Sighing happily, Siobhan Marshall gazes out at the hundreds of native trees that surround her treasured new home and says, simply, “It’s magical here... and I like magical!”

But the willowy 27-year-old, who plays the delightfully dim Pascalle West on TV3’s Outrageous Fortune, says finding a place to lay down roots took a lot longer than she thought it would. It took three years of scouring property ads, “open-homing” every weekend and several unaccepted offers before she found her dream home – a whimsical treehouse on a quiet bushclad road – located, appropriately, in the heart of Auckland’s west.

“I’d never been that concerned with buying a house,” Siobhan tells, snuggled up with a cup of tea in front of a flickering fire. “It was my mum who told me it would be a good investment. Also, I’d just spent a year living in four or five different flats.

They kept going on the market and I was sick of moving. It’s also lucky I like snooping because it took a long time and lots of open homes before I found this place!” Siobhan says when she saw pictures of her now-home on the internet, she was immediately drawn to its natural look and feel. “I’d always liked this style of home – with all the wood – and I loved the bushy views. I just thought it was so beautiful in the photos and I immediately wanted to go and have a look.”

Stepping inside, Siobhan says she felt instantly at home and after two more visits – with friends and family in tow – she put in her offer. But there was a niggling fear at the back of her mind. Siobhan couldn’t work out whether a room under the house had had its alterations signed off by the council. It was a silent prayer that brought her the answer she needed.

“I was sitting in the makeup chair at work and I thought, ‘God, if I’m supposed to buy this house, can you give me a sign?’ I went in to rehearse and Greer Robson-Kirk, who has a role in Outrageous later this season,
was talking to me about the new place.

She asked me where it was and when I told her the suburb, she asked, ‘Which street?’ And when I told her the name she asked, ‘It’s not number 33 is it?’ It turned out she grew up in my house – and it was her parents who had converted the garage into a room. And she was able to tell me that they had signed it off after all!”

With the house finally hers, the beautiful blonde actress began filling it with her most precious possessions, among them her collection of teapots and odd-sized wine glasses. “On moving day, a friend
popped the glasses up on the shelves, just to put them somewhere, and I’ve never moved them!”

Two large paintings in the living spaces were discovered on a holiday to Thailand, then lugged back with the help of her travel buddy and co-star Antonia Prebble.

And more artworks depicting stylised Kiwiana postage stamps are the creative genius of Siobhan’s sister’s partner, Bevan McDonald. “You’re going to be hearing more about him,” says Siobhan with pride.

Then there’s her dog Bentley’s beanbag, which travels everywhere with her. Siobhan concedes that while most home buyers are more concerned with being in the right school zone or far away from a motorway, her main worry was her Kent terrier miniature schnauzer cross.

“Bentley was one of my biggest considerations,“ says the star “He’s a bit of a wanderer so I needed somewhere
where he could be safe and secure.” Bentley is also getting used to sharing his new home with three male flatmates – friends of Siobhan’s who have, like her, fallen in love with the serenity of the bush.

“We had a barbecue together the night we moved in – all the stars were out and then we heard kiwis calling to each other!” “It’s just so nice here,” Siobhan continues. “I can lie in bed with the curtains open and all I see is a canopy of kauri trees. Apparently we have the two tallest kauri in the Waitakere Ranges on my property. Maybe I’ll start taking tour groups around!”

A perfect night in, says Siobhan, is a meal with the flatties, a roaring fire and a game of cards. “Me and the boys sometimes bring the mattresses out of our rooms into the lounge and just hang out, watch TV and sleep marae-style. We love playing poker, but my all-time favourite,” she confesses, “is Snap. I’ve never been beaten!”

It’s only due to her own good fortune – securing the role of Pascalle as a drama school graduate five years ago – that Siobhan says she could save enough to buy a home in her twenties and for that she will always be grateful.

“I put myself on a budget but I didn’t overdo it,” she says, laughing. “I mean, I still had my facials! But I couldn’t have done it without this job – if I wasn’t on Outrageous Fortune, I’d still be moping around trying to find work.”

As for the future, it looks bright – and green! Siobhan says she intends to remain in her treehouse as long as possible – she says she’s found “the one”.

“Driving home from work each day, I will round a corner and see the bush up ahead and think ‘Hello, my trees.’”
Siobhan smiles serenely. “I’m a hippie at heart.”