Christmas, the Miles Redd wayWhile looking for images through my files for my earlier post I remembered this house that was designed by the glamorous Miles Redd. This house was featured in last year's December issue of Elle Decor and I love that its holiday decor is grand and festive yet easy to execute. All images from Elle D…
Christmas eye candyAs I mentioned before we're having a tree-less Christmas this year so I'm searching high and low for inspiration of little vignettes that can be easily created around the house. I'm sure many people choose to do this when they have little children running around the house. I hope these i…
A-la-KellyKelly Wearstler's tabletop is impeccably beautiful and a great option now that we're approaching Christmas. This collection will make a drop dead fabulous Christmas table, but at more than $100 a piece it is mostly out of reach. But, I was glad to came across this new china by Crate and Barrel tha…
The comfort zoneI believe that the planning of a space cannot only rely on practicality while ignoring style, nor can it be vise versa. Comfort and beauty should harmoniously coexist. Like William Morris once said "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." I am truly…
Outtakes: A favourite recent houseOne of our favourite houses we've recently featured in our pages is a 1954 gem in Hamilton by architect Peter Middleton. It was the city's first architect-designed modernist house, a brave experiment in open-plan living. Heather Lomas, who with her husband Alan, commissioned Middleton to design the …
We like... Headspace 1Earlier this year, students studying the Bachelor of Environments at the University of Melbourne took part in a project called Headspace 1 as part of their degree. Each student was asked to take an idea from within their head and literally place it on the outside. Students re-created their ideas wit…
Let the sunshine inAfter spending a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and giving thanks for all the great things in our lives, we enjoyed a delicious meal and the good company and snacking around every time we go into the kitchen. Sometimes the simple fact of being in good company is the greatest reason to be gratef…
My Favourite Building: Andrew DrummondChristchuch sculptor Andrew Drummond's favourite building is a gem by mid-century master Ernst Plischke. The photograph is by Stephen Goodenough. Andrew: "When I first came to Christchurch I drove past this church and thought, 'Wow, what’s that?' I thought Christchurch was lucky to have a Plischke c…
Our Thanksgiving table is readyI hope you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving. I set up a very inexpensive table setting with a quick trip to Target and my local supermarket.…
We like: Sunday Painters restaurantYou just can't help but love Sunday Painters restaurant in Auckland's Ponsonby, which featured in our October issue. It opened earlier this year, complete with a whimsical interior that features a mural by James Kirkwood, one of the restaurant's owners. (We should add at this point that the French-s…
Happy ThanksgivingHere are a few images to get you inspired because I know that not only the food part of today is important to design lovers like us. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by your loved ones.Happy ThanksgivingMartha Stewart…
A life in colorsKids really know how to enjoy life and that usually comes across in their fondness for colors. Wouldn't kids feel in heaven having a room that has everything they usually crave? Cabin-like-bunk beds and lots of color; What else would they ask for? Maybe skipping school...ScrapstudioNow, this kitc…
We like: Home Work (subscribe to HOME and get a free copy)We like Home Work, a new book that invites readers inside the homes of twenty New Zealand architects - the rules being that the architects must have designed their homes themselves and still be living in them. It's a fantastically eclectic selection of houses, from 1950s classics to contemporary ext…
We like: Federal & Wolfe cafeOne of our favourite new Auckland cafes is Federal & Wolfe, which features in the 'Greenhome' section of our current issue. We like their focus on organic produce and the 'gate to plate' philosophy of the menu of chef Holly Shaw (below left, pictured with Johnny Potiki Hartnett and Jeremy Turner in …
Our Favourite Building: Chris Adams and Bianca PohioIn every issue of our magazine, we devote the back page to a feature that invites architects (and regular folk) to choose their favourite buildings. Over the coming weeks we'll be posting some of these. First up, architects Chris Adams and Bianca Pohio, who divide their time between Auckland and Syd…
