A taste for the unusual and a penchant for auctions drives the decorative style of this home.

Jan McCready haunts auction houses for unusual finds and has a penchant for gilt, marble and Marilyn Monroe

Jan McCready says she was a goth before the word had been invented. And she’s still drawn to the moody and mysterious. Her 1920s stucco house in Parnell, Auckland is a Gothic dream. The interior is filled floor to ceiling with dramatic sculptures and artefacts (some look like escapees from a Gothic cathedral), distinctive paintings (a few are frankly alarming), as well as an altar’s worth of candles.

But Jan is not of a religious bent, nor has she a religious background. She just buys what she likes and what she likes must speak to her. The list has Marilyn Monroe near the top for style, hence the two large Andy Warhol-esque graphic images of the 1950s movie star, plus a photo poster. >

Next on the list are Chinese horses, partly because Jan was once a keen rider but also because she likes their form. She likes starburst mirrors (there are three above her bed) and gilt, which explains the massive gold pelmet above the bed and the golden frames and decorations around the house. She also loves whimsy, marble busts and marble generally, as well as French furniture, though she doesn’t follow French style.

There are many more things Jan likes; some she didn’t even know she had a penchant for until she clapped eyes on them. The new-found objects of desire are often uncovered at the many auctions she attends. In fact, Jan was such a regular at Webb’s auction house she befriended the staff and now works there on contract.

Auctions offer great value, she says, and prices have fallen massively in recent years. Items that once cost thousands in antiques shops can now be bought for hundreds at auction. >

“I tell young people you can buy a good Georgian chest of drawers for $300 to $400 and then you can paint it and make it your own. But young people don’t go to auctions. They spend that kind of money on mass-produced furniture, but why do that when you can buy something unusual and different? You do have to be patient though.”

She doesn’t care about buying from prestigious makers or as an investment. Indeed, she often can’t remember who made a piece or its provenance.

She cares about a work resonating with energy and how it will balance with other pieces and enhance a particular room.

“It’s too easy to follow what people perceive to be fashion trends and not create anything distinctive. You know, those old villas in magazines with the back pushed out and the kitchen with high stools and everything looking same, same, same.”

Jan, husband John and their 23-year-old son Jordan have lived in the house for nine years and in that time the couple have, slowly, room by room, upgraded the place, a huge task that involved extensive rewiring and replumbing.

Remodelling the garden involved four years of thought and planning, 10 months to execute, several diggers, a lot of mud and dust, and the staff at Mace Landscape Group who, she says, did a brilliant job. Jan knew exactly what she wanted. “When I was young I went to Versailles and fell in love with the structured garden and topiaries there. As much as I love the look of English country gardens, I’m happy with green and scent. For me, they are the two things a garden must have. Green is wonderful; it gives such depth and texture.”

Cosmo the Irish terrier loves a good scratch on the fake lawn while Jax the Bengal cat favours the sunny spots indoors. >

Q&A

Happiest day in the house: My son’s 21st. The garden was meant to be ready but it wasn’t quite. It didn’t matter. The day was still good.

Best moment in the kitchen: Cooking for friends and family. I don’t cook for the family much myself now that the boys have discovered My Food Bag. They love the prescriptive nature of it. I’m a creative cook and couldn’t do that.

Tip for other homeowners: Professionals such as architects and interior designers can avoid costly mistakes. They will tell you what is achievable or not within your budget and also give you someone to bounce your ideas off.

Best power tool: My leaf blower, because of all the deciduous trees around us, and my grapevine. A leaf blower is much quicker than a broom, believe me. Favourite local shops: Le Monde, La Cigale market and a fabulous tapas bar called Barulho.

Jan McCready

THIS PAGE The ottoman in the bedroom at Jan McCready’s Parnell, Auckland home is a reproduction Egyptian-style piece, which was bought at auction; the 19th century French pelmet above the bed, also bought at auction, may have originally hung over a window.OPPOSITE Antique Chinese horses look down on a fantasy scene painted by Auckland mural artist Rita Vovna.

THIS PAGE (from top) The paintings are all part of a set designed to go together as the background of the Baxter furniture launch 10 years ago, which Jan callsThe Queen with her Prince. The spiky heart was bought at a local gallery and hangs over the doorway to the kitchen.OPPOSITE Jan McCready sits on French chairs she re-covered in fabric by Andrew Martin; she bought the chandelier in New York and carried it home as part of her luggage.

THIS PAGE (from top) The chandelier hails from India but was bought from a friend living in Singapore; the paintings along the staircase are a mixture of the famous, such as Dick Frizzell, Donna Demente and British artist Richard Adams, as well as lesser-known artists whose works were bought overseas and at auction. The plaster bust of the woman and building is called Berliner by English artist Kathy Dalwood; the others are alabaster and marble bought in New York, at auction and in an antiques shop.OPPOSITE (clockwise from top left) The hung painting in the spare room is by Itzchak Tarkay, bought in London. The graffitied Marilyn was painted by a friend especially for Jan and the crystal perfume bottles on the basin were bought at auction. The main bedroom displays the eclectic mix of old and new Jan so loves.