Meet Raukura Turei, an artist, mother, and architect at Monk McKenzie. We visited Raukura in her harmonious home and discussed the ideas and inspiration around her space.
When do you feel most creative?
I feel most creative when i’ve had a decent sleep and am not under stress. My best ideas and headspace often comes when I step away from my workspace and occupy myself with something completely different. Gathering whenua or onepū (black sand) along the coastline is a favourite space for creativity. Having a dedicated studio space that I carve out time for painting each week has had a huge impact on my practise as an artist.
A place where everything I need has been left out from the last time I was there and I can make as much mess as I need.
Tell us about the inspiration and ideas around your space.
We live at Cohaus, a community of like minded people who want to live with a smaller footprint and share resources where we can. This apartment was the first opportunity I have had to design elements of my own living space. I worked with the Architect's Helle and Thom to modify parts of the space to enhance the natural light, add colour and customise the kitchen.
Little bold moves that have had a huge impact on a compact space. I had a wonderful carpenter Miles Smith who built the plywood kitchen cabinets and had the Fragment Dining table finished with the same Osmo tint to match. We made everything go as far as we could, such as creating a custom stool for the high cupboards out of offcuts from the shelves, using solid timber for handles and shelves to display some of our favourite things.
