THELAYOUT
TheGeorgefamilyarebusyandtheirhome
is oftenfilledwithfriendsandfamily,sothey
knewtheirlivingspacesneededtobeopen,
airyandfunctional.HayleyandZanewanted
tocreateroomssuitableforadultsandkidsto
hangoutinseparately,whilealsoremaining
withinearshotofoneanotheracrossthefour
levels.Toachievethisaspiration,a huge
internalrearrangementwasrequired.
“Everysinglewall,exceptthesouthwall,
wasmoved.Weonlykeptthesarkedceiling,
theoriginaltawaliving-roomfloorandthe
concreteonthegroundfloor,which we
polished,”explainsHayley.
Anoutdoorroomwasaddedoffthekitchen
andseveralmessyadditionssuchasstairwells
anddeckswereremoved.Theupstairswas
extendedtosquareupthehome’sfrontageand
a newstairwellwasadded,whichhasturned
outtobeoneofHayley’sfavouritefeatures.
“I loveourstairs,buttheywereourbiggest
headache and greatest expense,” she says.
Therebuildwasa massiveprojectforthe
Georgecrew.“Aprojectlikethisneedsthe
entirefamilyonboard– weinvolvedthekids
inthedecisionsandtheprocess,wehadthem
diggingoutfoundationsandknockingdown
walls.I thinkbeinginvolvedhelpsthemto
appreciatehowmuch you are putting into it.”THEART
Aspassionatemusiciansandartbuffs,creating
a livingareawitha gallery feel was essential
foralltheGeorges.
“Zane’sbrotheris DarrynGeorge,a well-
knownMaoriartist,sowehavea lotofhisearly
studentworksanda coupleoflatergifts,”says
Hayley.“I lovecelebratingthebiculturalismof
ourfamilyandournationonthewallssowe
havepiecesbyRobyn Kahukiwa, Russ Flatt and
ClareMakwana.
“I havemoodyworksbySouthIslanderBrent
Forbesandhavejustpurchaseda LauraWilliams
fromWeaselGalleryinHamilton.Therearea few
of my artworks floating about in there, too!”“Ilovecelebrating thebiculturalism ofourfamily andour nationon the
walls so we have pieces by Robyn Kahukiwa, Russ Flatt and Clare Makwana”
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