KEY POINTS:
Rockin' into town in an old Morris Minor convertible stacked beyond the roofline with furniture was just a typical "day at the office" for Maria Pomirska, one half of the duo behind Ponsonby Rd's iconic 20th century collectibles store, Real Time.
These trips were never going to be your typical design-store buying session because Maria has always been one for doing things differently.
Born in London, she moved here with her siblings and Polish-born parents, both of whom had been WWII prisoners of war who later met and married in Britain. At home the family spoke Polish and Maria has kept her language and Polish family connections alive.
Knowing and coping with her points of difference as a child has given her the confidence to buck the mainstream and allow her instincts to guide and define her.
Maria owned a Ponsonby Rd gallery of decorative and fine arts from New Zealand artists (called Real Time), and her husband Peter Rogers had his shop, Peter Rogers' 20th Century Antiques.
When Rupert (19) was born two years after their daughter Billie, Maria decided to be a full-time mum based at their home, just five minutes walk from Ponsonby Rd. She closed the gallery and she and Peter merged their company names to create Peter Rogers' Real Time that still occupies the same site.
What was the big appeal of this 1870 original farmhouse villa as your family home?
We had plans to build a two-storey white modernist cube-shaped house out the back. That was in the 1980s when the Memphis Movement (think Miami Vice white square houses) was big.
Unfortunately our architect passed away and we just moved away from the project.
You did manage to indulge your taste for white, though?
We shifted everything out of the house, masked the windows and sprayed everything white. We wanted to keep everything minimalist - white walls, white furniture and white garden. It was a huge job. There were bottle openers nailed up to the door frames and we exhumed dozens of whiskey bottles when we dug the garden beds.
You bought new furniture?
Oh no. We'd never have bought anything new. We just accumulated pieces as they came into the shop. We just started collecting stuff. I don't even give it a name. It's just "stuff". I love it, but sometimes I feel as if it consumes me, having so much stuff around you. It's a battle getting the balance right.
Your solution?
Building our big deck. It's an extension of our living area. We've got lots of different settings of wrought-iron furniture, most of which Peter has made. I love cooking and we always have people over for dinner. We've had great parties out here with music, dancing. We even haul out a big piece of carpet for dancing on.
Your favourite spot inside?
Right here in this chair. It's a 1960s chair that goes with the sofa that we'd have picked up somewhere. I love it here. I can feel the sun beneath my shoulder blades.
What are your favourite pieces that you'll keep forever?
Our walnut veneer art deco table and the 1930s Australian Blue Gum sideboard beneath the window. They both came with us and their proportions are just right. Furniture comes and goes here but our art and sculpture stays. Most of the paintings have been gifts to us from New Zealand artists. There is some of Billie's art on the window sill too.
So you're a collector just as much as Peter?
I collect vases. If Peter gets something in and I like it, it'll come home and then we might sell it later. It's the same with furniture. I'll think "That's nice. I'll take that home" and then it can go back to the shop 10 years later. I love LPs - country, soul music, 90s rock, anything that moves me. We've got boxes and boxes of LPs everywhere.
What are your favourite accessories?
Those big, round mirrors. The one in the lounge makes the room feel much wider and it brings the garden view inside. There's one in the bathroom and on the shed wall outside. I always have flowers or foliage on the dining table.
What's your favourite decade for furniture?
I don't really have one. It's about picking the best of what you love from each decade. It's an eclectic mix.
Your favourite shop?
I'm not a shopper. I've culled that from my lifestyle. I buy only if I need something but if I had a limitless budget to spoil myself with. I'd shop at Hepburn in Ponsonby Rd for beautiful clothing. Gary Langsford's Design 55 is fabulous for designer furniture. I have an enormous appreciation of fine things, even if I can't afford them. For me it's enough to just look and touch.
So we'll never find you in a chain store furniture shop?
Never, never! I'm always aware of what's on the market but I'd never buy. There's no sense of history or stickability about mainstream new furniture. If you buy something from, say, 1970s, then you know it's already known 38 years of life and stood the test of time. You know it's going to last a whole lot longer.
Define your own style.
You're kidding! I don't have one. I'm not a style person at all. I go by instinct and whether it's something I can see myself living with for a long time. Functionality and the look of a piece are what influences me. It's not a race to acquire things - it's a journey of discovery.
