Home from HOME

Angela and Dr Geoff Kemp's beautifully eclectic New Zealand villa has been reimagined as a corner of England with colour, pattern, antiques and a few treasures from home

- VIVIENNE AYERS

Angela Kemp has a lifelong interest in history, historical buildings and historic artefacts. 'I grew up in York, and the past was an integral part of growing up there. I've loved antiques all my life,' she says.

It comes as no surprise that her home - an idyllic period villa with spectacular views, 70km from Auckland - feels very English. A celebration of maximalism, it's filled with antique and vintage furniture, bold patterned fabrics and wallpaper, chintzy florals, collections of beautiful china, eclectic lamps and oriental rugs. 'It's full of anything not white,' laughs Angela. 'Our home is really the antithesis of the more popular, pared-back Kiwi decor maximalist versus minimalist. It's our little corner of England: homely, cosy and loved.' 

Having lived in 300-year-old cottages in Haddenham, near Ely in Cambridgeshire, while Geoff was at Cambridge University, the family moved to New Zealand in 2001 so that Geoff could take up a lectureship at the University of Auckland. 'We moved lock stock and barrel in a 40ft shipping container, including our first auction purchase - an oak bureau bought for £200 from Sheffield auctioneers Dowse & Sons, in 1985, says Angela.