S
ometimeseventhebest-laid
planshavetomoveasidefor
whatsomecall‘fate’,andothers
‘goodluck’.WhenColinand
EmmaHaddenmovedfrom
IrelandtoHawke’sBayin2013,
theyplannedtofindworkinthefarming
industry.Butwhendairypricescrashed,they
changedtack and looked into orcharding
instead.
Thecouplesearchedfora houseandlifestyle
businessfora longtime,butnothingseemed
right.Thentheyheard about a B&B called
Meadowood.
“Whenwedroveupthedrive,evenbefore
wesawthehouse,wegota goodfeelingand
said,‘Thisis it,’”recallsEmma.“Thetreesand
gardens;they’resolikehome.Propertiesin
NewZealandwiththosematuregardens don’t
comeonthemarketthatoften.”
Infact,thishousewasn’tevenonthe
market.A friendinrealestatehadsuggested
thecoupletakea look,andtheyfellinlovewith
it despitethemselves.“Itwasn’taboutthe
house,”Emmasays.“Whenwesawthehouse
weweren’tmadaboutit becauseit wasice-
creampink,whichwasverypolarisingtosay
theleast.”TheHaddensmanagedtopurchase
thepropertyina privatesaleandthefour-
bedroom1930shomesteadwastheirs.EXTERIOROVERHAUL
Theproperty,dubbedMeadowoodHousein
the1960s,hasbeenreinvigoratedunderthe
Haddens’care.Whiletheinteriorhadbeen
refurbishedbythepreviousownerswith
helpfrominteriordesignersBibby+ Brady,
Emma and Colin overhauled the exterior. The68 |yhg