HOME MADE

Informed by an in-depth knowledge of real estate loves and loathes, TV host Jayne Kiely turned her St Heliers house into the ultimate family home

- Text Shelley Tustin Photography Babiche Martens

Knowledge is power – in life and in renovating – and Jayne Kiely’s professional life has equipped her with property wisdom in spades. As a real estate agent and co-host of Location, Location, Location NZ, Jayne combines a passion for property with daily peeks inside the diamonds (both polished and rough) of Auckland’s suburbs. “Part of the reason I got into real estate is because I love homes. I love architecture, I love seeing people renovate their homes – how it starts and how it finishes,” says Jayne. So when it came to polishing up her own property, the St Heliers home she shares with husband Paul and previously with her two now-grown boys, she had a solid idea of what she wanted – and what not to do.

All about that place Though Jayne and Paul don’t regularly play the property market, changing circumstances and wants have prompted a few moves over the years, with the couple leaving a small string of beautiful renovations in their wake. A big Remuera reno was followed by a premature downsize, before the family was seduced by the space and potential of this home and particularly captivated by the dynamic views of shifting sky and the sparkling ribbon of bay water between St Heliers and Rangitoto.