5 FINISHING TOUCHES
A key feature of this home is the way Stephanie has softly layered colour to make a statement in each room.
The lemon-yellow kitchen cabinets, bright art and soft furnishings all add interest and dimension throughout the house. Stephanie’s trick for styling with colour is to use a neutral background. “I have always loved white walls. I find a blank canvas helps showcase art, photography and the interesting objects we’ve collected over the years,” she says.
“We have always loved art and displaying anything that makes us feel happy. We often rotate pieces; if you came over to our house today, the shelving displays may look quite different to what you see in the pictures! The white walls mean we can be brave with kitchen and soft-furnishing colours.”
The couch is covered in a peacock-blue woollen fabric from Inter-weave. A pair of
Don Furniture chairs have been re-covered by Pompom Home in a botanical print. The Otto Larsen dining chairs were bought from the Danish Club by Grant’s mother and restored and re-covered. “We have an eclectic mix of new and old belongings that stand out well against the neutral palette. I love the idea of giving old furniture a new lease of life,” says Stephanie. This ethos is evident throughout the home, where vintage finds and contemporary pieces rest happily side by side.
The home also reflects Stephanie’s love of greenery and plants. “I grew up in Titirangi surrounded by native bush, so I love greenery, but native bush doesn’t work in Mangere
Bridge – it’s too dry out here,” she says.
“We are trying the subtropical look. We had the south fenceline landscaped eight months ago and it’s doing well. And you can never have too many indoor plants – slowly, we are creating an urban jungle!”