City life, creative vibes: Rory and Bianca's green oasis

The girls in question include a large monstera that nearly touches the roof, a collection of ferns across windowsills, and dangling spider plants that sit high up on shelves.

“I call our plants ‘the girls’. They’re all just my girls,” laughs Bianca.

Living in an apartment building on Willis Street, you wouldn’t expect to walk into a jungle when you step through the doors.  

Yet the couple have turned their Te Kāinga Te Pu apartment into a home that shows off their style, with plants adding a nice touch of greenery amongst hand-picked op-shop trinkets and antiques, and their own personal artwork. 

Originally from Auckland, the couple met on Tinder over 11 years ago. Little did they know, their paths had crossed many times before they connected, says Rory.

“We went to the same school, and we also lived next door to each other at one stage. I wonder if Bianca’s mum even told us off once for having a loud party.”

After trying to live in Auckland for a few years, their "horrific" rental experiences made them want to move to Wellington, says Bianca.

“It was a nightmare in Auckland. We stayed in a leaky house, so it made us all feel like we were going crazy. 

“One of our flatmates actually woke up in the night and water had leaked into the roof space and made like a big bubble of water through the paint. The paint finally ruptured, and water poured over them in bed.”

The couple packed up their things into the boot of their car and made multiple treks up and down the country to get to the capital in the hopes of finding a calmer lifestyle.

“We wanted more chill living. Everything here is just closer. It's just more happening in a smaller space, whereas in Auckland, everything is just so far away,” explains Rory.

Moving to Te Pu ticked off a lot of checkboxes for the couple. It gave them a chance to live in the city centre with no end date on their lease, says Bianca.

“We love living in a city where you can always see nature. There's a lot of hills and the beach is a 20-minute walk away, like it's all here. Our favourite coffee place is a minute away, work is five minutes down the road and everything being so close just takes the extra pressure off.” 

Rory adds that their Te Kāinga landlords treated them incredibly well when they were both made redundant around the same time. 

“They’ve been the best landlords we've ever had. They were so kind and took away a huge amount of pressure during a really difficult time.”

They previously lived in a two-story apartment in Te Pu but contacted their landlord when they were concerned about the change in their situation. The team helped them move to a smaller apartment in the same building, allowing them to stay in the city centre.

Now, Rory is established in a role at Wellington Water and Bianca has a new role at Fire and Emergency, and they have fallen in love with their new home.

“It’s a lovely little place. We were so lucky. And it was a huge weight off our shoulders. To be able to move in the same building and just go one floor down has been great. Honestly, we prefer the smaller space because there's only two of us,” says Bianca.

Space hasn’t limited their creativity though, and they both manage to work on their own creative interests. 

On top of their day jobs, Rory is also a keen jewellery maker while Bianca is an talented painter. Their work can be seen across their apartment, with most of the artwork on their walls created by Bianca. 

These paintings seamlessly fit in with the rest of their cherished possessions, including an embroidered dragon wall hanging that Bianca’s sister made as a gift for their commitment ceremony. 

There are also ‘golems’, rounded figurines that were hand-crafted by another one of Bianca’s sisters, which stand guard across their home. 

Small trinket dishes hold Rory’s hand-made jewellery, and items from their childhood sit proudly on display.

Together, they have created a unique space that showcases their creative side as individuals and a couple. 

Te Kāinga is an affordable rental programme with the aim of providing secure, affordable, and long-term rental accommodation in Wellington. It helps Wellingtonians who may otherwise find it difficult to access appropriate housing options in the city. Find out more about Te Kāinga long-term rental apartments and check out current vacancies at tekainga-apartments.nz.