guests knocked on the door. But worse moments have been when people we’ve just introduced turn out to have wildly divergent political views or seem to take an instant dislike to each other.
Once, a friend’s new boyfriend arrived for a dinner party, tired and emotional from a recent bereavement and the day spent in the harbour on a media mogul’s gin palace. He straight away got the pip with another dinner guest and before the mains were even on the table he was sitting on the front doorstep weeping. That was a bit awkward.
One item I wish I had kept or not got rid of is...
A lot of our furniture (including the kitchen cabinets) is on wheels and everything in the house is a potential photo shoot prop. You work really hard with others to create a beautiful scene and there is a lot of satisfaction in that. And then there’s a sad moment when everything gets packed down again.
Favourite piece of furniture?
A favourite project from my latest book is a vintage wooden sideboard that I stripped down and embellished with gold paint.
If I had $50k, what I would change about my house is...
I’d love to have large and lavish vintage handmade carpets in every room.