Living with a colour-blind partner, writer Lisa Scott never has to justify her decorating choices. “He doesn’t complain,” she says proudly. “I don’t quite know if he simply sees things in black and white, but he seems happy with everything I’ve done – so that suits me fine!” Not that there’s anything to apologise for. This warm and cheery inner-city Dunedin home is packed with an eclectic mix of old and new treasures, many with a family connection. Lisa’s background is Lebanese, while Paul’s father emigrated from Denmark. Over the years Lisa has offered a loving home to furniture and a much-loved collection of kitchenalia, discovered in the city’s legendary “junk” shops – which sell anything but!
Sound of music
“The piano was Paul’s nana’s and neither of us play, but we have a friend who does. She’s a songwriter and some of her best work has started off here!”
Pack it in
“I always bring back from my trips as many bits and bobs as I can fit in my suitcase,” laughs Lisa. “The bedspread in the master bedroom is from India. I bought the gorgeous silky curtain fabric here in Dunedin. I love it because it changes colour according to the light.”
Living history
“I love a mix of old and new and there’s a great sense of history where we live in Dunedin. It’s always been the “poor” part of town. In fact, when all the Lebanese and Jewish families came out here at the time of the Otago gold rush, it was known as “the devil’s quarter acre”. There’s a little lane at the bottom of our garden where the night soil men used to come round and collect you-know-what from all the houses in the row!”
What wanderlust
Lisa loves displaying the spoils of her extensive travels, the most recent of which formed the basis of the hilarious Travels with my Economist, where Lisa and Paul get to grips with life in India.
Travels with My Economist by Lisa Scott, photos by Graham Warman (David Bateman, $29.99) is available from bookstores
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