How Kiwi Live: Andie & Atom

Andie & Atom were living in a shoebox apartment in Wellington with no outdoor area. They decided it was no longer their vibe so began searching for a new home. After a Kilbirnie flat viewing one day they received a Trade Me notification for a downstairs apartment in Newtown. They made their way straight there and found a line of 50 people out the door.

As the successful applicants, they spent three lovely years in the downstairs flat before their upstairs neighbour moved out. “Like a hermit crab, we moved from a smaller shell to a bigger shell” said Atom. Right up the stairs.

There have been lots of benefits to the move. They have a bigger space and a bigger garden to grow their own vegetables. On top of that, their bed now collects the morning sun as it rises over Newtown, and with a balcony at the foot of their bed, it’s their new favourite place for a morning coffee.

When it comes to decor they’re a big fan of op-shopping, Trade Aid and DIY. Andie in particular loves to rip up old furniture and give it a new life. “The TV cabinet was a pretty stock standard mass-manufactured white thing so I took the boards off and replaced it with some nice wood,” said Andie. They’ve also changed the mesh on the front of the cabinet a few times depending on the style of the room.

“It’s kind of folky, kind of earthy, very green,” said Atom of the decor. Atom is also responsible for keeping the plants alive. “A lot of them came to us by accident or they’re cuttings from our grandparent's gardens. Most of them I like to think are orphans that showed up in our house one way or another” he said.

Andie and Atom aren’t strangers to the Newtown community. They are regulars at the Saturday fruit and veggie market at Newtown School and if you’re lucky you could even catch Andie on the decks at local record store Creeps. They both love the Newtown Festival and Atom says that every time Andie comes back from the supermarket they’ve got an update on each cashier’s holiday plans.

It’s just that kind of suburb they think. The perfect place to call home.