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WATCH: Lucy Coote’s Berhampore Rebuild Is A Canvas For Creativity
Lovingly crafted by an interior designer and architect, Lucy Coote’s home is a masterclass of history and modern design.
AI summary
Interior designer Lucy Coote and architect Mark of Studio Myla masterfully renovated their 1900s Berhampore villa, blending original character with a sleek, modern extension. The project was a hands-on labour of love, with the couple undertaking significant DIY to manage costs.
The home features a sentimental dining table made from recycled rimu and stylish second-hand furniture sourced from Trade Me. It also serves as a canvas for Lucy’s own ceramics from her brand 'Salad Days'.
On the edge of the town belt in the Wellington suburb of Berhampore sits the tranquil family home of interior designer and potter Lucy Coote, her architect husband Mark, and their two daughters. Lucy describes their family home in three simple words: calm, characterful, and elegant. But it is so much more than that. It is a masterclass in blending history with modern living, taking risks and mucking in.
A Collaborative Labour of Love
Together, Lucy and Mark run architecture and interiors practice, Studio Myla. Designing their own home presented a brilliant, rare opportunity to take creative risks they might normally hesitate to suggest to clients.
The renovation was a complex reimagining of the original 1900s villa, resulting in a striking contrast between the beautifully restored original and a sleek, modern extension. Lucy and her husband remapped the interior, adding two bedrooms, a studio and 40 square metres to the floor plan.
The bathroom blends modern fixtures with organic textures.
Cleverly placed windows throughout the home provide framed views of nature.
To bring this vision to life within their budget, the couple rolled up their sleeves and took on a monumental amount of DIY, with Lucy taking a year off work to project manage and decorate. She says her biggest triumph was teaching herself how to render the home's exterior cladding.
A triumph of the renovation.
The Heart of the Home
Filled with morning light, the kitchen is undeniably the heart of this home. It is where the family begins their day at the island bench, coffees and teas in hand, whilst the girls tuck into eggs on toast.
As the property has expanded, so too has their capacity for hospitality. One of Lucy’s fondest memories in the new space is hosting a bustling Chinese New Year open house, with the kitchen full of loved ones sharing lovely food and good wishes for the year ahead.
A space designed for hospitality and family life.
The kitchen island serves as a central hub for daily rituals.
A Tale of Two Tables
The hero piece of the home is undoubtedly the dining table. A deeply sentimental family collaboration, the table was crafted from recycled rimu salvaged from a building Mark’s parents renovated back in the 1990s. Lucy and Mark designed the piece, and Lucy’s father Steve Coote - a skilled joiner - built it. It is a symbol of their joint families.
The hero piece of the home, crafted from recycled rimu by Lucy’s father Steve to a design by Lucy and Mark.
These stylish lounge chairs were a savvy secondhand find.
With the renovation taking up much of the budget, Lucy turned to Trade Me to furnish the spaces, proving that great design doesn't require buying everything brand new. She sourced a pair of leather and wood lounge chairs that immediately draw the eye. She also found a set of matai dining chairs in Kapiti, sold by the man who made them in his own furniture factory as a perfect complement to the rimu table.
In her home studio, potter and designer Lucy Coote crafts ceramics under the moniker 'Salad Days'.
Art, Texture, and ‘Salad Days’
When she isn’t designing beautiful interiors, Lucy can be found in her home studio crafting ceramics under the moniker 'Salad Days'. What began as a Wellington Potters Association night class whilst working an office job blossomed into an all-encompassing passion and eventually business.
What started as a night class has blossomed into an all-encompassing passion and business.
Lumps of clay are transformed into everyday into everyday items.
The home is populated with Lucy's own ceramics, designed for everyday use, and an ever-growing collection of pieces from other talented New Zealand artists. Her belief that we should enjoy the spaces we live in and not take small moments for granted shines through in both her pottery and her interior design.
A favourite spot to relax, the curved concrete bench is bathed in morning sun and overlooks the garden.
A Sanctuary of Wellbeing
Lucy says that the home feels incredibly safe, solid, and restful. Throughout the house, cleverly placed windows provide framed views of the surrounding greenery, helping the family feel grounded.
A favourite spot to relax is the curved concrete bench seat in the courtyard just off the kitchen. Bathed in the morning sun, it overlooks their small, carefully considered garden - a serene sanctuary in a busy household.
For Lucy and Mark, this is their dream home, meticulously designed not just for their present needs, but to evolve alongside their family for many years to come.
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