Gina founded Accent Architects in 1995, and initially picked up work designing for Wairarapa and Wellington schools. Evening meetings and late night driving over the Rimutaka Hill lead to the need for a Wairarapa base. The couple first bought a house on the outskirts of Greytown but later sold this and bought the cottage on Main Street. “We wanted to have a sign on the main road,” says Malcolm. “And we like being in the centre of town – now we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Since then Accent has expanded to employ a staff of 15, and its portfolio has widened to include about a third each of residential work (both alterations and new builds), schools and commercial buildings. Working on heritage buildings is one of the company’s strengths. Gina, a member of the Greytown Community Heritage Trust, has noticed a shift in how additions to heritage buildings are handled. “When I first started out, we tried to make additions to a building look like they were always there. Now town planners like to see where they start and finish,” she says.

“We don’t have a particular style,” says Malcolm, “This is because each project is designed to suit a particular client.” Malcolm likens it to when he and Gina chose an engagement ring. “The sales person told us to look at everything and just grab whatever stood out for us. So we had all these rings on the counter – in some we liked the size of the stones, in others it was the width of the band. It meant that very quickly we could see a design aesthetic and together we came up with a very good ring.”

“We do something similar with our clients,” says Malcolm. “We give them magazines and tell them to go through them and find things they like, even if they only like a small part of a room.” All the photos are put in a scrapbook, and a client’s likes and dislikes become very clear.

“Designing a house for a client is a pretty personal business,” says Malcolm. “It can be a very close relationship for the thick end of 12 months, so when you engage an architect you have to feel confident about it.”

Going over budget is one of people’s chief fears. “People don’t like surprises,” says Malcolm. “So we build in price checks at key stages in every build. It’s better to check first when you’re ten per cent of the way through a build than at 70 per cent.”

This approach has won them repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations on both sides of the hill. “Wellingtonians who have weekend houses in the Wairarapa like it because they can drop into the Thorndon office, but there’s also a studio in Greytown,” says Malcolm.