9 Tane St, New Lynn, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
9 Tane St, New Lynn, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
From Paris to West Auckland, Claris Harvey's favourite mid-century table and two chairs are proof that her preferred 1950s aesthetic is still relevant wherever she chooses to live.
In the bay window of her New Lynn shop conversion/apartment, they play the same starring role that they did in the Parisian apartment she shared with husband Nathan Price, during their five years working in Europe as commercial film producers/directors with their business Ruskin Film.
It was Claris who spotted the chairs on a chic, arty Parisian street. They had been stickered for official council removal and, to Nathan's dismay, Claris insisted they be officially relocated up five flights of stairs to their place without delay.
They carried one chair each to the Metro station, sat on them on the train and good- naturedly batted away offers from friends keen to take them off their hands should they move back to New Zealand.
Their friends' hopes were in vain. The chairs and a circular laminated table, that Claris found at a Parisian market, were despatched back to Auckland when they returned in November 2016.
"They're living in retirement in New Lynn," says Claris.
Now they keep company with her edited collection of local finds and gifted pieces that enhance her first home which she fell in love with 11 years ago.
Working as a film producer in Ponsonby, she never bothered to park her car in the courtyard during the three years she lived here because it was easier to park on the street.
"I love the fact that there was one entrance in and out. With the concrete walls and the double gates which I kept locked, I felt safe and secure."
9 Tane St, New Lynn, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
The route in is past the front courtyard she created with planted tubs of hedging, past the bay window with its original glossy exterior black tiles and through the front door with its original letter slot still in working order.
The open hallway through the lounge and past the bedroom leads to the original back door and exterior wall. One step down leads into the modern bathroom with integrated laundry and modern kitchen that were installed by the previous owner.
Claris believes the shop may have been a fruit shop. When she bought here, the frontage above the glass blocks had the signage fixtures still attached.
"I'd loved to have found the old sign," she says.
Her favourite features include the mono- pitched extended lounge ceiling and the texture of the exterior plaster finish.
Her touches here include the curved art deco-style bathroom cabinet, a discreet circular skylight in the bedroom and a new lounge pendant.
9 Tane St, New Lynn, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
She chose her venetian blinds carefully, too, opting for the wider 1950s-style slats rather than the modern slim line style.
Elsewhere she saw potential for opening the laundry wall out to the courtyard, creating bedroom access into the bathroom and even turning the large bedroom and its wardrobe into two rooms.
There is also town planning scope under the "business/neighbourhood centre" zone to build up and out at the back, as two homeowners in the adjoining block of five dwellings have done.
Overseas travel, marriage, the birth of their son Konya a year ago and their second child due mid- year have all led her to relinquish the home that attracted arty, creative types as tenants here.
"We're into a different phase of our life, and I really will miss this place," she says.
