Style Insider: A colourful and quirky Wellington home keeps its owner grounded.
Diane Hughes says that her treasure-filled Wellington house keeps her sane
The Island Bay villa Diane Hughes shares with sibling cats Ted and Dudley is riotously colourful and layered with quirky curiosities that tell the story of her life. Diane frequently combs antiques shops and likes crafty DIY projects – like reupholstering the old Victorian chair she found in a Greytown store. “I pulled it apart and Googled some training sessions on how to reupholster. So I’m going to give it a crack.”
Diane also tackled the kitchen herself, demolishing the old cabinets and painting a rug effect on the patchy timber floor. “That’s the good thing about vintage,” she says. “It’s forgiving. You don’t have to be perfect.” She did however use professionals to hang the exquisitely patterned Swedish and French wallpapers bought with the aid of ES Design.
Instead of building a pantry Diane shipped a big green antique cabinet from Country Trader in Greytown. It’s now full of vintage cake tins, and little statues peer through the glass. “Friends’ kids came around the other day and busied themselves putting name tags on all the objects.”
Diane has a passion for pieces from the 1940s. “It was an interesting period, particularly around the war. My father fought during World War II so I guess that’s where some of the interest comes from. It also reminds me of my grandmother’s house and my Aunty Eileen’s... both homes are gone as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes.”
She also loves religious memorabilia. Statues of Jesus abound. And more recently, Indian pieces found at local store Small Acorns. Diane admits her home is “packed to the gunnels” but it makes her happy. “It’s my safety bunker from everything that’s mad about life.”