It took the might of four men to carry the giant timber island into Gretchen Lowe’s one-of-a-kind kitchen, and four again to instal the weighty fossil-stone sideboard in her treasure-filled lounge. For all the muscle power she and her husband Blair Houston enlisted to renovate the home they share with their children Gwynnie (10) and Margot (4) though, there’s no force stronger than her own creativity.
Ever since baking her first batch of lamingtons at the age of seven, formidable talent Gretchen has been a maker through and through, and has turned her unique skill set into a career that combines interior design, food styling, recipe creation and photography, and sees her and her content appear in books and magazines, on TV and in a regular slot on Radio NZ. This is the fourth house she’s overhauled with Blair. The list of things they’ve learned to DIY has lengthened by the day, and with a roster of trusted tradies on speed dial, there’s almost nothing they couldn’t make work.
For this project, Gretchen followed her design instincts wherever they led — whether to the birdbath she upcycled to live in the lounge, or her choice to use the kitchen island’s 54 drawers, cupboards and shelves in lieu of a pantry, after spotting the 4m cabinet on Trade Me for a steal, crafted from pine to look aged for a Netflix movie. Although the odd thing gets ‘lost’ in it, Gretchen says, “We’ve got set drawers for everything from the Marmite to my herbs and spices. There’s a tall one for bottles of olive oil, flat ones for lunchboxes and cake tins, and there’s also ‘Mum’s chocolate drawer’ — although I have to change that around when the girls work out which one it is.”
Along with liberal servings of this kind of individuality, essential interior ingredients for Gretchen include delicious warmth and texture. “‘Home’ for me is a sanctuary that feels cosy yet sophisticated, and where I can play with personal expression,” she says. “I don’t follow a set aesthetic, but rather buy things I love and slowly piece them together. I love combining new with vintage for character and depth, and candles and incense are a massive thing for me. I’ve got a friend who has a word for it — she says I ‘Gretchen-ify’ a home.”
Lights, camera, Gretchen, who in playing casting director here opted for more than just the kitchen island with a cinematic background. Fun facts: the family’s thrifted bar stools beside the island have also done time on a film set; the couple’s friend Tristan Stretz builds amazing props for movies and TV shows and brought Gretchen’s ideas for a bespoke rangehood to life; plus the home’s previous owners ran a film company and shot some of Sione’s Wedding out the back.
A lot has changed since then. Sold on the central Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland location, the north-facing site graced with mature trees, the original fireplace that recalled the rustic appeal of homes in Italy and France, and the view of the lit-up Sky Tower at night, the couple embarked on a renovation that involved ripping off rundown parts of the century-old “butchered bungalow”, which had suffered a fire in the ’70s and having some dodgy additions made to it. After sketching out what she wanted to achieve, Gretchen and Blair engaged Auckland Design Solutions to draft the plans for an upgrade and manage the consent process.
Over the year and a half that’s passed since they moved into the three-bedroom home with no gib on the walls and exposed insulation, they’ve redone piling, raised ceilings and rewired; added arches in the hallway and 3D panelling to the walls; fixed the flooring and fireplace; expanded the main bedroom suite; and built a kitchen-and-dining extension at the rear. Surprisingly for this popular cook, ahead of even the kitchen, Gretchen’s priority was a ducted heating/cooling system, as she and Blair know the inside temperature is one thing that makes or breaks them. “I really feel the cold but can make a beautiful meal in the most modest of situations — in this case a plug-in induction element, a trestle table, a bucket, a second-hand sink and a wardrobe from the Salvation Army that I painted and used for about a year until we could afford to put the kitchen in.”
This new extension constructed by builder Jemahl Cattermole of JRC is a standout and proof that fortune favours the brave. It’s entered via a crazy-paved stairwell with a Gretchen-designed railing that guides you down into the space that’s surrounded by glass on three sides and a custom-coloured wall on the other. Saving themselves thousands, the couple took on most of the finishing touches in this abode themselves, including the painting and much of the tiling. Teaming with Resene, Gretchen steered away from white, while leaning into her love of neutrals and pushing the boat out with textural effects and colour-driven makeovers of second-hand gems.
“I love the look and the quality you can get from found pieces, and they’re a great option in the time of Covid when there are often long lead times on furniture,” she says. “There’s so much to love about vintage from a sustainability standpoint and it tends to be durable, decreasing disposal rates. I also love the thrill of seeking it out, knowing when I’ve got a great piece and restoring it.”
Coming from a family of original thinkers and craftspeople, what others might consider risky moves are second nature to Gretchen. “The thing about creating your own spaces is you get to be as brave as you like, and the confidence to back myself has come with experience,” she says. “I have a deep desire to create and love doing things differently — it fuels me! Even as a child, I just wanted to make in any sense; I used to sew clothes and soft toys, I helped my grandmother in her wedding cake business, I’d go round to my friends’ houses and redesign their bedrooms. Now, I’m constantly moving things around and restyling. I love nothing more than pottering about in the house and kitchen. Blair and I are so drawn to these lovely old places and get great joy from creating beauty out of something almost derelict.”
Gretchen-ify: verb, to go boldly where your imagination takes you to make the ordinary singularly sublime. Today, there are sock- it-to-’em moments in every single room.
“I feel so proud of what we’ve done,” says Gretchen. “Being an accountant, Blair’s very particular, and things really have to be done properly, whereas I’ve got all these ideas I don’t quite know how to execute and need someone to help me. We’re a great team. When people visit, they say they’ve never seen anything like it, which makes me so happy. At night, when all the candles are lit and the kids are in bed, we’re like, ‘Yeah, this is pretty cool.’”
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