Jo Eddington's Parnell home reflects her love of clean design.
Opening a new company showroom, developing a new product line, ending a marriage, finding a new home: most people would have a meltdown at the prospect of one of those majors in a life. But you get the feeling Jo Eddington just set to and calmly did what needed to be done when she reached such a turnaround point in her life two years ago.
"You just turn these things into a positive," she declares. Though this former IT-sales-whizz-turned- outdoor-furniture-marketer claims her real expertise is "just lounging around", it is pretty clear that she doesn't believe in wasting time.
She'd launched Coastal Designs in less than eight months after a frustrating search for furniture that would work both indoors and out. Her former house was beachfront on Waiheke, with 150 square metres of deck, but she was frustrated that she couldn't find furniture that could lounge outside and survive Auckland's steamy/rainy/winter mould/harsh sun conditions.
"We all talk about that continuous living, rooms that are totally comfortable whether they are indoors or outdoors. But I couldn't believe that unless you are prepared to pay $35,000 for European sofas, you were left with hard wooden kwila stuff in the same old designs, or directors chairs that are pretty flimsy and mouldy. I just used to pull the indoor sofa out to the deck, but searched and searched for stuff that I didn't need to get precious about outdoors." Figuring she wasn't the only person on a tight budget, Jo combed Europe, resorts in Asia and finished up designing something herself and getting it made in China.
Jo's philosophy is pretty simple, like her own style of living - not too complex, not too many choices. She sourced and launched her web-based business on Waiheke in an impressive eight months. For the first couple of years, her deck was her showroom - clients would come over by ferry or launch, sit on the deck for a cup of tea and test the product. But Jo reconsidered as the business grew, with busy customers who couldn't spare the day for an outing to the island. So in a typical highly concentrated burst, she and daughter Lexi (now six) moved to Parnell.
The sense of neighbourhood she'd had for years on the island, a showroom that was in the heart of the design district, a school that Lexi and she could walk to, and a home within easy walk of work. That pretty much meant Parnell. Within a month a showroom was set up near the lower reaches of St George's Bay Rd, Lexi was enrolled and a house was rented. The house buying was equally focused: Jo spotted her 70s town house, the end of a block of three, within an hour of it being listed and bought it before the real estate signs were even up.
"I wanted a tranquil, quiet spot like I'd been used to on the beach. Not overlooked by neighbours, with greenery and quiet." A tall order in the inner city, but despite its original state Jo knew immediately she'd found her house.
Her design eye saw past the Spanish arches, heavy stained wood beams and woodwork to the airy bones of the split level. The simple square windows and patinated terracotta tile floors put her in mind of modern Mediterranean - even Greek - so she painted everything white and pondered what to do next. The things that mattered - a mature tropical garden, terrific terraces from both upstairs living room and downstairs family room, well proportioned French doors and windows, even shutters in the master bedroom - were all there.
She swears she did try to give the tiny "hobbit" kitchen, cut off from the rest of the living space finished with dark brown, canary wood and vintage mosaic tiles, a fair go. But weeks before Christmas (why make things easy?) she replaced it. Down came the Spanish arch closing the entry off and the tiny servery wall to the dining room. In came open plan, clean gloss white cabinets, and mirrored splashbacks to reflect the greenery. The centrepiece was a massive terrazzo-topped island. With drawers designed to the last inch, extra cupboards tucked on the back and stools pulled up, this is family central. She even created a slim floor-to-ceiling cabinet to take the usual debris of sunglasses, keys and paperwork that usually lurk around the kitchen bench. Between them, Jo and her new partner, fashion designer Richard Moore, have three kids from 2 to 6, all of them love cooking and hanging out together, so the kitchen is the core of their living.
"This is a mess of pancakes and everyone cooking on Sunday," says Jo. "Then during the week Lexi can do her homework while I cook, or the kids can be up in the living room [a half-level up] and we can all keep an eye on each other and talk." In fact, Jo laughs, even when she sets up the dining table on the deck or living room with candles and glamorous settings, guests inevitably end up hovering around the island.
Jo has kept the terracotta floors in some of the house, but in the kitchen and master bedroom she has softened the palette to a bleached wood floor, for a lighter look. She's even whited out the cast iron screen between kitchen and living room, to create an airier mood. The pair of brushed aluminium Louis Poulson Artichoke pendants were her housewarming gift to herself, and set the timeless design tone.
The living and dining room opens to a deck the same size, so naturally Jo has seized the opportunity to put her indoor/outdoor furniture philosophy into play. When Viva called, she was in the throes of transforming her winter look (smoky charcoal, lots of textured fur rugs, throws and cushions) tucked around a pretty wood fire) into a summery outdoor one. Central to the look is her new Loafa sofa, used indoors, while her original pieces are rearranged outside.
"It's part of a series of outdoor furniture concepts that Richard and I worked on together over the last year, drawing on his technical expertise and years as a fashion designer combined with my four plus years since initiating Coastal Design. It's a collection of modular, all-weather chairs and sofa units that you mix and match to create any size and shape to fit your space. "And because it's in outdoor textilene-mix fabrics I finally have a kid-proof white sofa!" The couple, whose family/work/private time takes some scheduling, have enjoyed working on their first project together - visiting resort sites in Barcelona and Ibiza, suppliers in China and Hong Kong and London for inspiration, emailing late into the night over zips, seams, aluminium framing and marine foam.
Jo has also enjoyed Richard introducing her to the joys of high-heeled footwear, as he shares his Caroline Sills workroom with shoe designer Kathryn Wilson.
She laughs that now her bedroom shelves are a homage to the beauty of a killer heel - in every colour - whereas her Waiheke wardrobe was variations on a jandal. Richard's access to every wholesaler and end-of-line outlet in Hong Kong has helped.
At the ground floor of the house is Lexi's bedroom, bathroom and a second family lounge - a great hangout and sleepover space for kids, with room for TV, bike, games and access to the garden. Jo still has plans for re-doing bathrooms, making over the front entrance and carport. She and Richard are determined to make time for a vege garden this summer although with fresh food markets at La Cigale they are spoilt for choice when planning dinners. Summer brings the opening of the Parnell Baths, Jo and Lexi's favourite evening outing when the sun is still warm, while Richard has figured out he can kayak over the harbour from his apartment at Cheltenham and wheel it up the hill from Judges Bay to meet them.
The simple life seems to have translated astoundingly well from Waiheke to inner city.
* Coastal Design Co (NZ) Ltd, Showroom 24 Garfield Street, Parnell, ph (09) 300 7250 coastaldesign.co.nz
