A chaos-free zone in Waterview

Dancing with the Stars NZ contestant Carolyn Taylor lives in Waterview, a cityfringe suburb in Auckland.

The former children’s show presenter was born and raised in the street parallel to where she now lives.

‘‘I love driving home,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘I see my past and remember running around as a pre-schooler up and down the driveway across the road with my cousins. I see my present and my future here and it’s filled with love and memories.’’

Describe your house in two sentences:

The house is light and warm and open, which I love. It’s also very simplistic and comfortable, which for me is important as a home is the place you go to find peace and shut out the world. A little slice of ‘‘chaos-free zone’’ one might say (you can tell by that answer I obviously don’t have kids yet).

Describe your style in three words:

Classic, relaxed, Euro.

Who lives there with you? If my partner would let me, I would get rid of:

I’m fairly lucky that Wes and I have very similar tastes and it’s very rare we argue about ‘‘interior stuff’’, so currently I’d say nothing. If something ever does come up that we don’t agree with/I don’t like, I try to win the war with, ‘‘You take care of outside and let me have inside’’.

Title of a book, film or television show that describes your home’s mood:

Family Ties.

Best money you have ever spent on the house:

In our last place I’d have to say the best money we spent was on window furnishings. It’s amazing what a difference they make, and so quickly, with zero DIY required.

Worst thing that’s ever gone wrong while entertaining:

I can’t recall any real catastrophes but I do have to say, at our last place we didn’t have a dishwasher so cleaning up after people left was always a major downer. I am very much appreciating the dishwasher in this place.

One item I wish I had kept or not got rid of is:

A couch from Early Settler that was just massive and comfy and linen. Basically a bed in a lounge. Not that I’d have anywhere for it in this place now, but I was uber attached to that couch and just loved relaxing on it.

Favourite piece of furniture:

The concrete coffee table from Koko Classics in the lounge. It’s blimmin’ heavy and not good to walk into, but I adore it.

If I had $50k, what I would change about my house is...

The inside is close to finished but the outside remains ‘‘original’’, which means that is exactly where I’d put $50k. Paint the house, landscaping [and a big] outdoor living area.

Which home habit annoys you the most?

I don’t understand when there are perfectly good wardrobes to put clothes in, why they land up on the floor or on a chair from time to time.

What’s one domestic/ housework/gardening trick you’ve learnt over the years?

Try to never tackle cleaning a house in one go – break it up into hour blocks over the week and it never feels like a massive chore! I call it ‘‘the potter cleaning approach’’.