Photography: Sarah Rowlands
Charm exudes from this townhouse in spades. It’s been filled with secondhand treasures, clever DIY jobs and a grounded colour palette. It’s cosy and it’s homely – one might even assume that it’s a century-old cottage given a makeover.
Plot twist: it’s a new-build by Brooksfield, equipped with all the modern quirks without skimping on beauty.
“We’ve always liked character homes and at the time we started looking for our first home, we weren’t ready to commit to an old house and potential reno,” says homeowner Hannah Colenbrander, who purchased the property with her partner Ryan White.
“By choosing a classically designed new-build, we didn’t just buy a beautiful house, we made a sensible financial decision.”
The pair, who both work at Brooksfield and are innately aware of the process, first rented one of their new-builds before committing to purchasing.
“It was really handy to be able to take a home for a ‘test drive’,” says Hannah.
Once they’d fallen in love, the build process was all go. It took around eight months to build and Hannah and Ryan found themselves obsessed and driving past once or twice a week to see how it was going.
“Brooksfield put a lot of time and money into making sure the homes are historically accurate in their design and details,” says Hannah.
Brooksfield works with Ben Pentreath, a classical architect based in the UK, so all the exteriors are fixed and all the materials are determined.
“They only use two types of cladding: either timber weatherboard or brick, as these are natural materials and we can predict how they perform over long periods of time.”
Home Profile
Meet & Greet: Hannah Colenbrander (heritage homes consultant) and Ryan White (land acquisitions manager).
The Property: Two-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom, single garage townhouse in Somerfield, Christchurch.
The grass is greener
Inside, however, Hannah and Ryan got to have their fun. They selected the tapware, the colour of their flooring and kitchen cabinetry (Atmoss Green by Dezignatek) and added a butler’s sink and splashback tiles. Green is a common thread throughout the home – even their aluminium front door is privy to the colour palette in a deep green shade.
“We tend to gravitate to natural tones: green, warm whites and creams, browns and wood textures,” says Hannah.
“People lead very busy, frenetic lives these days with exposure to high levels of stimulation. When we get home, we just want it to feel like a deep breath, a sigh of relief. Emulating the colours and textures found in nature feels most restorative.”
It’s in our DNA
Adding to the character charm is an abundance of excellent secondhand finds. Almost every piece of furniture and decor has been purchased from Facebook Marketplace, Trade Me and op-shops, with a focus on rich wooden tones and interesting shapes.
“We like old furniture. If it has lasted so long already, it will continue to last,” says Hannah.
“We’re not about fast furniture, we’re after timelessness in style and materials, like the home itself.”
They had started collecting pieces for the home before they moved in, going as far as to have options available.
“The garage of our rental was pretty packed at one point. When we moved, we had two dining tables because I didn’t want to sell one of them before seeing what was going to be a better fit.”
On top of their incredible sourcing ability, Hannah and Ryan are also keen DIYers with an impressive skillset. If they come across something they love that is inexpensive and needs a bit of work, they’re motivated to buy it and upcycle it how they see fit.
It helps that they’re both perfectly equipped for the task.
“Ryan has a background in designing and building kitchens and I’ve got a background in visual design, so we make a good team.”
The dining table and chairs that won their hearts, both antique English oak, were a steal at just over $100. They brought them home and decided to reupholster the seat coverings with a William Morris print.
“We’d never tried upholstery before, but there are so many great YouTube tutorials out there,” says Hannah.
“You can teach yourself anything.”
“Everything went wrong with that project”
There are also the projects that don’t go so well.
“The hutch was a different story. We had really no idea how that one would turn out. We wanted to match the colour with the frame of Oma’s painting above our dining table. Basically, everything went wrong with that project. The paint didn’t sit properly and ended up a bit streaky. But now it’s one of the things we love about it, because it just looks like a really old hutch. The imperfections make it more beautiful.”
Total comfort
While it might not be their forever home, it’s a wonderful start to the pair’s property journey. It’s a warm, modern home filled with character and interest.
“Whatever home we end up in the future, it will be a character or classically designed home, ideally in a field in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by an orchard, veggie gardens and chickens. That’s not too much to ask, right?”
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