French Revelation

Interior designer Abie Petraska’s French-style country home has emerged – butterfly-like – from the chrysalis of a 1970s architectural box

Words by Tracey Strange  Photographs by Matthew Williams

EVEN THE GOLDFISH ARE welcoming at Abie Petraska’s house. At the sound of voices in the garden they surface in their pond, mouths wide, fins waving in friendship. They might really just be begging for food of course. However, if their attention does fail to impress there’s always Josie (left), the Labrador-terrier cross, who has very few reservations about expressing affection.

Kind-heartedness could have been built into the walls of the rural Auckland home Abie, a prominent interior designer, shares with her husband Saul. Architecturally designed and built in the 1970s, the house has been transformed from its utilitarian, box-like origins into a large and comfortable country retreat. It still has pitched ceilings and an expansive, open-plan feel to the living area but is now far removed from its modest modular roots.

The large windows remain but the compact bedrooms are now cosy, not just functional. The kitchen isn’t cube-like and serviceable; it’s sophisticated and roomy with a 12-seater farmhouse dining table and French doors that open on to a courtyard. Parties are thrown on the wide front lawn; figs grow in the orchard. A tall grandfather clock stands sentry in the lounge.

Tick tock. The house has a rare sense of timelessness. “I’m not really a fan of furniture that’s so minimalist it’s almost victimizing,” Abie says. “I’d much rather have to kick my visitors out because they’ve become too comfortable than have them leave because they haven’t.”

After all, comfort is directly at the heart of her design philosophy. “It’s what a home is all about.”

The four-bedroomed house on a hill overlooking Kumeu is distinctly French in style. It combines French-country elements such as stone and wrought iron and sea grass chairs with the Parisian chic of quality antiques, ornamental table lamps and a leather sofa that has worn to a satisfying lustre. Rich floral linen curtains, lush throws and French mirrors add luxury and texture, as does an extensive collection of treasures – family hand-me-downs such as the grandfather clock and lamps, maps, paintings and ornaments picked up by the couple on their trips overseas.

“Minimalism is much easier when you’re young. You haven’t managed to collect as much stuff,” says Abie with a smile. “But I’m not a fan of homes that have to be finished the day you move in. Interior design should be able to move – to age. If it can’t it becomes static. It has no future.”

When Abie and Saul moved into the house 10 years ago, Abie could see its future loud and clear. She wanted a house with heart, a place where guests would feel welcome and with enough space for visits from the couple’s two grown-up children. Extensions were made, a fireplace was created, French doors were installed and the entire moulding-free house was given cornices and skirtings. Toile wallpaper now decorates the hallway and a bedroom has been transformed into an elegant reading room.

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