All We Need

This family’s knack for design and a thoughtful approach to city living have turned a humble Auckland unit into an example of what’s possible when we prioritise substance over size.

- Sally Conor

Looking at Lily Richards and Mat Iliohan’s Devonport, Auckland, unit, you’d never guess what lies within. The humble 1960s brick building could be one of thousands around New Zealand. In fact, it was so ordinary that at first Lily and Mat didn’t think much of it, either.

“We were living in a rental on the side of [Devonport’s] Mt Victoria,” says Lily. “This unit happened to come up for sale around the corner from my parents’ house. We went along to the open home but didn’t think anything of it. The next thing I knew, Mum and Dad had bought it for us to live in.”

The couple moved in with their baby son, Osis, soon after and set about making it their own with colourful furnishings, art and copious bookshelves. Despite seeing lots of ways they could reimagine the layout of the home, the small family lived there for three years without changing anything.

During that time, daughter Winter Rose was born (in what is now the hallway) and, while many families would have traded up to something much larger at that point, living so close to Lily’s parents, Geoff and Janey (not to mention Mt Victoria, Cheltenham Beach, local shops, the library and a 12-minute ferry ride to Auckland city) meant the family never considered moving. “It was all we needed and absolutely no more,” Lily says.

CHANGING ROOMS

Lily’s dad, Geoff, is a nationally renowned architect with a passion for creating living spaces that bring people joy. He had plans for Lily and Mat’s home, and started putting those plans into effect in 2011.