Your_Home_and_Garden_-_July_2019

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BACKGROUND

WhenBritishexpatJadeMcNabandher

Kiwihusband,Lyndon,gotmarriedin

2012,theyweredisappointedwiththelackof

weddingvenuesneartheirhomeinthe remote,

windsweptCatlinsinSouthOtago.

Sowhenthe130-year-oldPortMolyneux

Schoolcameupforsalea fewyearslater,the

couplejumpedatthechancetoturnit intoa

stylisheventsandweddingvenue.It helped

thatthebackdropis stunningwiththeproperty

encircledbylushgreenhillsononesideand

lappedbythewildPacificOceanontheother.

Buthavingbeenclosedfor 16 years,the

school buildings were in a bad way, as was

theneighbouringheadmaster’scottage,but

JadeandLyndoncouldseethebuildings’raw

potentialasa venueandaccommodation.

“Someonehadbeenlivinginthecottageand

it wasprettyrun-down,butmostof it was in its

originalcondition,”saysJade.

Thecouple,whometwhileworkingin

Canada’sskifields,werelivinghalfanhour’s

driveawayfromPortMolyneuxonLyndon’s

family’ssheepandbeeffarm.AndalthoughJade

enjoyedlifeonthefarm,theformerLondoner

missedhercareerasaninteriordesigner.

“Doingupthecottageandconvertingthe

schoolintoa weddingvenuewasa chanceto

use some of those design skills,” she says.

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