Minimum fuss for maximum effect

Nichole Phelan reads to twins twins Briese and India. Picture / Carolyn Robertson

Nichole Phelan's idea for an exclusive children's clothing store was conceived after the birth of her twin daughters India and Briese.

The former Telecom executive gave up her job in the fast-paced corporate world to open Child, 12 months after returning to work from a short maternity leave.

"I loved my job, even though it was full-on at times, but I felt like I was defeating the purpose of having children. Now I'm professionally fulfilled and much happier with my family life."

Working three days a week in her Auckland store allows Phelan, 35, the flexibility to spend more time with her family, including her 2 1/2-year-old twins.

"There are days when I'm working late at night in my office at home but I love having more time with India and Briese," she says.

Phelan and her partner, Charlie Boyd, live in a three-bedroom bungalow in Mt Eden, which she describes as a work in progress.

After living in apartments for years, the couple wanted somewhere with a garden, yet still close to the city.

"We are a short walk from Mt Eden village, where there is a great mix of restaurants and cafes. There are also lots of families nearby with young children, and India and Briese are making lots of local friends."

What changes have you made?

The house is an early bungalow, which originally had lots of separate living areas. We have tried, and are still in the process of trying, to open it up so that the living areas flow together in a way that is better suited to family living.

How would you describe the look of your home?

Our interior design style is minimalist, which worked especially well when we were starting out and didn't have much. The white walls are a backdrop to our small New Zealand art collection, which is where we prefer to introduce colour. We like clean, modern lines in design and furniture and our choices reflect this. I've applied the same approach to the interior design of my store.

What is your favourite room?

I love our bedroom. When you're a parent of young children - and especially one with a new business - it's a room you don't get to spend much time in but, when I do, I find it an easy place to relax. We have a super-king-size bed which is the most comfortable bed I've slept in and the room and bedlinen is mostly white, with chocolate accents in the window seat cushions and blanket.

Do you entertain much at home?

When we have the time to entertain we like to use the deck we built. The section is steeply sloping, and so we designed the deck as a big platform from the house out under a huge puriri tree in the back garden. It's like a big treehouse for adults. During the day the tree is filled with tui and wood pigeons, and at night we light the tree and dine underneath it.

What is your favourite piece of furniture?

The cabinet my partner Charlie designed to house our stereo and had made out of zincalume and jarrah. It's special because he saw it through from idea to creation.

What is your best buy?

Definitely our art collection. From the major pieces through to the tiny ones, they are something we enjoy every day and I get something different from them everytime I look at them. The children love them, too, and interpret them in their own ways. Some of the pieces are by up-and-coming artists and cost little when we bought them but give us lots of joy.

What influences do you draw on when putting together the look of your home?

Charlie is secretly a frustrated architect who works in telecommunications by day, and reads endless books and magazines on architecture and design by night. Consequently he has very strong ideas on what he likes.

Luckily we're in tune with [each other's] tastes. Part of our minimalism is attributable to the fact that we're still saving for the some of the design classics that we love, such as Mies Van Der Rohe's Barcelona chair, a Corbusier lounger and Tizio lamp by Artemide. We have also had the help of a great architect along the way from Dean Wyllie of Dean Wyllie Architects.

What is your favourite designer piece?

The girls' Tripp Trapp highchairs in rosewood are design classics - designed over 30 years ago by Stokke in Norway and incredibly practical as well as lovely. They change to adult chairs as the children grow and are special because they will always have a use in their lives.

What is your most treasured possession?

We have a photograph of India and Briese together, which was taken late last year by the wonderful photographer Angela Scott. It's an image that captures their different personalities perfectly.

Do you have any pre-loved objects or furniture in your home?

We have my mother's old kauri kitchen table, which my brother and I studied for many an exam on. If you look carefully, you can still see the faint etching of the fish he drew for his School C Art portfolio.

Has your interior-design style changed since you had children?

Well the minimalism is severely compromised by the girls' growing collection of toys - most of which seem to be both pink and plastic.

We have defined areas for adults versus children's space, but they tend to blur a bit, and we've just had to relax and go with the flow. With two budding artists in the home, our art collection has grown considerably too - we have new works on paper arriving by the day and these take pride of place on the best wall space.