Nestled on Nile Street, Tina and Arj Vantslot’s character-filled home is a joyful celebration of colour, craftsmanship and collected treasures. The 1860s house blends Scandinavian folk charm, boho warmth and thoughtful modern touches – each detail lovingly layered to honour the building’s history while reflecting a life well-travelled and well lived.
Photos: Tessa Claus
The story
I live here with my husband Arj and our golden girl Chillibean. We bought the house ten years ago when it was being leased by Women Beauty. We ended up moving our business Mabin House into it six years ago. We live out the back – there is just one door which separates me from work and home! A lot of our customers don’t realise I live here too!
Inspiration
It was mostly inspired by the age of the house. It was built in 1863, and the part that we live in was added on in the 1920’s, so the high ceiling lent itself to many an interpretation and we didn’t want it to be bland.
Decorating style
I guess it’s a bit Scandinavian folk, meets boho, meets a little modern.
Where I shop
I don’t particularly shop for homewares, the majority comes from second hand or antique shops. I look on Facebook Marketplace, usually buying on a whim. Other things are what I’ve picked up travelling or inherited. Most of the art is from my father who was Danish. My parents immigrated here in 1960, and he gifted me the art before he died.
Favourite piece
My nanna was an antiques dealer in England and she emigrated here when she was 81 years old, so I have a few treasured pieces that she was able to bring with her, including a Victorian hand painted teapot collection (36 pots in total), which I haven’t figured out how to display yet!
Save or splurge
I always splurge on quality over a bargain deal, otherwise I tend to regret not getting exactly what I want. Big splurges for us would be the pink fridge, my oven and all our beautiful wallpapers which are from The Inside, based here in Nelson, Miss Lolo and Back To The Wall.
Renovations
Every inch of it is renovated somehow. My husband is an active relaxer and is often found up a ladder or hanging off a railing with some tool in his hand (sometimes in jandals) but he is a carpenter after all. All the little detailing came straight from his brain, and he likes to be super empathetic to the age of the building, so you can’t tell whether features are original or not.
Next on the list
I might look at repolishing the floors, as the puppy dogs have added a lot of ‘character marks.’
Best decorating tip
Find a piece that you love and let it inspire everything else and go with your heart. For us, we used the oak furniture as a base. I wanted to highlight the dark oak tones so chose wallpapers to complement this.
Biggest regret?
Probably my couch. It’s not that interesting and not as comfortable as I had hoped.
The neighbourhood
I love walking around the Maitai River from our home. There’s a great walking track to take the dog to the centre of New Zealand and then to the Botanic Sports Field where I go most days.
Favourite local eatery
There’s a great wee coffee cart called Soulshine at the Botanics which is there for part of the week. We love hanging out with other fellow dog walkers and people in the local area.
Best memory
Two years ago we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and had the Gypsy Pickers playing in our lounge. Loads of friends came from all over the globe and we danced the night away in our living room.
