RURAL IDYLL

This North Shore barnstyle home channels the metro glamour of a New York loft, within a quintessentially Kiwi rural setting

-  Shelley Tustin

Clare Chapman well understands the ability of objects to spark joy - in fact, she's made a career out of it. Hello Darling, her Millwater store in Auckland, is a shot of serotonin, with the shelves of clothing and homewares curated for quirkiness, charm and cheer. The secret to Clare's retail success, she says, is simply stocking what she would buy for herself. "I only buy what I love," she says.

"The store is kind of a curated version of me." A similar philosophy applies to her and husband Peter's converted barn home, which has been designed less around a strict theme or interior style and more as a large-scale embodiment of their dynamic personalities.

Barn dance

The story of their one-of-a-kind home began in another property just up the road, where they were living in a lovely home they'd built from scratch. While they weren't short on space, Peter had dreams of a more rural lifestyle. The farmer at the end of their road agreed to sell and Clare and Peter soon found themselves trading in their two-odd acres for a hundred and their snazzy new-build for a sprinkling of assorted rundown houses and outbuildings. The only luxury was that of choice, with the couple able to hopscotch around the property over several years, starting at a house near the street, which they later sold, and ending up here, in a meticulously converted barn.

Originally built for the wedding of one of their daughters, the barn inspired them to realise another domestic fantasy. Metropolitan luxury and rural idyll delightfully collide here - soaring ceilings, wide-open spaces and vast steel-framed doors call to mind an urban warehouse conversion. Yet, one steps outside into acres of tree-punctuated lawn, fresh air and birdsong - the full Kiwi rural dream.

Taking it slow