DARK MAGIC

A love for moody hues adds a heightened sense of drama to this Hastings home

- Holly Jean Brooker

Kate and Tim Robinson’s house has been, and will always be, a family affair. Throughout a long and laborious renovation, brother-in-law Sam acted as builder and project manager while daughter Mollie kept the walls covered with her whimsical oil pastels and paintings. Yet, perhaps most importantly of all, their charming Hawke’s Bay villa was previously owned by Tim’s parents for more than 40 years.

Situated on 1.6 hectares in Hastings, the house was a beauty in its heyday, but had fallen into disrepair. For the couple, it was a great opportunity to refresh and inject their own aesthetic and personality into the home. “This home has been in the family for over 45 years so there’s many memories attached to it, from engagements, weddings, and epic parties,” says Kate. Most notably, granddaughter Marigold was born in the bathroom, to the surprise of parents and grandparents alike.

The tree-lined property also boasts an orchard, where the Robinsons run an agricultural research business, alongside a separate dwelling to host backpackers and boarders.

The renovation

Over the past six years, Kate and Tim have renovated the majority of the house, including the kitchen, dining and bedrooms. The couple got stuck into painting the interior themselves with the use of dark, moody colours to lend a touch of drama to the charming country home. The yellowing cork tiles and brown shagpile carpet hid original mataī floorboards, which were painstakingly restored back to their original glory. “Reintroducing the floorboards was the best day ever,” says Kate.