Boho is booming in the property market with colourful homes catching the attention of buyers with soul.
Not everyone wants pristine white walls, cookie cutter kitchens, and no personality in sight. So OneRoof checked out some of the more eclectic homes on the market currently. They’re guaranteed to appeal to the inner artist.
It’s hard to pull boho off. But the owners of 49 Station Road, in Kamo, have taken the blank canvas of a 1950s home to create a “wonderland” in their Whangarei home.
“Get that funky on,” says the listing from Real Estate with Pauline Dinsdale. “It’s a little different from others currently for sale.” The owners have transformed almost every centimetre of the home, as well as setting up their hairdressing salon in the former garage.
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Agent Angela Quenault couldn’t believe her eyes when she first saw the property, which has a list price of $640,000. “On the outside it looks like a typical 1960s Kamo home. It’s a complete surprise when you walk in. It’s very eclectic in the colour and design and definitely has personality,” says Quenoult.
“You walk in and you get a feeling of tropical and sumptuousness and vibrancy and colour, but sanctuary as well. I would call it almost a decadence of sumptuousness. You could just fall onto the couch. “
The Station Road bedroom is big on earthy tones. Photo / Supplied
The BBQ and garden area is rustic and funky. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen packs a punch. Photo / Supplied
Outside the home has a covered barbecue and bar area for serious entertaining as well as quiet spots to sit and enjoy the garden.
After 12 years creating the home they wanted to live in, the owners are relocating overseas. If they stayed in New Zealand it would have been in that house, says Quenault.
Another one-of-a-kind property on the market for $870,000 is a two-bedroom home at 431A Maunganui Road, in Mt Maunganui. Tucked in between 1960s and 1970s homes, the two-bedroom cottage has been lovingly renovated inside and out in Balinese style by artists.
“Their style is quirky,” says Eves agent Pat King. “It’s a bit different from your sterile show home. And it has a really warm, inviting feel about it,” he says. The back yard has been turned into a tropical oasis.
Touted as a one-of-a kind, this two-bedroom home at 431A Maunganui Road, in Mt Maunganui, Tauranga, is colourful and filled with character. Photo / Supplied
The Maunganui Road home is priced at $870,000. Photo / Supplied
If you like blue hues, this bedroom is for you. Photo / Supplied
“Both of [the owners] are artists in their spare time. He has a little studio for painting, and she does the interior design. They work quite well together. “
The home has attracted a surprising range of potential buyers. “[The current owners] are creative types and it has been attracting that kind of person as well as a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life,” says King. “Young and old. First home buyers and downsizers. We’re getting local people, and people from out of town looking to downsize, a holiday spot, or something they can Airbnb.”
It’s close to the centre of Mt Maunganui, with the nearest cafe just metres away ,as is the Mount Wine Barrel, an independent wine and craft beer emporium.
Advertised as “boho bliss”, 23 Hukutaia Road, Opotiki, Bay Of Plenty, comes with multiple income streams. The home has two sleep outs and an extra self contained unit. “She does backpackers,” says Ray White agent Kaea Williams. “But you could do Airbnb.”
That’s not all. The vendor owns a catering business and has created a full commercial kitchen, which opens onto a cafe-style dining room. The home has a large covered area for outdoor entertaining.
The 2023 version of the home is a far cry from the plain 1930s cottage it was when it last sold in 2012. “She is quite a bohemian chick, and she has put a lot of pride and effort into the place,” says Williams.
23 Hukutaia Road, Opotiki, Ōpōtiki, is for sale by way of negotiation. The house walls are one big chalkboard. Photo / Supplied
The bedroom is bright and colourful. Photo / Supplied
The current owner has spent 10 years putting her boho meets modern stamp on the100m2 home. “It offers instant relaxation with its bohemian bliss feel with contemporary touches,” says Williams.
After 10 glorious years creating a relaxing haven, the vendor is now ready to move on to a new chapter in her life. The home is on the market by negotiation and is expected to attract buyers in the $700,000s, says Williams. “[The home] is in Woodland, which is a quiet part of town, and it’s right across the road from a popular golf course.”
