THE HOUSE THAT IS

Creative couple Megan Vertelle and Age Pryor live in a showstopper of a house in Piha jam-packed with story- worthy collectables

IN A PATCHWORK VILLA ON A KAURICOVERED PIHA HILL LIVES MEGAN VERTELLE. COLLECTOR, MAKER, SET DECORATOR. OF ALL OF THE SCENES SHE’S CRAFTED INTO REALITY, THE ONE SHE CALLS HOME IS THE SHOWSTOPPER

THERE’S NEVER A louder silent conversation than one held behind the back of a real estate agent. As Megan Vertelle and Age Pryor followed the chatting realtor down the hallway of the newly listed Piha villa, they had a hurried discussion with their eyes while continuing to sedately nod and hmmm at the agent. This is it, they were certain. They didn’t mention that part of their deposit was currently in the form of two plane tickets to France, nor that the home was a smidgen (well, several smidgens) above their price range. They knew it was meant to be theirs. And so it was.

The half-hectare property couldn’t have been more perfect if Megan had designed it herself, and she knows a thing or two about creating scene-stealing sets. A set decorator for New Zealand-based film and television projects, Megan is the long-armed conductor of an orchestra of blacksmiths, designers, dressers and buyers who turn storyboard musings into material worlds.

The half-hectare property couldn’t have been more perfect if Megan had designed it herself, and she knows a thing or two about creating scene-stealing sets

Her career began with her feet firmly on the bottom rungs of the ladder. Step by step, she scaled the silver screen and started landing jobs on the film retellings of “fantastic, inspiring New Zealand stories” such as Whale Rider and The World’s Fastest Indian. Over the past two decades, her CV has expanded to include films such as Mister Pip, A War Story and television series The Shannara Chronicles, Spartacus and Legend of the Seeker.

“It’s a job that never gets old, every set is different and presents me with new challenges. There may be a picture or an idea, and then it’s up to the team and me to find or make everything needed. Sourcing specific antiques and furniture can be difficult in New Zealand, but Kiwis never say no, they are always determined to find it somehow or make it.”

Leaving work at the front door was never an option for the creative couple. Megan’s role requires intricate knowledge of niche topics (how historic torture devices work or where to purchase parts of a crashed plane, for example) so she spends many an hour in her studio lost on the internet.

“Surviving in a creative career in New Zealand requires discipline and your partner needs to support your continued learning, exploring and practising. Age and I share a similar mindset; our paths intersect from time to time as we share ideas and lend support, but we can lock ourselves away for hours or days on end, and the other will understand rather than knocking on the door complaining that there’s no one to watch Netflix with.”

As a founding member of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra and the Woolshed Sessions, and a key member of collectives Fly My Pretties and Congress of Animals, Age is often on the road. When not touring, he’s writing songs, singing songs, producing songs and playing them in his studio, with its crystal leadlight windows, views across the kauri and soundtrack of bees from the hive below.

It’s little wonder that just months after ukulele-loving Megan met Wellington-based, ukulele-playing Age in a Piha hall, he moved from the capital city to the coast. “Piha attracts creative minds and independent spirits; it’s wild, rugged and free,” says Megan. “The landscape never ceases to feed the mind and creativity. The peace and serenity balance my film studio life and the long days. I always feel restored and regenerated.”

When not seeking serenity by pulling weeds in the garden or attempting to manoeuvre another vintage lamp into the depths of her garage-cum-storage unit (Age just shakes his head at this stage — what’s another one to the 100 and counting?), Megan is elbow-deep in developing lotions and balms for her Belle Bird range.

Megan’s glasshouse is home to both plants and possessions, with second-hand couches and a stained- glass window from vintage store The Fabulist placed alongside her hand-pollinated passionfruit and well-tended tomatoes. The drying lemon balm behind her will be used for tea.

THIS PAGE: Despite its vintage façade and air of yesteryear, the perfectly imperfect home was built in the 1980s by a couple who owned a demolition yard. Crafted from bits and pieces rescued and refurbished, every curved window and arched doorway speaks of hours with hammer and nail, or stripping paint. OPPOSITE: Piha’s Mercer Bay loop walk is one of the couple’s favourites, not only for its dramatic outlook but for the footsteps that have been before them — the track leads to one of the oldest pā sites in the area.

Look familiar? In 2018 Age wrote and recorded an original song for Trustpower, We’ve Got the Time, and the accompanying ad was shot at Age and Megan’s home. While Age appears in the ad, he had to share the spotlight with Samba, their beloved 15-yearold collie- cross, who passed away not too long after her star turn. Watch the ad on YouTube, or download the song on iTunes. agepryor.co.nz

THESE PAGES: Instead of for watching television, the lounge (above and opposite) is more commonly used as a concert hall, where small gatherings of friends, family and neighbours enjoy performances from Age and his musically gifted friends. Although the home showcases local art (such as Whare Pai by Hawke’s Bay artist Perry Davies, right), guests come from far and wide, with musicians from Berlin and Paris, and wwoofers Sam and Sara (above, at the table) from Sweden. The concerts are often accompanied by a potluck dinner, where Megan and Age share not only their beloved home, but the spoils of their organic garden.

THIS PAGE: Mother Nature has made herself at home in Piha. From the claw-foot tub in their “Swedish bath-house” bathroom, Megan and Age can watch tūī singing in the branches of nearby kauri, with backup vocals provided by the heritage chickens (at home in their hen house decorated by Megan) and the beehives. The beehive is a warré hive which uses bars instead of frames and allows the bees to build the honeycomb from scratch.