Plants Make A New Home

Still Life With Flowers wall art by Ixxi; Alexander tan leather armchair from Cintesi and Mercator Calico floor lamp from Mitre 10. 

Step into Kate McClelland’s newly built, North Canterbury home and it’s clear that plants count. A tall, elegant Bird of Paradise stretches for the ceiling, the voluminous leaves of an Elephant Ear plant draw the eye and a string of turtles cascades from a windowsill. 

words: Pattie Pegler images: essence magazine

“I couldn’t choose a favourite,” says Kate. “But I do love the calathea because it’s doing so well and it’s really hard to grow.” Its beautifully striped leaves dominate the kitchen counter.  And in this open plan living area with lots of sun and good light all year-round the plants seem  to thrive.   

The plant care routine is pretty easy says Kate – she regularly feeds them, cleans their leaves and usually waters them once a week. For newbies to the house plant phenomenon she advises getting easy care plants to start with, so you can train your green fingers up before buying anything more tricky, or expensive, to look after. 

Kate moved into this house just over a year ago. The build had taken around 10 months and as with so many building projects it had its stressful moments. “Making sure I understood what was happening was important,” says Kate. “And towards the end it was stressful because I was renting and the build ran over.” 

But she enjoyed the planning and design phase and thinking about the interior schemes. Always organized she did “a lot of research” early on so she knew what she wanted and didn’t have to make decisions on the fly. This included elements like the fixtures and fitting, door handles and window frames. For the all important lighting she got an electrician to draw up a plan that includes some black downlighters in the lounge area. They only light the area under the downlighter itself, so they provide an efficient but subtle light when looked at from other areas of the open plan space. 

The colour palette largely sticks to whites and creams, blacks and charcoals and of course, greens. White walls, black window frames, white textured tiles for the kitchen splashback and black cabinetry. And in the living room a feature wall in a dark charcoal, Dulux Glenbrook. 

It’s a fresh and modern look softened with the many plants and touches of timber and leather in the furnishings and finishes. And the love of plants threads through– a large still life collage made up of plastic tiles dominates the feature wall with its bold bright florals. In the master bedroom a botanical wallpaper and green accents reflect the plant world. There’s a feeling of green and orderly calm in this home. 

She might be organized and have made lots of interiors decisions way in advance, but Kate is clear that she is not a fan of the “matchy matchy” look and there’s plenty of character here too. A small, antique oak, drop leaf table provides a perfect spot for some baby houseplants; a large canvas from Canterbury artist Libby Chambers adds a pop of bright colour and a tan, leather armchair stands out alongside a pair of cream couches. 

Jet, the black cat lolls on the back of one couch and Henry, a 5-month old Jack Russell runs around the living room looking for things to chew.

But he can’t be blamed for the battered frame on a dark oil painting standing against the wall. Its chipped gilded plaster frame was an ‘as is’ purchase – Kate’s latest op shop find. “I love antiques and just interesting old things. I like going and just having a bit of a fossick around,” she says. 

This newly built house is very much home. Embarking on the building process had its ups and downs admits Kate. But it’s the end result that counts. “When I moved in everything was completed. And I love it.”