Styling Bea Lambos Photography Martina Gemmola
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Meet & greet: Bonnie Ashley and Neil Downie (owners of textile and furniture designer brand Bonnie and Neil).
The property: Renovated four-bedroom 1940s Californian bungalow.
There’s a storm brewing high above her home. Lightning strikes and a neighbour’s tree comes crashing to the ground. It’s wild out there. Our Zoom call flickers and threatens to disconnect. Bonnie Ashley looks around the room and breathes a sigh of relief. She’s safely inside the 1940s four-bedroom house that she shares with her husband, Neil Downie. It’s also a Friday, a day the 45-year-old usually works from home.
“I tend to end the week working from home, which is lovely. I lock myself away and do a lot of my designing in one of the rooms upstairs,” she says. “It looks onto the back garden and is a nice spot to work.”
A keen cook, Bonnie reveals her plan to get up early the next morning to go to a farmers’ market. Textile designer, artist, florist and also gardener, there seems to be little this talented creative cannot turn her hand to. The desire to make things is the common thread underpinning them all and, luckily for us, it’s this passion that led Bonnie and Neil to launch their homewares brand in 2010.
Today, stores stock Bonnie and Neil designs throughout New Zealand, Australia, the US, Europe and Asia, but it all started with a bird on a tablecloth. This screen-printed piece was quickly joined by tablecloths, tea towels, bed linen, glassware, artwork and even furniture.
‘Trademark style’ is a term often used too loosely in the design world, but it’s a description hard to avoid when it comes to Bonnie and Neil. The brand’s mix of exuberant colour and pattern makes it immediately identifiable. Even when it’s simply a glimpse of a pineapple on a tablecloth.
“With Neil’s background as a furniture maker, we were always dreaming up furniture pieces and making them for homes we lived in – daybeds, tables, coffee tables, garden planters and also storage units.”
Bonnie says, recalling those early days. “We both love the creative process of making pieces, but also developing our own products when we couldn’t find them elsewhere. Our business came about because we enjoy making our living spaces feel homely and look beautiful, and we realised that if we couldn’t find pieces we wanted, maybe others had that same need.”
A hunch soon proved to be correct.
Bonnie and Scottish-born Neil bring separate skills to the table that are also a magical combination in the retail world. And also in creating their personal spaces.
“Our own home is always evolving and changing. You can almost think of our home as the moodboard for Bonnie and Neil,” explains Bonnie. She studied art at Christchurch’s School of Design. “What we would love to have in our own home often inspires my designs, so I constantly add to and update the designs and product mix in each living space.”
Their biggest joint design project to date is their current house.
It turns out that designing houses and homewares is a similar process. “The one difference was that I was slightly less decisive in making decisions for my home than I am when working on a project,” says Bonnie. “We are particular about detail and quality. I think those considerations stay the same for our work and our home. It’s got to be made beautifully and finished beautifully.”
The couple bought the house in 2018. “It was serendipitous. We loved the street and neighbourhood. The house also had a lovely aspect with gorgeous heritage details. Most of all, we could see that there was plenty of potential and scope for us to make our creative mark on it,” she says.
Renovations began in 2021 after Covid delayed building work by a year. The previous owner had already extended the house, and Bonnie and Neil decided to also reconfigure the existing layout. Top of the list was a bigger kitchen.
“I knew I wanted a beautiful green kitchen. I find green such a relaxing colour to live with. When you are surrounded by a lot of pattern and colour, you also need a relaxing space,” she explains.
The result turned out to be her “favourite room in the house”. Designed by Neil and lined with his meticulously finished cabinetry – he built all the joinery – but it’s the expanses of Belize quartzite that steal the show. “I spent nearly a year looking at every piece of green stone at every supplier in Melbourne. When I found those pieces of quartzite, there was literally just enough,” she says.
Every room is a testament to colour and pattern. How on earth do you get the mix right I ask? “I try not to focus on getting it ‘right’,” she explains, “as sometimes the best results come from the unexpected, or ‘wrong’ combinations and pairings.”
Bonnie Ashley is evidently very good at turning the unexpected into something beautiful.
Shop this bungalow renovation style
1. Roses By Vincent Van Gogh Art Print
$99.00 at Shop Your Home and Garden
Proudly display the work of one of history’s most well-known artists in your home and lean on it when you need a great conversation starter. Win win!
2. Cooper & Co Steel Bar Cart
$260.31 (usually $291.69) at Amazon
This stunning stainless steel bar cart is sure to be a party starter. If you’re not a bug drinker, we also love this as a coffee station, simple storage shelf or even when used as an end table. The possibilities are endless!
3. 2 Piece Planter
$29.99 at Typo
Add this cute wee planter to your desk, kitchen counter or even bathroom vanity to create a fun feature out of your plants.
4. Capri Counter Stool
$279.00 at Freedom
This stunning natural bar stool is effortlessly beautiful, timeless and durable. Choose a set of these, knowing that they’re strong and reliable enough to last for years to come.
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- A rural farmhouse renovation creates warmth and light
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