A fashion designer’s approach to living and decorating adds a colourful touch to a cottage makeover
Meet & greet
Vaughan Geeson (fashion designer), Noel Schroder (procurement manager) and Lilly the cat.
The property
A 1912 cottage build in New Lynn, Auckland.
When the right house comes along, it should grant you creative licence to express all and any artistic desires. That wish came true for Vaughan Geeson and partner Noel Schroder, who found a home willing to give as much as they gave. “It’s a really quirky house, so it gave us full range to be quite quirky with colours and furnishings,” says Vaughan. Originally a 1912 cottage build, the house had been extended and added to over the years, creating a potpourri of shapes and proportions. “It’s quite eclectic. I don’t think it would have suited white walls and beige furniture.”
The original layout was left largely unchanged, but the cottage’s decor has been transformed. The Auckland home was a “perfectly decorated ’90s time capsule”, complete with Spanish yellow walls, wrought iron light fittings, terracotta tiles and calico curtains. When the couple first viewed the house, three years earlier, all they saw was the warm glow of the late-day sun streaming into the north-facing living area. “I don’t think we noticed the work that would need to be done,” Vaughan admits, but as avid cooks and entertainers, “the light-filled dining room sealed the deal” for him and partner Noel.
The pair estimates their style falls within the realm of contemporary eclectic, but don’t particularly ascribe to one design movement or another. “I’m a bit of a magpie,” Vaughan says. “I find as I get older, I try to keep things a little more cohesive and curated – and a little less cluttered. I try, anyway,” he emphasises.
An artist’s palette
“I knew as soon as we moved in I wanted a dramatic dining room and landed on the bold blue quite quickly,” Vaughan says. He decided to work room to room, rather than trying to decide on a colour scheme all at once. Once the dining room was painted, the pale pink in the kitchen living areas seemed like the perfect balance. Vaughan describes the colour, Resene Soothe, as “a contemporary way to do a quirky neutral”.
The laundry was painted in Resene Moroccan Spice, another bold offering to add yet another dimension to the design palette. “The burnt orange in the laundry felt like the perfect rich colour to balance with the dining room and it looks great with the new wood cabinets; it has a Sahara Desert at sunset vibe.” The pair saved money through painting all the interiors themselves, which was a smart financial decision.
Fashion designer Vaughan believes that all design is connected. “It’s a view of the world. Colour, and how you react to it, is a big connection between design disciplines for me,” he admits.
A room to remember
The soft pink shade used in the living room is a revelation, almost bottling the feeling of sunlight and warmth that first captivated the pair all those years ago. A large monochrome mug-shot painting by the late Dunedin artist and friend Ben Webb takes pride of place on the wall, along with prints by fellow Kiwi artists including Gillian Pope and Tracey Williams.
“I’d say we’re probably not so much art collectors as art lovers,” Vaughan summarises. Most of their pieces have been acquired from artist friends, were spontaneous purchases or created by Vaughan. Each one holds a significant meaning for the couple and are little slices of life captured in colour and brush stroke.
Among the treasured finds in the lounge, there’s still a strong sense of refinement, each piece playing their role to perfection within the interior landscape. A blue armchair here, a standing lamp there, all adding to a suave vibe that is well maintained throughout the house. “I’m definitely conscious of the space and function a piece needs to be used in,” Vaughan says. “Everything has to have a purpose as well as look great and work in with existing pieces. Proportion is really important to me – the balance between something being a statement and not getting in the way. I have a horror of large, overstuffed furniture.”
The piece de resistance, gold drapery from Harrisons Curtains, adds a heavy, luxurious hand to the garden view. “Gold velvet curtains will give any room a ’70s vibe,” he says. Another favourite find is red Perspex shelves by designer Katy Wallace, which are in both the lounge and the bedroom. “We’ve had them for years, in multiple houses. They always work and always stand out, no matter the interior or style of house.”
Come dine with me
“The house has great natural flow, but it did have different flooring in just about every space,” Vaughan says. To create a more open-plan connection, the couple relaid all the lower-level floors in the same COREtec flooring, saying it was “transformational in terms of visual flow”.
Vaughan and Noel’s favourite room is the dining area, which flows on from the kitchen and lounge and offers a plethora of windows to admire the lush garden. “It’s such a rich but light room,” Vaughan says. The vivid mineral blue of Resene St Kilda is layered and enhanced by the light blue dining chairs from Danske Mobler.
It’s a combination that works in harmony with the large wooden table from Hunter Furniture
and the eye-catching, matte black pendant light from Lighting Direct. “We love entertaining for family and friends. We’ve spent many fun evenings and weekend lunches in there.”
The house is Vaughan and Noel’s self-declared “dream home” and they have no intention of moving anytime soon. For now, they want to enjoy the light a little longer.
Words by: Caroline Moratti Photography by: Babiche Martens
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