My Houzz: A Loft-Style Home Combines Business With Pleasure
This creative couple in New Zealand created a custom-designed home, made to suit their social and art-loving lifestyle
Not many people can simply take the lift from home to work every day, but that’s exactly what shop owner Vicki Vuleta gets to do. Vuleta and her partner Gary Langsford – a gallery director – live in a loft-style apartment above Vuleta’s design store, Design 55, having turned what was formerly a windscreen repair workshop into their home and a public showroom for the store. The couple have used their creativity and love of art to make their home a truly unique space, complete with quirky twists around every corner.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Gary Langsford and Vicki Vuleta, Vicki’s daughter Isabella and Astro the schnauzer
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Size: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a gallery and retail space downstairs
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Gary Langsford and Vicki Vuleta, Vicki’s daughter Isabella and Astro the schnauzer
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Size: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a gallery and retail space downstairs
The architects also had two large columns removed from the basement, and added steel beams to support the extra floors that were to be built. This created an expansive space – big enough to house six or seven cars – which would become Design 55’s new location.
Once the infrastructure of the building was complete, the family moved in and continued work on the rest of the home, with the help of another architect, Juan Molina.
“The building is quite unique in that it performs many functions for us,” says Langsford. As well as a home, the space is also a cultural hub and a business area for Vuleta. Design 55 attracts many visitors, as does Modicum Cafe, an eatery and catering company that operates out of the basement/side-street level of the building.
Once the infrastructure of the building was complete, the family moved in and continued work on the rest of the home, with the help of another architect, Juan Molina.
“The building is quite unique in that it performs many functions for us,” says Langsford. As well as a home, the space is also a cultural hub and a business area for Vuleta. Design 55 attracts many visitors, as does Modicum Cafe, an eatery and catering company that operates out of the basement/side-street level of the building.
The residential area is spread out over the two floors above the gallery. On the first floor sit Isabella’s room and a guest bedroom, both with ensuite bathrooms. There is also a large media room, kitchen, dining and lounge area, as well as a separate powder room. “This is where the day-to-day living takes place,” explains Langsford. “Vicki and I have our space on the top floor.”
Artwork: Damien Hirst; 1970s console: Marzio Cecchi; ‘Puppy’ vase: Jeff Koons
Artwork: Damien Hirst; 1970s console: Marzio Cecchi; ‘Puppy’ vase: Jeff Koons
The couple’s love of art is apparent as you tour their home, and each space has been custom-designed to exhibit their collection. “We already had a substantial collection of art and objet d’art, and we added to this by searching for pieces both locally and internationally,” says Langsford. Their collection continues to grow as they refuse to settle for second best. “We have been living in the building for around eight years and still haven’t found the perfect dining chairs,” he adds.
Chairs: Piet Boon; sofa: B&B Italia; coffee table: Yves Klein
Chairs: Piet Boon; sofa: B&B Italia; coffee table: Yves Klein
The large dining area provides the couple with the ultimate spot to hang this massive black Venetian glass chandelier, and display this large red artwork by Dale Frank, without having either piece overwhelm the space.
Cactus scuplture: Gufram
Cactus scuplture: Gufram
Molina designed the kitchen, which is both contemporary and practical. As you would expect, art also occupies this space, with a wall painting by New Zealand-based artist Sara Hughes. The kitchen often turns into a hotspot when the couple host large gatherings, with the breakfast bar providing the perfect spot for guests to sit, stand and mingle.
3D painting: Miranda Parkes
On the first level of the residential areas, this bathroom uses large dark tiles on the floor and walls to create a cave-like atmosphere. An antique table set with a frosted see-through basin functions as the sink and bathroom bench, bringing a touch of warmth to the space.
Isabella’s bedroom, decorated in a muted monochrome palette, is bright and spacious. A generous window of privacy-enhancing frosted glass allows light to flood the space, creating a fresh and inviting aesthetic.
Langsford and Vuleta’s study area acts as storage for their extensive book collection. This is also where they come for some quiet time, or when either one needs a private workspace.
Down the end of the hallway is another, more intimate, living room. The couple’s art exhibition continues in here, with an eye-catching chair made of soft toys designed by the Campana brothers.
‘Tiger’ painting: Reuben Paterson
‘Tiger’ painting: Reuben Paterson
The master bedroom is located on the second floor of the residence, up two flights of timber-lined stairs. The couple decided to place their sleep retreat in a more private wing of the home, as far removed from the workspace downstairs as possible.
Artwork: Roland Fischer
The master bedroom suite has been decorated to suit Langsford and Vuleta’s unique taste. As in many other areas of the home and in the shop below, skull-shaped decor takes pride of place in this room. The mirror hung above the bed reflects the room’s sparkling chandelier, as well as the view that lies beyond.
Among the couple’s prized possessions is this 1940s mirrored console by Fontana Arte, which sits in one corner of their bedroom.
Directly opposite the bed, large sliding glass doors lead out of the master suite to the home’s outdoor area. The 100-square-metre deck is where Langsford and Vuleta host lots of dinner parties and barbecues throughout the summer months, and sit to watch the sun set over the Waitakere Ranges, seen in the distance.
Their ensuite bathroom is easily as luxurious as the rest of the home, with marble flooring and a sizeable bathtub and shower taking centre stage. The materials for the entire building were selected based on quality and aesthetics, and it shows.
Langsford admits that they didn’t really have a budget in mind when they started the renovation, “because had we known what it would cost, we may never have undertaken the project,” he says.
Langsford admits that they didn’t really have a budget in mind when they started the renovation, “because had we known what it would cost, we may never have undertaken the project,” he says.
Planning issues with the council were some of the more time-consuming challenges they faced, with Langsford adding that the ongoing documentation costs, accrued whenever changes were made, were particularly tiresome.
A lift takes the couple to and from the gallery, but Langsford says this was not as costly as one might think. “The extra expense of an air-conditioning and central heating system over all floors was probably an unnecessary $130,000 spend,” he says. “However, installing an elevator at a cost of just under $100,000 was a bargain by comparison.”
A lift takes the couple to and from the gallery, but Langsford says this was not as costly as one might think. “The extra expense of an air-conditioning and central heating system over all floors was probably an unnecessary $130,000 spend,” he says. “However, installing an elevator at a cost of just under $100,000 was a bargain by comparison.”
Vicki pictured here in the Design 55 studio.
“The building was constructed specifically to meet our lifestyle,” says Langsford. “It is both a gallery and a home that contains and exhibits all the things we love and are passionate about. It is an extension of us and who we are. We love it!”
My Houzz is an ongoing series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes in Australia and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more inspiring projects.
“The building was constructed specifically to meet our lifestyle,” says Langsford. “It is both a gallery and a home that contains and exhibits all the things we love and are passionate about. It is an extension of us and who we are. We love it!”
My Houzz is an ongoing series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes in Australia and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more inspiring projects.
They began construction in 2007 and managed the project themselves. It took almost two years to complete, but the effort was worth it. The couple now have a home that suits them perfectly, and will last a lifetime. Architect David Howell was responsible for the renovation, with the help of local counterpart Philip Jones of Jones Architects. Howell was located in New York throughout the building process, so Jones stepped in to oversee the developments. The duo had previously worked together on other concrete houses in Auckland, and Langsford and Vuleta felt confident with their style.
One of the most striking design features of the residential section of the building are the glass-reinforced concrete shutters installed on the exterior. These shutters open and close hydraulically, allowing more light to flow into select areas of the home when desired.