KEY POINTS:
As an interior designer, Sarah Kerr knows all about the finer points of colour and design. However, in her own home Kerr had to think about design from a totally different perspective. Her husband Rob Matthews is blind, so when decorating the home he and Kerr share with their new baby Thomas, the couple concentrated on comfort and texture rather than colour.
The 1988 home has "really good angles for open light, and all of the windows throughout have beautiful polished stained cedar," says Kerr. "There is exposed timber all through the house. It's really timeless and gorgeous and is bigger on the inside than it looks from the exterior." The house also has unusual and graceful features such as deep window seats in the dining room and lounge, which create a connection with the garden.
A glass roof-line in the lounge allows in more light. Structurally, some important front-of-house alterations were needed. A set of semi-circular steps up to the front door were altered to make it easier for Matthews to negotiate, and a garage door was replaced with a large timber window to maximise light.
As the couple work from home, they both needed work spaces (Matthews is a Paralympian athlete who has won a range of medals and works as a sports massage therapist and motivational speaker, while Kerr runs her interior design business).
The garage was converted into an office for Kerr, while an artist's studio on the property is now Matthews' massage clinic. The couple had only to paint the interior and lay carpet, says Kerr. For the interior colour, she chose a very neutral scheme.
Kerr's a big fan of red, as can be seen in the objects and furnishings around the house that feature just enough splashes of scarlet to be enticing rather than overwhelming.
A 2m-square painting she bought in Bali hangs in the living room, which luckily has a ceiling high enough to do it justice. It's almost a mirror image of the colours in the home; pale greys and taupes with occasional flashes of fiery red. The colour and personality throughout the house comes from furniture and objects the couple has collected over the years.
A framed cross-stitch by Kerr's grandmother hangs in Thomas' room; a 1950s chair, re-upholstered in vivid lime green, came from Trade Me; Matthews brought the English pine bed to New Zealand from his former home in England near Stratford-upon-Avon; and the antique chaise in the master bedroom came from a second-hand shop in Ponsonby.
When Matthews entered the home for the first time, it felt right. "I had goosebumps," he says. Kerr adds, "This place had a warm feeling. "I grew up around here, so it feels a bit like coming home."
Style secrets
* Be honest about your DIY capabilities. Can you really do the tasks you've set yourself? Sarah Kerr advises, "Do what you do best, save a bit more money and pay the professionals to do what they do best".
* Be creative. Style is not all about spending lots of money - in her kitchen Kerr displays a gold artwork that she painted alongside ceramic vases from Kings Plant Barn.
* Recycle. Don't reject that great-shaped piece of furniture because it's old and tatty - Kerr has resurrected gorgeous pieces of furniture by recovering them.
* Collect items from your travels. Kerr loves Bali and bought a huge, square artwork while there on holiday.
Leanne Moore is the editor of Your Home & Garden. For more ideas from the magazine click here
