IN THE GROOVE
An Auckland couple tried out a few houses before settling on this magical sanctuary
A lifetime’s considered collecting enriches this Auckland sanctuary.
Three decades immersed in the high-energy film, interior design and restaurant industries of west London gave Megan and Ron Redel many mad, colourful stories to tell – as well as an aesthetic appetite for comfort with a side dish of midcentury groove. When the couple returned to Auckland in 2010, their ideal was to buy a “romantic Kiwi villa”. They popped open the back and ran it as an Airbnb. “It had the most beautiful kitchen, but once we were in it, I realised it was just the same as everyone else’s villa,” says Megan. The woman who had worked with English interior designer and socialite Nicky Haslam craved something different.
Next up, they tried a 1990s cedar townhouse designed by architect Pip Cheshire. “It was a little oasis, full of light and surrounded by trees,” says Megan. It sufficed for a while. Megan – the original owner of Megan’s, a much-loved Chelsea restaurant and cafe, now a chain of restaurants across London – travelled to the UK three times a year to fulfil a catering contract she still owned. Then, last year, things changed. Making the regular journey was not only stressful but impossible. When they sold the home they had kept in London, it gave them the opportunity to look around again.
“My wife has itchy feet,” says Ron. “So, we did the opposite of empty-nesters. We bought the biggest house we’ve ever owned.”
To be fair, it is substance and style, rather than size, that drew the Redels to this two-level Westmere home that wraps around a pool. “The minute I walked through the door I loved it,” says Megan. Ron, who had his sights set on a different property, didn’t agree. But the truth is: you don’t stay happily married for 30 years, through multiple renovations, three children and a change of country without being able to shift perspective. “This is the better house – it has a lovely feeling and is so generous,” he says now.
That generosity starts at the front door where an atrium soars heavenwards and there’s a tantalising view through to the pool. The space feels urban, resort-like and welcoming all at the same time.
Once inside the main living space, it’s hard to imagine this house began life as a classic bungalow, yet a design detective would pick up the clues: some rooms still sport the original 1920s windows with reeded glass.
“The previous owner developed it in three stages,” says Megan. At first came a board-andbatten extension containing an open-plan living room and extra bedroom with ensuite. Next, a downstairs basement and garage was hewn out. Finally, architect Jack McKinney designed an upper level and the atrium entry. “He reclad the house in vertical cedar which draws it all together,” explains Megan.
While the architectural vision elevates the experience – pitched ceilings upstairs hark of English attics and clever glazing in the gable ends captures views of the trees, sky and distant city – the real design joy is courtesy of the Redels. Their style is an expression of a life lived positively. And at full pace.
The coupled moved in just after lockdown last year and Ron, who spent several years directing and producing TV commercials, has particularly relished adding art, ceramics and furniture. “I’m a compulsive shopper and always have been. I can’t help myself.”
Although big windows cut into the wall space, finding the perfect spot for the Andy Warhol limited edition prints of Mick Jagger that he bought in the 1970s, a Steve McQueen film poster, and his collection of Keith Haring works was not difficult.
The separate dining room also proved fresh ground for his latest art purchase – a pair of brightly daubed limited editions by Damien Hirst.
Horizontal surfaces are also ripe for Ron’s creative passions. His collection of bulbous,
coloured 50s glass is scattered on window sills or grouped along the 20m stretch of timber cabinetry that runs from the living area to the kitchen. A small selection of white German pottery by Kaiser Frey gathers here and on the island bench, and a 2m-tall mosaic vase by Malcolm Temple stands sentinel near the kitchen.
Furnishing the large home wasn’t an issue. Ron, who owns Ponsonby homewares emporium Bob & Friends, has a love of timeless design. A Coconut chair by Vitra slipped nicely into the bedroom, a Balzac chair by Matthew Hilton is in the TV room, and a 30-year-old reclaimed wooden dining table was all go for the dining room. But the couple didn’t own a sofa with the right proportions for the living area. They found one at Freedom. “I’m not a snob about design. I think it should be available to everyone. This sofa was just so comfortable – and best of all was here within two hours of buying it,” says Ron.
For Megan, who now runs a local catering business called Sister’s Kitchen, there is ample room for her cookbooks; the garden is also her domain. A diseased lilly pilly hedge alongside the
pool was the first to go. “We replaced it with a fence which makes the space feel so much bigger and also gives us better access to clean the pool,” she says.
While she plants to a tropical theme, and has nurtured the grass back to full health, she keeps a canny eye on Ron. He has already filled up one of the last remaining cabinetry drawers. “Who needs 50 cake tins?” she chides a husband who has just discovered baking.
What she can’t argue with is that this home, where the two full-time residents can enjoy their “me” time at opposite ends or switch to sleeping in the “summer” bedroom near the garden on a whim, is tailor-made for filling up – with passions and with people.
At night, when friends and family are gathered around the table, and the outside lights turn on, something magical happens. “That’s when the house goes from being warm and modern to something exotic. It’s pretty fantastic,” says Ron.