From the outside, you wouldn’t know Claire Crosbie’s unassuming Auckland house looks like a miniature Versailles inside. The modern abode, which was built only five years ago, ushers you in to another period altogether. Dripping with chandeliers and hand-carved doors, it’s an optical illusion of the highest order, a triumph of trompe-l’œil.
Her palatial family home was originally a barn in the backyard that Claire built for her shop, Vintage Revival. When she stopped trading, she decided to subdivide and move into the property full-time, having enjoyed living in the street for the best part of two decades. “I love the country feel of it, all the quirky old houses and being by the sea,” she
