Salvage style
Creativity before consumerism rules in this Wellington house full of colour and collectables
Lisa Ussher’s style mantra is built around the adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Some of her best décor finds have come from the local tip. “I’ve discovered things at the tip shop that I’ll usually transform in some way, either repairing, recovering or painting – sometimes all three – to give it a second life.
I love saving something from becoming landfill,” says Ussher.
The home she shares in Tawa, Wellington, with her partner Mark and children Charlie, 12, and Betsy, 9, looks ordinary from the outside but inside it is a colourful trove of collected and treasured finds. “I love furniture and objects with longevity, things that have a story behind them and I get a lot of satisfaction out of being able to add to that story,” she says.
She and Mark are serial hunter-gatherers, happy to spend hours trawling through thrift stores and junk shops procuring one-off and sometimes quirky pieces. When it comes to interior style, Ussher does have some ground rules. “I love mixing things up but it’s important to have a few beautiful well-built pieces of furniture to make other bits and pieces look better. It also helps to know what you’re looking for, rather than just randomly shopping.”
The mountain scene wallpaper in the couple’s bedroom (overleaf) is a case in point. Ussher had kept a picture
featuring the retro wallpaper for many years, convinced that one day she would have it in her own home. During one of her routine op shop visits, she caught a glimpse of the mountain scene on some wallpaper rolled up in a corner. “I unrolled it and behold, there it was, the wallpaper of my dreams,” she says.
Something else she hankered for and found online is the boat-shaped bar in the dining space. ”I never thought we would find anything like that in New Zealand but Mark discovered it on TradeMe,” says Ussher. “We’ve hosted a few big social occasions in the two years we’ve lived here and we’re looking forward to having a few more cocktail parties post-lockdown. There is plenty of room to dance the night away or to fit the extended family of 40 for lunch on Christmas day.”
Ussher and Mark were living in central Wellington, with no plans to move, but on a whim they went to an open home and all four family members fell in love. “We could see it had so much potential. What‘s so great about this house is that it has lots of different rooms that flow from one space to another so we can be connected, yet able to do our own thing,” she says.
The kitchen is the hub of weekday life. Literally in the centre of the house, the main living areas can all be easily accessed from there. When the weather is warm the family dines in the atrium but once the sun goes down they are most likely to gather in the large open-plan lounge/dining area. One corner of the living room is set aside for Mark’s home office, where he does admin for their Wellington store Good House Keeping. A room on the sunny side of the house, dubbed the Tiki Bar, is a popular gathering spot during the chilly months. “We spend a lot of time there in winter, but in summer it virtually turns into a sauna,” says Ussher.
“I love furniture and objects with longevity, things that have a story behind them and I get a lot of satisfaction out of being able to add to that story.”