- TV producer Mark Everton and props chief wife Jo Pilkington are downsizing their Northcote home.
- Their grown children have left home, and the couple now find the property too large.
- They renovated a 1960s Tutukākā bach and hope to stay on Auckland’s North Shore.
Mark Everton often gets the inside scoop on some of the country’s most ambitious and fanciest houses. He's not a real estate agent; he's a producer and director on Grand Designs New Zealand, the hit TV show that showcases the stories of ordinary Kiwis creating the home of their dreams.
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He's seen some truly awe-inspiring properties - and determined homeowners. In his own home, at 43A James Evans Drive, in the Auckland suburb of Northcote, the creative force is his wife, Jo Pilkington.
Pilkington is the owner of Australasia’s biggest costume and prop hire company, First Scene, and she’s often turning up with retro furniture and artwork she thinks would look good.
The three-bedroom property is big on retro, and big on views. Photo / Supplied
Producer Everton works with Tom Webster on Grand Designs New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
“Our home is a small collection of a lot of things we have in our workplaces. We are really big on retro design style. We are collectors – we collect records, books, vintage glass, that type of thing. So that really leans into the design side of a mid-70s home.”
Everton and Pilkington's impressive record collection has a room of its own. The home, which has an RV of $1.375m, is also filled with distinctive vintage furniture and artwork, including pieces that have made their way back from First Scene.
Pilkington bought 43A James Evans Drive 18 years ago. Her daughter was only young at the time, and once they realised they would be able to see the fireworks from the deck – something they still love watching almost two decades on - they were hooked.
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“You can see the Harbour Bridge and the city lights, so that’s been really special. So, whenever Sky City does something, you are the first one to see it.
Everton moved in a few years later, and they became a blended family. “With every change we’ve made, the whare has just had to move and grow with us,” Pilkington said. “We’ve really renovated the whole thing.”
The couple have added an extra bathroom and bedrooms to cope with their growing family. But now that the children are grown up and have flown the nest, they've decided it is time to downsize.
“Because we work really long hours in our industries, when we are not working we try to be up north at the beach. The place is just too big now.”
The pair have recently finished what Pilkington described as their "Grand Designs" project in Northland and are keen to spend any free time they have there.
The kitchen is bright and breezy. Photo / Supplied
Pilkington runs a prop hire company and often finds vintage pieces for the home from her work. Photo / Supplied
They bought a 1960s bach on the Tutukākā Coast and have stripped it back and renovated it. “My idea of a bach is something from that time period, so we found something and just stripped it back and had a really great time with it.”
And while they are unsure what their next home will look like, Pilkington would be keen for it to be on the North Shore because she absolutely loved the community, how close it was to the city, the beach and all the walking tracks.
- 43a James Evans Drive, Northcote, Auckland, goes to auction on October 21
