Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Loft-Style Home Combines Business With Pleasure
A New Zealand couple create a custom-designed home to suit their social lifestyle and love of art
Not many people can simply take the elevator from home to work every day, but that’s exactly what shop owner Vicki Vuleta gets to do. Vuleta and her partner, Gary Langsford, a gallery director, live in a loft-style apartment above Vuleta’s design store, Design 55, having turned what was formerly a windshield repair shop into their home and a public showroom for the store. The couple have used their creativity and love of art to make their home a one-of-a-kind space with quirky twists around every corner.
The architects also had two large columns removed from the basement, and added steel beams to support the extra floors that were to be built. This created an expansive space — big enough to house six or seven cars — which would become Design 55’s new location.
Once the infrastructure of the building was complete, the family moved in and continued work on the rest of the home, with the help of another architect, Juan Molina.
“The building is quite unique in that it performs many functions for us,” Langsford, pictured above, says. In addition to being a home, the space also is a cultural hub and a business area for Vuleta. Design 55 attracts many visitors, as does Modicum Cafe, an eatery and catering company that operates out of the basement/side-street level of the building.
Once the infrastructure of the building was complete, the family moved in and continued work on the rest of the home, with the help of another architect, Juan Molina.
“The building is quite unique in that it performs many functions for us,” Langsford, pictured above, says. In addition to being a home, the space also is a cultural hub and a business area for Vuleta. Design 55 attracts many visitors, as does Modicum Cafe, an eatery and catering company that operates out of the basement/side-street level of the building.
The residential area is spread over the two floors above the gallery. On the first floor are Isabella’s room and a guest bedroom, both with en suite bathrooms. There’s also a large media room, kitchen, dining and living areas, and a powder room. “This is where the day-to-day living takes place,” Langsford says. “Vicki and I have our space on the top floor.”
Artwork: Damien Hirst; 1970s console: Marzio Cecchi; “Puppy” vase: Jeff Koons
Artwork: Damien Hirst; 1970s console: Marzio Cecchi; “Puppy” vase: Jeff Koons
The couple’s love of art is apparent as you tour the home, and each space has been custom-designed to exhibit pieces from their collection. “We already had a substantial collection of art and objet d’art, and we added to this by searching for pieces both locally and internationally,” Langsford says. Their collection continues to grow as they take the time to find just the right things. “We have been living in the building for around eight years and still haven’t found the perfect dining chairs,” Langsford says.
Chairs: Piet Boon; sofa: B&B Italia; coffee table: Yves Klein
Chairs: Piet Boon; sofa: B&B Italia; coffee table: Yves Klein
The large dining area provided the couple with the ultimate spot to hang this massive black Venetian glass chandelier and display the large red artwork by Dale Frank, without either piece overwhelming the space.
Cactus scuplture: Gufram
Cactus scuplture: Gufram
Molina designed the kitchen, which is both contemporary and practical. Art occupies this space as well, with a wall painting by New Zealand-based artist Sara Hughes. The kitchen is often the hub when the couple host large gatherings, with the breakfast bar providing the perfect spot for guests to sit, stand and mingle.
3-D painting: Miranda Parkes
On the first level of the residential areas, this bathroom uses large, dark tiles on the floor and walls to create a cave-like atmosphere. An antique table set with a frosted basin functions as the vanity and sink, bringing a touch of warmth to the space.
Isabella’s bedroom, decorated in a muted monochrome palette, is bright and spacious. A generous window of privacy-enhancing frosted glass allows light to flood in, creating a fresh and inviting aesthetic.
Langsford and Vuleta’s study area stores their extensive book collection. This is also where they come for some quiet time, or when either one needs a private workspace.
Down the end of the hallway is another, more intimate, living room. The couple’s art exhibition continues in here, with an eye-catching chair made of soft toys designed by the Campana brothers.
“Tiger” painting: Reuben Paterson
“Tiger” painting: Reuben Paterson
The master bedroom is on the second floor of the residence, up two flights of wood-lined stairs. The couple decided to place their sleep retreat in a more private wing of the home, as far removed from the workspace downstairs as possible.
Artwork: Roland Fischer
The master bedroom suite has been decorated to suit Langsford and Vuleta’s taste. As in many other areas of the home and in the shop below, skull-shaped decor is featured. The mirror hung above the bed reflects the room’s sparkling chandelier, as well as the view that lies beyond, both seen in a later photo.
Among the couple’s prized possessions is this 1940s mirrored console by Fontana Arte, which sits in one corner of their bedroom.
Directly opposite the bed, large sliding glass doors lead out of the master suite to the home’s outdoor area. The 1,075-square-foot deck is where Langsford and Vuleta host dinner parties and barbecues throughout the summer months, and sit to watch the sun set over the Waitakere Ranges, seen in the distance.
The couple’s en suite bathroom is easily as luxurious as the rest of the home, with marble flooring and a sizable bathtub and shower taking center stage. Langsford says they didn’t really have a budget in mind when they started the renovation “because had we known what it would cost, we may never have undertaken the project.”
An elevator takes the couple to and from the gallery. Langsford says the elevator was not as costly as one might think.
Vuleta is pictured in the Design 55 studio.
“The building was constructed specifically to meet our lifestyle,” Langsford says. “It is both a gallery and a home that contains and exhibits all the things we love and are passionate about. It is an extension of us and who we are. We love it!”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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“The building was constructed specifically to meet our lifestyle,” Langsford says. “It is both a gallery and a home that contains and exhibits all the things we love and are passionate about. It is an extension of us and who we are. We love it!”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Gary Langsford and Vicki Vuleta; Vicki’s daughter Isabella; and Astro, a schnauzer
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Size: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a gallery and retail space downstairs
Gary Langsford and Vicki Vuleta came across the building that would become their home while out walking their dog, Astro. The massive space, built in 1960, was originally used as a windshield repair shop and was quite run-down. However, as Langsford says, “When Vicki and I became partners, we decided we didn’t want to live in a ‘normal house.’ ”
They began construction in 2007 and managed the project themselves. It took almost two years to complete, but the couple now have a home that suits them perfectly. Architect David Howell was responsible for the renovation, with the help of Philip Jones of Jones Architects. Howell was in New York throughout the building process, so Jones stepped in to oversee the developments. The duo had previously worked together on other concrete houses in Auckland, and Langsford and Vuleta felt confident with their style.
One of the most striking design features of the residential section of the building are the glass-reinforced concrete shutters installed on the exterior. The shutters open and close hydraulically, allowing more light to flow into select areas of the home when desired.