Boho In The Tropics

I’m at an advantage when I arrive to “interview” my friend JUSTINE HAZLETT in her black-and-white house near Portsdown Road, as I’ve been here before – quite a few times, in fact. Since we first met a couple of years ago, she and her husband Nick have gone from married couple living in a black-and-white apartment, to parents of Nash, whom they adopted from Ethiopia in 2015, now living in this beachy-chic house. I find out how she created the cool, boho-vibe that permeates her home, and the journey they went on to find their son.

- Amy Brook-Partridge

Justine and I sit outside, sipping on tumeric lattes made by her helper, Sarrah, and chatting about her Singapore journey. While living in Sydney for ten years before moving here in 2011, Justine met Nick at a mutual friend’s 30thbirthday party – “As soon as I saw him I thought, ‘I’m going to marry that guy’.”

That was in 2004, and two years later they tied the knot at Justine’s parents farm in Pukekohe, New Zealand. Having gone there to celebrate their engagement with her nearest and dearest, they decided to get married there and then! With only two-and-a-half days to arrange the wedding, they managed to keep it a secret from everyone.

This surprises me a little, as I know what a perfectionist Justine is; however, her job as a television producer also means she’s meticulously organised and as fast as lightning when she wants to get something done.

After Nick expressed an interest in moving to Singapore, his company relocated him to open an office here in early 2011 (he’s since become a partner at banking and financial services recruitment firm Symmetry). Justine, however, was still more than happy living and working in Sydney, and hung back for three months before joining him here. Their first home was a black-and-white apartment, close to their current home.

It wasn’t long before Justine was snapped up by a television production company, and what was meant to be a three-month contract ended up being a year. Working long hours and during the weekends, there was very little spare time to focus on much else.

Family Focus