STYLE INSIDER

A mostly original 70s house satisfies a couple’s love of mid-century style

A 70s Auckland home is the perfect match for a couple’s collections.

With its pitched rimu roof in the living area and mezzanine bedroom, Lynn Dunphy and Andrew Iten’s 1979 Auckland townhouse is “like living in a wooden tent,” says Lynn. Both are fans of mid-century design so were thrilled to discover this house by the harbour after a long search.

The couple have also spent time collecting interesting art, objects and furniture, scouring fairs and op shops. It all slotted in beautifully to their newly bought home, especially furniture made by Andrew’s late father, Johann Iten, who was once a cabinetmaker for furniture store Danske Møbler.

Much of the house is original, even the kitchen, but two major decorative elements had to go. Andrew, a prepress manager, ripped up the carpet, revealing rimu treads on the stairs, but chipboard on the floors, which were then finished in cork tiles. And while the original brown grassweave wallpaper in the living room was appealing, it made the area too dark. “Andrew went away one weekend and I painted most of it, leaving one feature wall,” says Lynn.

Previous owners had left rolls of wallpaper and extra tiles, some of which were reused in a small bathroom renovation. “They were individual mosaics. The tilers weren’t impressed,” says Lynn.

Lynn, a psychotherapist and maker, recently added woven throws from her Poppy & Oscar brand to the eclectic mix of homeware. Her advice for creating an interior? “Don’t be too quick about it and don’t buy stuff from the same shop all at once.”