Photography: Emily Chalk
When Danielle Barclay and husband Matthew Hickey bought their Maungawhau/Mt Eden house in Auckland, the idea of moving back to Danielle’s homeland of Australia was at the back of their minds.
With their daughter Mabel and mini schnauzer Molly, they slowly but surely settled into this forever home.
When they bought the home, Danielle, who is the owner and creative director of Blur the Lines design studio, and Matthew, the head of product marketing for AA Insurance, had just moved from Australia and were living a few streets away.
Home Profile
Meet & Greet: Danielle Barclay (owner and creative director of interior design studio We Blur The Lines, Matthew Hickey (head of product marketing at AA Insurance), their daughter Mabel, eight, and Molly the mini schnauzer.
The Property:A four-bedroom 1910 transitional villa with a separate design studio in Mt Eden, Auckland.
A heartfelt project
Keen to stay in the area, they were drawn to the airy proportions of this 1910 transitional villa because it reminded them of their previous home.
“We liked it as its voluminous spaces resembled our lofty apartment in Melbourne,” says Danielle.
The former owners had added an extension, but Danielle couldn’t resist enhancing the space further. The decision to renovate the home came from a mix of both practical decisions and emotional instinct. Storage was limited and the oven broke – and fixing it wasn’t going to be easy.
“It was an unusual size and replacing it would require alterations to the cabinetry.”
But more poignantly, Danielle’s father-in-law passed away in early 2025. For the past few years, they had considered moving back to Australia, but this event cemented their decision to stay where Matthew’s roots are.
“Renovating was about committing to staying in the house and putting my design stamp on it.”
A design reset also offered Danielle a welcome shift from her usual commercial interior design work – a chance to use her expressive eye to tell her family’s story.
“Renovating the home gave me a chance to use my creative skills on residential design and challenge myself.”
Old bones, new soul
Spanning 175sqm, the footprint featured four bedrooms (two of which now function as a study and playroom), a main bathroom, ensuite in the original part of the home. Previous owners installed an extension that housed the laundry and the open-plan kitchen and living area.
Although no structural work was required and the footprint remained the same, over time, Danielle and Matthew made their mark within it.
“Landscaping was the first priority because there was none,” Danielle says.
Significant work took place at the front and back, with the help of Anthony Skinner Garden Graphix and Three Leaves Gardens, to create a formal geometric-style landscape. The family also installed a wraparound deck, louvre roof, spa and decorative screening.
Understanding the value of good street appeal, the home’s front facade improved when Danielle reinstated the porch with tiles and fretwork that were more in keeping with the home’s heritage aesthetic. This, combined with a stained-glass window that was moved from the main bedroom, brought instant charm to anyone entering the home.
The home’s exterior walls were given a facelift with Resene Gauntlet. The door was coated in Resene Black gloss for a stylish statement that ties in with the monochrome colour narrative throughout the house.
In Mabel’s bedroom, a built-in wardrobe was installed, and Danielle turned it into a contemporary girl’s bedroom with two-toned walls in Resene Gumleaf and Resene Half Black White. Coloured, patterned handles, which Danielle found in Anthropologie in the US, adorn a chest of drawers that was repainted.
Across the hall, the main bedroom, which was originally the lounge, required some enhancements including painting throughout, shifting the door to the spacious walk-in wardrobe to allow for new built-in joinery and updating the ensuite with tiles and a vanity. The smoky grey of Resene Stack blankets the walls, providing a backdrop for colourful art and family heirlooms. The armchairs once belonged to Danielle’s grandparents and the mirrored dresser was once Danielle’s mother’s.
“It was originally covered in paint when I was a child. I’ve been carting it around for years.”
Further down the hall is the main bathroom, in which a pleasant surprise upon purchasing the home was the Florence Broadhurst wallpaper. Danielle complemented it with a black and white scheme, by installing floor and wall kitkat tiles, a new black vanity, pendant and a coat of Resene Half Stack.
A calming connection
The original part of the home features a traditional central hallway with feature archways and ends with French doors Danielle and Matthew installed.
“We put these in as sound travels so easily in a villa,” Danielle says.
“We also added the internal window above to bring in as much light as possible.”
Connecting the spaces in the original part of the home are original mataī floors. Keen to get rid of their orange tone, Danielle had them treated to flow with the timber flooring in the extension.
“They’ve been sanded with a matte water-based finish, which brings them back to their natural colour.”
Piece de resistance
Previously, the kitchen had been a standard white space with open shelving and a door to a butler’s pantry.
“The workstation flow was dysfunctional, with most appliances, plus the sink, in the butler’s pantry – out of the way when they needed them. “We were in the butler’s pantry the whole time.”
Danielle designed the kitchen and partnered with the Kitchen Factory who built and installed the joinery. Project By Design coordinated logistics, such as moving air vents and walls, rebuilt the black arc wall and handled tiling.
The family lived in the house while the work took place, moving out for one week in winter while the floors were sanded.
“We created a makeshift kitchen with an air fryer and a microwave and used the bathroom sink.”
Danielle wanted the kitchen to have a contemporary, dramatic look.
“I like contrast, texture and bold statements, but I also wanted it to be homely and beautifully designed. It was important to me to have shelving to display items and introduce texture – not just have a sleek space.”
The door to the old butler’s pantry was removed and replaced with an arc-shaped entrance into the new pantry.
“This has transformed the feeling of the kitchen. We now have more width and light and the space flows straight in,” she says.
The same curved geometry is mirrored with flexible wave panels where the cabinets meet the walls, its softness counterbalancing the strong nature of the black kitchen. The fridge, freezer and dishwasher are all integrated and hidden away.
Contrasting texture was brought in using a mix of materials including black ultra matte and woodgrain Plytech panels and Danielle worked closely with Resene to find a custom black paint to match the joinery tones. Brushed metal handles, oak veneer joinery, black riverwash textured and grey and white-veined sintered stone benchtops from Neolith add to the statement.
The splashback tiles are hand-glazed with a matte finish.
“I do pottery and sculpture myself, so I have an interest in pottery. I wanted a non-mass-produced, matte 100mm x 100mm tile and I could not get one anywhere. “I hand-painted the edges of 500 tiles as I wanted them laid in an uneven pattern to hide the terracotta edges.”
Integrated lighting was a key feature of the renovation. Danielle worked with Monmouth Glass to source handblown glass pendants and a custom Moth Lighting linear pendant for the vaulted ceiling space. LED lighting is integrated throughout all the joinery, providing flexibility from day to night.
Next to the kitchen is the laundry, which was redone with new appliances and Plytech cabinetry in the kina colour and Italian tiles.
“For connectivity with the kitchen, we’ve got the same oak veneer handles I custom-made, but in different dimensions.”
The view from the kitchen island looks across the living area to the garden. Where Danielle and Matthew once had a small wall unit in the lounge, now stands a 4m-high built-in cabinet for storage, plus open shelving for Danielle’s ceramics collection.
Colour confident
Danielle and Matthew have a vast collection of art and objects.
“We have eclectic art, old and new pieces and pop art that all tell a story. My general approach was I have a scheme that complemented these personal items. But also, I naturally am drawn to colour and contrast.”
The couple’s bedroom is a big room and they wanted something dark and moody. In Mabel’s bedroom, Danielle collaborated with Mabel on the colour scheme and chose something with longevity.
“The choice of Resene Half Black White in the living area has been a unifying tone throughout and lightened the space generally,” she says.
“This is important as I’d used black tones in the extension, which needed to be complemented with lightness.”
The dining table was made of recycled timber from the Melbourne Cricket Ground and steel legs from an old sewing machine factory and the bus blind in the living area is an original.
“I bought it online when I came back from London 18 years ago. It was used on the early buses when they used to wind the destination sign by hand.”
Working well
Outside, Danielle’s design studio is a reworked version of the old garage.
“I love the commute,” she laughs.
Here, clients and colleagues can visit easily. Plans are underway for new carpet in the four bedrooms, and that will be their forever home, complete, much to Danielle’s joy.
“It’s harder to redesign your own house. I’m a perfectionist, and there’s the pressure of being a designer – there’s no switching off from it. For a while, all I saw were the niggly things because I was so into the detail of it. Now I can relax and enjoy it.”
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