Art director Dana Turner on what it's like to live in The Pink House

Art director Dana Turner on what it's like to live in The Pink House | The Post

By Kylie Klein Nixon for NZHerald

2023

Dana Turner came to art direction as a second career, after primary school teaching. She and her sister founded Folly magazine, and Dana jumped at the chance to join her and pursue her passion for art direction.

She lives in Auckland with her husband, Jack, and their sons, Toby, 6, and George, 4, in a pink 1940s house that they renovated in between lockdowns.

DANA: It's known as the pink house. It's not a Barbie pink, it’s pastel, with white trim and a black roof, so it really pops. I found it when I was on maternity leave with our oldest son, Toby. I guess it was love at first sight.

We decided to repaint the outside, because it needed it. The painter actually thought I was colourblind when I said, ‘I still want it to be pink, but we're just going to make it a brighter shade’. He just looked at me, horrified. The colour is Epiphany, by Alto paints, and it plays mind tricks on you, depending on the weather. If it's a dark and gloomy day the house looks even pinker than normal.

The first thing kids always say is, 'Oh, I like the colour of your house', and it's really joyful. You really notice how colours resonate with little kids. It's a really nice home to live in.

This piece, by Fleur Wickes, was a birthday gift for Dana’s 30th.Chris McKeen/STUFF

We put in new windows a few years ago, because it still had the original windows from the 40s. We put in these double-glazed windows, and we were like, 'oh we've got this view!'.

The window seat’s probably my favourite part of the house. A good friend of ours designed it. One of the best bits is it has push-out drawers underneath, so it hides all the toys.

From there you look out to the Manukau heads, Āwhitu peninsula, Waitākere ranges, Laingholm, as well up to Mount Atkinson. It's really quite spectacular, really grounding, and one of my favourite places to drink a cup of coffee in the morning, or the boys and I will snuggle up and read books. From there you look out into our garden and down into the valley.

My background is actually education, primary school teaching. Folly started almost two years ago. I've always had a keen eye for design and art, in particular New Zealand art. And Emily - the editor of Folly who's actually my sister - and I talked about how there aren't many platforms for emerging artists and writers in New Zealand to have their work showcased. That's where the idea of the magazine started.

Art direction is something I'm really passionate about. I sidestepped out of teaching into that with Folly.

I like home to feel peaceful and comfortable and representative of us. We're quite thoughtful with what we put into our home. Things have been repurposed or recycled, purchased from vintage stores. There are lots of spaces around the house that enable us to be creative.

The shelf is made from rimu salvaged from the home’s renovation. The speakers are concrete, made by Dana’s husband, Jack Turner. The statuette is from Mexico, the shells, driftwood and stone are treasures collected on walks with her sons.Chris McKeen/STUFF

The paper collage of the chateau is by my cousin, the artist Gavin Hurley. It’s actually from our wedding invitation.

The painting with the birds and the house in the middle is one of our favourite pieces. We've just started a new tradition of buying a piece of art on milestone birthdays. This was one we had commissioned by emerging artist Naomi FaiFai, who's based in Blenheim. It's called the fabric of us and it's got lots of little things that are important to our family in it.

The other piece is by Fleur Wickes, that was my 30th birthday present. She inscribed it, which is really special. It's hanging right next to a window, so you actually feel as though you're on the edge of the wheel, right in the bush, overlooking the peninsula and the Manukau heads. The art refers to the setting.

The bookshelf is actually made from recycled rimu wall framing that was in our home. My husband made the bookshelf.