Take a tour inside this fabulous Hawkes Bay Art Deco homestead where rooms are named and styled after 1930s icons
Meet + greet
Emma Hadden, 43 (co-manages Meadowood with Colin), Colin Hadden, 52 (horticulturist), Ivy, 4, and Ross, 3 months, plus black Labrador Kai and cat Inca.
Honesty box
What do you love about this home? Emma: The history it brings with it. We genuinely feel we are custodians of this beautiful home and hope the original builders/owners, Oscar and Agnes Janett, would approve of what we’ve done to the old dame.
Best lessons learned? Trust your vision and go with your instincts – sometimes the house and gardens are really speaking to you.
What’s one thing you would change about the home if you could? We’d love to add another ensuite, so that each bedroom would have its own bathroom.
How do you find the experience of hosting people? We love it. Guests are in holiday mode so are in great form (mostly!) and that’s infectious.
Most memorable experience you’ve had at your property? Being blessed to meet the grandchildren and son of the original owners, and host them at Meadowood. They shared so many stories and photographs with us and helped us join up a lot of dots!
Emma’s boutique accommodation styling tips
- The small details are key. For example, sugar cubes served with little silver tongs instead of sugar granules.
- Think decadence – crystal glassware, Champagne saucers and vintage china.
- Don’t have rules! We pulled down all the signs that the previous owners had hung on the wall – they just seemed so unwelcoming. If something gets broken or there’s a bit of wear and tear, so be it. Everything can be repaired, replaced or touched up. Guests should feel they’re in their own home, relaxed and comfortable.
- Use good-quality bedlinen, always – no excuses.
- In the garden have small, private seating areas as opposed to one open-plan garden. It adds an air of romance.
Spend
We painted the house, overhauled the gardens and installed an outdoor speakeasy-style bar for approximately $70,000.
See more of Meadowood below
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The living room is a classic example of art deco architecture with its curved wall and built-in niche.
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The wallpaper is ‘Volute’ in old gold from Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers in the US.
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The leather chair is an original Barcelona Chair, first conceived in 1929.
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The working radiogram in the whiskey room was a lucky find on Trade Me.
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The wallpaper in the Amelia Earhart room (Bradbury & Bradbury’s ‘Aeroplane’ in sky blue) is particularly apt as it was created in the early 1930s, possibly intended for the home of a female aviator at the time.
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A slimline mirror and wall lights, sourced at auctions by interior designers Bibby + Brady, fit perfectly in the petite ensuite.
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Gold and turquoise wallpaper (‘Deco’ by Harlequin) with matching cushions channel 1930s glamour in the Fred & Ginger room.
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Chrome and plush fabrics (and a bar cart, of course) create a boudoir fit for Mae West.
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Fittingly, the platinum vamp’s wallpaper is Bradbury & Bradbury’s ‘Havana’ in platinum.
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Rustic seating areas are scattered through the grounds so glamping and house guests can enjoy a little privacy as they take in the garden.
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If you're seeking company, the speakeasy-style bar – painted a rich red and furnished in vintage style – is the place to go.
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Floor plan.
Contacts
Handyman Sebastian Logan is fabulous; 022 526 1989.
Suppliers
The Cranford Hospice shop in Hastings is a treasure trove; 306 Queen Street West, Hastings.
Greenleaf Nurseries in Clive were fabulous with advice on plants and trees.
Interior designers (commissioned by previous owners) Bibby + Brady.
Photography by: Florence Charvin.
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