The Grey Lynn family home of Hej Hej co-founder Alice Isles is as upbeat and playful as her fashion brand, but on a grander canvas
meet & greet
Alice Isles (co-owner of clothing brand Hej Hej), Mike Isles (corporate finance advisor), and their twin daughters, Madeleine and Matilda, both six, and Chewy the cat.
the property
Three-storey, three bedroom inner-city double-brick terrace home in Auckland.
From her place at the helm of puckish and personality-packed fashion brand Hej Hej, Alice Isles is used to making a sartorial splash, so the pops of bold colour that punctuate her family home come as no surprise. Combine her appreciation for individuality and daring, with a property that was already high in quirk factor, and you’ve got a house that’s a joy to explore, where you never know what you might find around each corner.
Home and away
Alice and husband Mike’s story starts in Sydney, where they had been living for 10 years before the arrival of twins, Madeleine and Matilda, now six, prompted their return migration.
Auckland’s Grey Lynn, with its parks and playgrounds, proximity to family and streets of charming villas, would be their chosen turf, but finding a home that fit them was trickier than you might expect. After years living in Sydney apartments and terraces, Alice recalls feeling isolated and exposed in a freestanding house. The solution was this terrace home, one of a row that looks like it’s been lifted straight off a street in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
“The minute we stepped in the door, it reminded us of the terraces in Sydney. It felt really different from all the other houses we’d seen in Auckland and I instantly knew it was the right one for us.”
Terrace or Tardis?
A source of fascination in passers-by, the home appears adorably tiny from the street, a single-storey worker’s cottage snugly wedged in a row of twee terraces. But by some Narnian trickery – actually just by working with the sloping site – the home expands beyond the front door to reveal three storeys, including three bedrooms, an attic workspace, downstairs living spaces and a bonus below-ground conservatory.
Beyond the living areas is an entertainer’s deck and tiny garden, which Alice says is small but exactly right for them. “We’ve got more house, whereas other people might have a bigger block,” she says. “But we’ve been living in smaller houses and apartments for so long, we wouldn’t know what to do with a garden. It wasn’t a big thing for us.”
Evolution of a home
With 100 years of history (more or less) behind it, the house has plenty of stories to tell, and Alice and Mike are in a unique position to hear some of them firsthand, with the previous owners of the house living next door.
Their neighbours previously owned both this terrace and their own, knocking through to create a spacious home for their large family, then separating the two dwellings again after their kids flew the coop.
And as for Alice and Mike, they’re making their own mark on the house, but thoughtfully and without any sense of urgency. “What I learned from waiting before doing any sort of renovations is you really learn how the house works for you. There are definitely things we initially thought we’d change, but have actually learned to love or to work around them,” says Alice.
The quirky inclusions the couple have embraced range from a mahogany bar underneath the stairs, to a playroom complete with working wall basin (left over from its previous incarnation as an Italian-style terracotta-lined conservatory), and the so-old-it’s-new-again arch details over the French doors. Utterly enamoured of the home, with all its foibles, the couple only made one major change: installing a brand-new kitchen for keen home cook Mike, one with storage and space for his culinary tinkering and a breakfast bar for the girls to sit and chat with the chef.
Think pink
Renovating the kitchen was the first opportunity to add some serious colour to the home, and Alice – with help from her creative mum – took the opportunity to balance her bubbly personality with future-proof simplicity.
“We initially wanted to pump so much personality into it, but then we decided to keep it simple and use materials that are hard-wearing and would last a long time,” says Alice. The fun element comes from pink-based terrazzo floor tiles, which appealed to Alice as soon as she started looking at finishes. “It was like love at first sight,” says Alice, adding, “Pink is also one of Hej Hej’s brand colours, so I can’t get away from it.”
Against a gallery backdrop of white walls and polished timber floors, an eclectic selection of art fills the home with lashings of eye-catching colour. Alice credits her mother with much of the carefully curated collection.
“My mum is a supporter and collector of New Zealand art and has a special interest in New Zealand photography. She has amazing knowledge and a great eye,” says Alice. “We have traded a couple of pieces with each other and often switch pieces around.”
Wearable art
While Alice’s mum’s specialty is photography, Alice’s particular contribution is textiles – no surprise given her line of work. “Some art can feel quite flat, but fabrics are such a passion of mine and I love the textures and colours they bring. When you hang fabrics, it brings a real warmth to a room.” Vibrant saris and textured Rarotongan tivaevae quilts dress the beds, vintage kimonos and silk scarves are mounted on walls. What you won’t find on display just yet are Hej Hej’s own patterns.
“I need my home to inspire new ideas and, if I was surrounded by old Hej Hej things, I wouldn’t be pushing my brain,” Alice explains. And with so many things to look at and touch in this bright and joyful home, one can imagine that inspiration is plentiful.
Alice’s tips for a home with personality plus
- Don’t be afraid of colour. Things like ceramics and books can also add colour and personality to a white space.
- Use fabrics or prints as clever ways to add texture and colour to walls or furniture. My mum is a master at this and is a big reason why our house has so much character.
- When purchasing new furniture always look at secondhand places or auction houses first.
- There are no rules to style – mix and match different eras, materials and shapes.
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