Photography: Sarah Rowlands
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but for Kasia Stanicich, it was a village that helped her create the house of her dreams. The Christchurch content creator and make-up artist, who is the daughter of builders, had always known that she wanted to build her own home someday.
“My mum and dad own a building company, Fowler Homes Christchurch South, and they’ve owned it for most of my life.”
Kasia first intended to build in 2021, but the Covid boom saw the price of land skyrocket and she had to change her plans. She ended up with what she considered a very typical first-time buyer home and spent the next few years dreaming about the house she’d eventually build. When the perfect plot of land came on the market, she and her partner Grayson bought it within a week.
It was a whirlwind build, too. “We started, from memory, the first week of April and we moved in at the end of September.”
This was to be expected. “It’s actually pretty usual for Dad because they don’t build too much at once and we did a lot of the planning before we actually started building,” says Kasia.
The house plans, which had been drawn up when she was initially keen to build in 2021, were given to her dad, Ivan, and he made a few adjustments. While the idea of working directly with parents may be a nightmare for some, it ended up being a positive experience for both Kasia and Ivan.
“We are both very stubborn Croatians, so we had a couple of head-to-heads at the very beginning, but only because I cared a lot and he cared even more,” says Kasia.
“We actually worked really well together, we keep joking that we should go on The Block.”
Much like the building plans, by the time it got to designing, Kasia had it already mapped out. She enlisted the help of Olivia Kennedy from Mooi Design to create renders.
“I don’t necessarily think I needed help designing, I just needed help visualising. I want to get the best end product, but I have a very specific picture of what the end product looks like in my head,” Kasia says.
When these renders brought her vision to life, it made the build even more seamless.
“Everyone was on the same page from the minute we got going. And the whole way through, there were no surprises. I knew exactly what the kitchen was going to look ike, I knew exactly what the bathroom was going to look like.”
Home Profile
Meet & Greet: Kasia Stanicich (make-up artist and content creator), Grayson Mitchell (sales rep) and their dog Billie.
The Property: Single-level new-build in Christchurch.
Room with a view
The home consists of three bedrooms (with one being Kasia’s make-up studio) and two living rooms to cater to their lifestyle. While the main living area and the kitchen are configured in one large open-plan layout, the second living area is a separate media room.
“We do like our own space, but we also entertain differently. Grayson loves to sit in a dark room with the boys and watch rugby and I’m very much at the kitchen bench with the girls. It’s nice to be able to have those separated spaces and not be so open plan.”
The heart of the home is the kitchen. They went to the team at MKS Stairs & Trade, who helped to guide them through the functionality of a kitchen and determine how they would best utilise the space. Once the specifics were decided, they went for curved cabinetry in a walnut-hued melamine.
“I didn’t want people to walk into an open-plan area and have the corner of the cabinet right next to them.”
One of Kasia’s non-negotiables for the home was a make-up studio – fully integrating her business into her space. The mirrors were custom-made by Joska Studio and a skylight creates the perfect light for workshops and sessions.
Creating functional spaces
Another non-negotiable was a fully functioning laundry room. It is a standalone room hooked up to the ducted heating and ventilation system, a crucial detail for the foldable clotheshorse. This was an after-effect of their previous home, which backed onto a fast food restaurant.
“We never hung our clothes outside because everything would smell like fried chicken.”
Textural finish
The furnishings lean heavily on softness and earthy neutrals.
“I don’t love colour, so I wanted there to be a lot of texture instead,” Kasia says.
GET THE LOOK: Shop Kasia Stanicich’s chic, understated home style
The home has been an opportunity to slow down and make intentional purchases, rather than just panic-buying to fill the space. While some pieces have been brought over from the couple’s previous home, Kasia is taking the time to figure out what to invest in and bring into the space.
“It feels like I’m stepping into a new era of maturity. I look forward to finding special pieces with meaning.”
It’s the perfect home for Kasia and Grayson, and a loving reminder that every step was crafted by their village.
“I love the fact that every time I look at any part of the house, I see the thought that went into it, the amount of work and time that went into it from Dad, the tradespeople and everyone in our lives,” says Kasia.
“A lot of the tradespeople were friends or family friends I’ve known since I was a baby. We were very lucky in the fact that we had people that we love building for us.”
& Trade. (Credit: Sarah Rowlands)
Kasia Stanicich’s home style advice:
- It feels cliche to say, but less really is more. We focused on adding texture rather than colour, so that our home felt grounded and not four walls that we felt we had to fill.
- I knew it would be a slippery slope once I started shopping and styling, so I worked to a strict colour palette throughout. This means the whole home feels cohesive, but rooms get their own individual focus points, like the rug in the living area, or the reeded glass in the bathroom.
- Styling wise, one of my favourite things to add in is metallics. We’ve played to the brass Abi Interiors hardware, but mixed in stainless steel and chrome tones to add a bit of variety to a space.
Home truths:
What did you save/splurge on? We saved on our tiles by falling in love with a much cheaper style than initially planned and the floor plan, and we only built big enough for what we need right now. We splurged on our New Yorker glass sliding doors, three oversized roof windows and extra joinery throughout the home.
Best lesson learned? Pressure makes diamonds. If you have the time to overthink a decision, you’ll take the time.
What would you never do again? Leave painting the fence too late.
Do it when there is no house there. Any DIY disasters? Dad and I built the dining bench seat and it’s a touch too high for little legs.
What are you most proud of? The feeling this home gives, above and beyond what it looks like or how it functions, I love how I feel when we get to host friends and family here.
What’s one thing you’d change if you could? I’d love a bigger wardrobe – wouldn’t we all.
Read this next:
- Shop Kasia Stanicich’s chic, understated home style
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- How Real Housewife Chyka Keebaugh merged two apartments into a chic Melbourne penthouse
