With busy lives, each running their own business, Emily Blanchett and Tim Slane enjoy the airy calm of their mid-century home in West Auckland’s Te Atatū Peninsula, where they live with their baby daughter, Penelope.

Blanchett normally works from home, running the medicinal mushroom brand Mother Made, created alongside her now London-based best friend Jess Clarke. Slane, meanwhile, founded and directs Morningside-based design and production company Blink with his brother Andrew Slane and their school friend Asher Walker.

Slane bought the house in 2019, before he and Blanchett got together – and after about six months of dating, Blanchett (who’s originally from Palmerston North) moved in. The place, she says, needed a lot of love. Luckily the duo have similarly enthusiastic attitudes when it comes to a DIY job. “We started pulling down wallpaper and continued from there,” says Blanchett, who renovated a Palmerston North house on The Block NZ in 2018. “I’m the one who throws out the loose ideas and he’s the one that’s like, ‘Yep sweet, let’s just do it.’ I can’t sleep in a room if I really want to change something.”

Never miss a moment. Make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter today.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

They’re also aligned when it comes to taste in furniture and decor, drawn to pieces crafted by local makers and friends. “I love looking around our house at things that come with a story or feeling,” says Blanchett, “and being reminded of the people that made them.”

Names: Emily Blanchett and Tim Slane

Live: Te Atatū Peninsula, Auckland

Since: 2019

With: Our daughter, Penelope

Have you made any changes architecturally since you moved in?
Tim: No major architectural changes. We’ve just fully renovated the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms while adding the deck and French doors. In the future, I would like to add an extension to the house to allow for extended family to stay as our own family grows.

Emily: Now that the house is mostly finished, I want to focus on the landscaping – I love gardening, and we spend most of our time outdoors in the summer. I’m working on bringing the gardens more in line with the style of the house.

What made you fall in love with the house in the first place?
Tim: The living room has this glasshouse feeling where you get sun all day long. We love the high ceiling and wooden crossbeams and the way they extend from inside to outside. We have always loved sunken lounges, and the step down from the kitchen gives it this cosy feeling. It’s somewhere you want to sit and have conversations.

Emily: I love the layout and the way the whole house opens out onto the deck. The wood floors and stone detailing make the house flow seamlessly into the outdoors.

Can you describe the house’s vibe?
Emily: It’s a mid-century house with original details, but we have modernised it to feel clean and fresh. With its floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s warm and inviting.

Tim: The house makes me happy. Being relaxed and happy in our home allows me to focus on being present with Emily and Penelope, and enjoying moments together as a family.

What is the neighbourhood like?
Tim: It’s a young family neighbourhood with a great local community. Being a peninsula, it has this small-town feeling to it, but you’re only 10 to 15 minutes from the city. Our favourite is Neil. It was started by friends of ours, Ella and Oliver, and has quickly become a staple of the community. It’s great for young families with a big back courtyard. We actually hired it for Penelope’s first birthday.

Emily: The peninsula has a small beach town feel about it. I walk down to the shops daily with Penelope, and everyone is friendly and relaxed. There are a lot of young families moving out here now, so we’re hoping some more funky restaurants and stores will open up soon.

Favourite room?
Tim: Living room. It’s where I spend the majority of my time. Penelope loves playing around the low couch and climbing up and down. She also loves music and dancing with me.

Emily: Our bedroom. We put in the French doors [that open] out onto the deck, and there’s nothing better than lying in bed with a coffee watching the rain come down.

Favourite item in the house?
Tim: Our rimu kitchen table, custom made by Emile Drescher. I feel like it ties our kitchen together with the rest of the house perfectly. I also love our record player – I like the physical act of picking out a record and just letting it play through.

Emily: Our cowgirl painting in our living room, painted by our friend Matt Sinclair. It’s quirky and fun like our house, and I love the colour palette. He paints only as a hobby but he’s super talented and becoming very popular.

Favourite homewares stores?
Tim: Simon James for quirky kitchen pieces from Alessi, and Mono Germany.

Emily: Everyday Needs for cool and unique pieces, and Citta is great for linen and cushions.

mothermade.co.nz
blinkltd.co.nz