- Julia Ford and Matthew Paul sold their Mount Eden loft to expat Kiwis in Vietnam.
- The buyers were drawn to the stylish warehouse conversion and Ford’s impressive walk-in wardrobe.
- The sale was finalised after two days of negotiations.
Auckland shoe and fashion designer Julia Ford and musician-husband Matthew Paul have found buyers for their stylish loft apartment after two nail-biting days of long-distance negotiations.
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The couple sold the three-bedroom apartment on Akiraho Street, in Auckland’s Mount Eden, to expat Kiwis in Vietnam.
The buyers had seen the OneRoof story about the cool warehouse conversion when it first went on the market, said Stephanie Chan, the Ray White agent who was marketing the property.
They loved what they saw, including Ford’s huge walk-in wardrobe, which houses her impressive shoe collection, and then started negotiations with Chan and her colleague, Habeeb Urrahman.
Ford in her purpose-built wardrobe. “I only have my B-squad out at the moment; the rest is in storage.” Photo / Julia Ford
Ford and her husband, musician Matthew Paul, say the apartment at 9/3 Akiraho Street, in Auckland’s Mount Eden, is just their “vibe”. Photo / Supplied
The colourful home houses an impressive art collection. Photo / Supplied
They submitted an offer after a family member was able to look at the property in person and give it the big tick. The amount was enough for Ford and Paul to call off their planned auction.
“We had been negotiating over the past 48 hours. The owners decided to deal exclusively with this buyer, and the property was sold by private treaty,” Chan told OneRoof. The property had an RV of $1.3m.
The agent declined to reveal the exact sale price but told OneRoof that everyone was happy with the result.
“They just loved the whole style and vibe of the apartment, and they were familiar with the area,” she said.
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“It is just a true testament to Julia and Matt for presenting the property in a way that attracted the right buyers. They just did an amazing job. And now we’ve got to find them a house,” Chan said.
OneRoof was given a tour of the loft apartment when it hit the market last month.
Ford and Paul had bought the pad in 2016, finding it to be a neat fit for their inner-city life.
Ford was shoe designer Kathryn Wilson’s first employee in 2011, and, in a neat twist, the apartment was in a converted shoe factory. “Back in the day, the Arch Hill and Eden Terrace area was a real hub for shoes,” she said.
“And actually, Kathryn Wilson flatted in the building years ago. She’s got fond memories of it. It is one of those buildings that people pop around and say, ‘Oh, I had a friend who lived here back in the day’.”
Ford and Paul updated the apartment with a new kitchen. Photo / Supplied
The wall of shoes is an apt feature considering Ford started her career with celebrated shoe designer Kathryn Wilson. Photo / Supplied
The rest of the wardrobe is packed with stylish outfits. Photo / Supplied
Ford said she was most proud of her walk-in wardrobe. “It fits 90 pairs of shoes, but I only have my B-squad out at the moment; the rest is in storage,” she told OneRoof.
The wardrobe was just for her; her husband stores his clothes elsewhere. “I think it’s really good for a relationship, having separate bathrooms and separate wardrobes,” she laughed.
Ford’s wardrobe has a purpose-built shoe wall and hangers for several stores’ worth of clothes, apt given her job and her love of fashion.
The couple have loved living so close to the city and being able to walk to the cafes, pubs and shows in their hood, but the birth of their daughter, Isamaya, two years ago made them realise they needed to trade up to a traditional family home.
The couple enclosed a mezzanine area to create a third bedroom, now an adorable nursery for their two-year-old daughter. Photo / Supplied
The two bathrooms were updated with stylish fixtures and finishes. Photo / Supplied
Ford has her own fashion brand, LeDore. Photo / Supplied
“We’ve been very happy here. Being an ex-factory conversion, it feels incredibly safe, solid and secure, but it also has so much soul,” Ford said. “From the very beginning, it never felt generic or overdesigned. It always felt distinctive, while still being a clean, versatile backdrop that we could really make our own.”
The couple upgraded the two bathrooms and the kitchen with stylish tile, mirrors, and brass fixtures. They also filled the double-height space with their art and collector items.
Ford, who also has her own fashion brand, LeDoré (her middle name), has used one of the bedrooms as her design studio, although at one point Paul commandeered it as his sound studio to make albums.
The couple added steel windows to a previously open mezzanine to create a third bedroom, now painted in a warm terracotta shade to make a chic nursery for Isamaya.
“What we have loved most about our apartment is how easy it is to live in. Between working, running businesses, travelling, and juggling busy schedules, having a home that’s genuinely low-maintenance and completely lock-and-leave has been perfect for our stage of life,” Ford said.
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