Home Tours

Artist Ludovica Basso opens the doors to her colourful stone house by the Italian Riviera Meet & greet  Ludovica Basso aka Clorophilla (illustrator). The property Ligurian stone house and art B&B in Borgio Verezzi, Italy. From the terrace of her home A Crueza, so named because “I liked this word for its sound”, Italian illustrator […]

A lot of heart and a great deal of art fills this tiny, two-storey home by the sea Meet & greet Lottie Consalvo (artist), James Drinkwater (artist) Vincenzo, eight, Hester, five, and border collie Bella. Early each morning before her family rises, artist Lottie Consalvo walks her dog along the beach close to her home. […]

A couple in the building industry liked a semi-rural location so much, they bought and built in the area twice Meet & greet Hayden (builder) and Ashleigh Dam (nurse educator), George, three, and Dani the cat. 1 The Design Given Hayden and Ashleigh Dam own a building company, they have a tendency to spend only […]

In search of a new challenge, Olympic gold medallist Eric Murray turned a fast-flip house into one worthy of being a forever home Meet & greet Eric Murray (business development manager and two-time Olympic gold medallist), his girlfriend Thea Lyle, and his son Zac, 10. When you’ve already conquered the world, where do you look […]

Rather than a heavy-handed ‘gut and redo’, an Auckland couple built on existing decor to make this bungalow their own Meet & greet Mary-Liz (marketing manager) and Richard Amor (business consultant), Johnny, four, and Harry the miniature schnauzer. A homeowner’s love story usually follows the same formula: meet an almost perfect home, fall in love, […]

Paintings and an eclectic mix of furniture live in harmony at an apartment that is both home and studio to Cecilie Hertz and her family Meet & greet Cecilie Hertz (visual artist and owner of Atelier Absalon). The idea behind Atelier Absalon is to present art in home spaces so potential buyers can more easily […]

The owners of a new build in Raglan, which has cool curves in all the right places, took coastal Mediterranean architecture as their muse Meet & greet Monica (co-founder of an eco yoga mat company) and Justin Grimshaw (sales manager) and their two daughters Kalani, six, and Luna, four. For as long as Monica Grimshaw […]

A love affair with colour has transformed this coastal home into a blushing beauty Craving open space in the midst of lockdown, Amber Armitage purchased a small bach in beachy Mangawhai. Her “let it be” approach to paint has paid off by the bucketload, letting the small rooms remain dark and moody while the light-filled […]

Using every small-space trick in the book, this New Plymouth cottage punches well above its weight in style and functionality

A nature-loving family are the embodiment of Scandi style, embracing comfort inside while still connected to the outside Meet & greet Elisabeth Ritola (works in the health care sector), Markku Hirvonen (aviation sector professional) and Lucas, eight. Elisabeth Ritola and Markku Hirnoven’s house, Villa Lume, was built on a plot of land by a forest. […]

It wasn’t their first choice, but a brick house with valley views proved to be the perfect fit for this enterprising couple Meet & greet Nikki and Luke Hobbs (building and interiors company directors), Australian shepherd Aya, terrier Chelsea and palomino pony Rosé. Sometimes, when one door closes, another opens, as was the case for […]

When a Timaru family built a holiday home in picturesque Wānaka, space and views were what they most craved Meet & greet Craig Fraser, Natalie Cameron, Aggie, 10, Oscar, eight, Ellie, six, and Yogi the cavoodle. When Craig Fraser came across a section in Wānaka with expansive views of Lake Wānaka and the surrounding mountains […]

A New Plymouth couple rewrote history to give a charmless ’70s house a large dose of right-on retro appeal Home Profile: Meet & greet: Blair (operator off-shore oil and gas) and Karen Prichard (owner/manager of Social Kitchen and Monica’s Eatery). Good bones. It’s the carrot that lures would-be renovators, motivating them to pour all their […]

An elevated section in the Bay of Plenty’s Te Puna hills, with its distant views to the sea, was the perfect spot for a spacious new build Meet & greet Gaelene (facilitator for Look Good Feel Better), and Howard Falconer (commercial property developer). For ex-farmers, Gaelene and Howard Falconer, a move to Tauranga in 2014 […]

Much-loved travel mementos find new life at a coastal home in New Plymouth Meet & greet Delwyn McCurdy (real estate consultant) and Craig Hooper (truck repairs) and their two dogs, Ted and Oscar, and Marley the cat. For Delwyn McCurdy and Craig Hooper, it didn’t matter what their next house looked like, it mattered where […]

A family exchanges cramped apartment life in Southeast Asia for a large, cedar-clad coastal home in Raglan Going from living in a small apartment in Singapore to a 400sqm home on a lifestyle block in Raglan is extreme. But, for one couple and their daughters that’s exactly what they did. “They were after a lifestyle […]

A heritage home’s contemporary update was shows how to perfectly juxtapose classic black and white Meet & greet Jess and Sam Hunter, and their daughters ranging from six to 13: Bea, Lily, Olive and Ellie, plus Willow the Labrador. After living in a 1950s weatherboard cottage for some time, interior designer Jess Hunter and her […]

From the outside, new meets old at this ’60s state house in Auckland, but it’s an entirely different matter on the inside Meet & greet Matt (brand and creative consultant and co-founder of RAAD) and Rebecca Saunders (marketing contractor and co-founder of RAAD), Zoe, seven, and Issy, three. When Rebecca and Matt Saunders found their […]

A passion for the beautiful and eclectic reflects the occupants of this historic Wellington apartment Meet & greet Andre Afamasaga (human rights advocate) and flatmate Paul Whiting (Ministry of Education lead). The old Aulsebrooks factory in the middle of Wellington hasn’t been making iced animal biscuits in years. Instead, the historic building is now an […]

An artist plus a builder equals a perfect creative partnership to construct this cosmopolitan-meets-rural retreat from scratch Meet & greet Rae (artist) and Nick Prentis (builder) and their dogs, Dougal, Huckleberry and Beauregard. When people wax lyrical about their dream home, what they usually mean is a house that ticks all the practical boxes for […]

An architecturally significant post-war home was the design inspiration and sentimental impetus behind this coastal abode Meet & greet Sally (town planner and project manager) and Matt McGarry (electrician and solar power installation company director), Jasper, 11, Duke, nine, Sonny, five, and samoyed retriever cross Shelby. The options are endless when you build from scratch, […]

A couple finds the joy in indoor-outdoor living with a new build framed amongst rolling farm hills Meet & greet: Greta Martin and Andrew Morgan (co-owners of Cafe Coffee & Bakery Systems) and their four cats and dogs. The Design With the kids all grown up, it was time for a change of scene for […]

Life is looking rosy for an apartment-dwelling couple who have an eye for colour and design Meet & greet Chantal Assinck (location agency owner) and Tom Klomberg (HR consultancy owner). Chantal Assinck and her partner Tom Klomberg live on the third floor of an apartment building located in the heart of a busy city situated […]

The home no longer looks as it once did, thanks to a light and airy renovation Meet & greet: Alex (film editor) and Melissa O’Shaughnessy (stay-at-home mum), Emma, Jordan, Nathan, Bailey the Labrador retriever and Coco the Shih Tzu. We’ve all had one of those awkward first meetings. For Melissa (Mel) O’Shaughnessy, it took a […]

Relocating to the country allowed an interiors stylist to create her dream maximalist home Meet & Greet: Emily (interiors stylist) and Charlie Mellor (bike company general manager). When Emily Mellor and her husband Charlie found their dream home in the countryside, it was clearly meant to be.  At the time, in summer 2015, it was […]

When a couple of empty nesters decided to downsize, it was a chance to design and build exactly what they wanted Meet & greet Kim (database administrator) and Neil Ford (programme manager for a large engineering company) and cavoodle Otten Ford. 1 The Design After Kim and Neil Ford’s three children left home – one […]

Separated by distance and a pandemic, a woman’s dream of relocating a historic home to the countryside of her youth was a passion project Meet & greet Julie (barrister) and Sean Granger (environmental operations manager), Laird, 11, and Tilly, eight. Standing on a narrow, dusty road in a picturesque hinterland, Julie Granger’s heart was in […]

Interior designer Annabel Berry has a pool of talent to draw from at her coastal chic home in Oamaru Meet & greet Annabel (creative director of Design Federation) and Simon Berry (managing director of Whitestone Cheese), Mia, 10, Jackson, nine, and Boe, seven, plus dogs Tessa and Wicket. It’s actually impossible to believe Annabel Berry’s […]

Sustainability and a love of nature are some of the design elements that inspired this countryside-loving family’s new-build Meet & greet Kate Crooks (interior designer at Kate Crooks Design), Jesse Crooks (builder and co-owner of Astute Build), Willow, six, and Siena, four. An interior designer and a builder make a handy combination. Throw in an […]

No strangers to renos and hard work, a Manawatū couple pooled their formidable talents to build the perfect Bali-inspired retreat Meet & greet Blair and Rebecca McDonald (residential building company owners), Ryder, 11, Indy, eight, Tilly, six, and French bulldog Zinzan. If lockdowns have taught us anything, it’s that a home you love being in […]

A bungalow near the beach is an interior designer’s ever-evolving sanctuary Meet & greet Megan Ekdahl (interior designer) and Mike Ekdahl (commercial property developer) and Marlow the cavoodle. When interior designer Megan Ekdahl and her husband Mike bought their Strandon property 16 years ago, they had no intention of living in it. Despite its location […]

A property developer and his family find magic at Moonlight on a steep section overlooking the Tasman.

A couple on a mission for more space found just what they needed – and it was practically on their doorstep Serendipity was surely at play when Melissa and Marc Gibson embarked on their most recent house-hunting exercise. “With the arrival of our son Hugh four years ago, we quickly realised we had outgrown our […]

Sandra Barrio von Hurter’s colourful jewellery is adored for the way it brightens up Zoom calls – and she has a home to match Meet & greet Sandra Barrio von Hurter (jewellery maker), Felix von Hurter (businessman), and Frida, one. Sandra Barrio von Hurter lives and breathes colour, from the cheeky cherries that dangle from […]

A serious health crisis led to career changes for an enterprising couple who share their demo-to-reno secrets Meet & greet Tyge (project manager/ house flipper) and Christina Dellar (interior designer/house flipper), Valor, six, and Zeph, three. There are certain times in married life when you question your partner’s thinking. A very dated old bach in […]

Leaving the city and heading north to embark on a new build was a happy leap of faith for a savvy young family Meet & greet Joel Mowat (director of Movewell Physio), Jess Mowat (mum/teacher), Sailor, four, Xanthe, three, and Sullivan, one. For the former Auckland couple Jess and Joel Mowat, trading the big smoke […]

Designer Hannah Whitehead finds balance in a newly built home that prioritises simplicity Meet & greet Hannah (creative) and Dylan Whitehead (mechanic), Frankie, seven, Leo, four, and Riley the retrodoodle. If there was one word Hannah Whitehead kept returning to when picturing life in her family’s new build, it was ‘calm’. The creative lead at […]

How a couple with vision tackled a run-down house on a steep, overgrown site and transformed it into a charming stylish home

A couple’s renovation of their neglected home in Papamoa has incorporated design features from the ’60s and the ’70s Meet & greet: Andrew Inman (global sales manager for mountain biking company Kids Ride Shotgun), Marnie Carter (policy researcher), Koia, six, Reenie, three, and Hatupatu the cat. The renovation nearly didn’t happen. First there were eight […]

Imagination and professional expertise were required to completely transform this coastal house into a beachy-cool family home Meet & greet Amy Fowler (registered nurse), Ash Donkersley (construction business owner), Millie, seven, Bobby, three, Jack, 10 months, Luna, the English Staffordshire dog and Rosie the Tonkinese cat. For Mount Maunganui born and raised Amy Fowler, the […]

In Brianza, in the north of Italy, a fabric designer gives new life and colour to a 14th-century nobleman’s home Meet & greet Clio De Maria (fabric designer), husband Gabriel (IT consultant), Pietro Leon, five, and Galizia Lea, two. I like a place if I trust its light,” says Clio De Maria, a fabric designer […]

A Bay of Plenty couple spurned big and flashy in favour of stripped back and simple for their charming beachfront house

An intimate project that’s a tribute to slowness You can only get there on foot by taking an ancient Napoleonic trail through a forest that’s a tangle of chestnut trees and dense vegetation. The small house is made from stone, lime and wood, and clings to the mountain, overlooking the breathtaking panorama of sky and […]

PR executive-turned-ceramacist Lauren Young and her current affairs reporter and keen gardener husband John Hudson left city life for a lush paradise by the sea. Meet & Greet Lauren Young (PR executive and ceramacist) and John Hudson (TVNZ current affairs reporter), Yorkshire terriers Molly and Harry, and Cornish Rex Nico If you’re looking for Lauren […]

Having access to some of the best global homewares meant the owners of a Mediterranean-inspired beach home were spoilt for choice. Meet & greet:  Jill & Perry Coleman (furniture and accessory retailers). Everything has meaning in Jill and Perry Coleman’s beautiful and beguiling home by the sea. Jill is a passionate collector who founded a […]

The classic versatility of black and white was the starting point for the Sutherland-Tolley villa renovation

A New Plymouth home that could be in Bali Meet & greet Ginny Niwa (former nurse, now stay-at-home mum and interior design student) and Chad Niwa (builder, Chad Niwa Building), Indi, two, and Billy the English bulldog. Ginny and Chad Niwa have always been on the same page, and things were no different when the […]

Meet & greet Jonathan Kennedy (architect), Fiona McIlraith (commercial manager), Jackson, eight, and Archer, one. Jonathan Kennedy has come home. He grew up on a 1600sqm Merivale site, studded with mature trees a hop, skip and jump from Christchurch’s verdant Hagley Park after his father bought the section when Jonathan was 10 and built a […]

A home in the hills above Muriwai provides the ideal rural retreat for a couple in need of an escape from city living In the quest to find balance between city and country life, Hannah Gordon and her husband Brooke found it was possible to combine the best of both worlds. Together, they have created […]

A young family built a home in Christchurch that is a red-hot favourite with them Meet & Greet Myles Laing (managing director, Laing Properties), Lucinda Laing (dental assistant), and Mackenzie, eight months. The Design Myles Laing is no stranger to building houses. As the managing director of construction company Laing Properties it is his job. […]

An Auckland restored villa has blossomed over the past three years and is now the merriest of places to be for the Goddard family. For Josh and Fiona Goddard, Christmas this year will be their most exciting yet. For the first time, they get to celebrate as a family of four, including adorable toddler Billie […]

The decorations are up and the kids excited to spend Christmas in their mid-century inspired home To say the least, this was an ambitious project – a couple with three young children deciding to tackle their vision of designing and building every corner of their home. And so it was that Megan and Mike Fishwick […]

In artist Maiko Nagao Irvine’s newly renovated home DIY comes naturally – as do the Christmas decorations In 2018 Maiko Nagao Irvine and Mike Irvine’s Birkdale home in Auckland graced the cover of Your Home and Garden magazine. Small, cosy and filled with Maiko’s ingenious DIY projects and interior hacks, it was perfect for their […]

A dark and unwelcoming Despicable Me-type villa was reanimated into an Auckland family’s dream home The calm feeling that envelops you as you walk into Chloe and Shaun Lincoln’s home belies the hard work that went into making it the serene space it is today. The 1910s villa wasn’t always this polished – in fact, […]

It must have been fate that led two globe-trotting Royal New Zealand Ballet leading lights to a neglected, historical Cuba Street penthouse apartment in Wellington Before settling in Wellington as the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s artistic director, Patricia Barker and her husband Michael Auer had only spent three days on a whistle-stop tour of the […]

An ’80s suburban bungalow in Cape Town was given a charming makeover by its owner Kirsten Goss with the use of colour, quirk and a disco ball Rows of cacti, china dogs, a wacky cluster of retro flush-mounted lights on the wall, and a glass cabinet brimming with vintage cameras – all before you have […]

Moving from a studio in a caravan to a heritage-listed central city building has given a Whanganui artist Fleur Wickes room to breathe and create Whanganui-based artist Fleur Wickes has always been a great believer in writing down what you want. So, when she found herself outgrowing a tiny 1950s caravan that she used as […]

Take a tour of style aficionado and TV personality Neale Whitaker’s freshly renovated home After 10 years of holidaying in rental properties, Love It or List It Australia host Neale Whitaker and his partner David Novak-Piper decided to take the plunge and relocate from their home in Sydney. It was here in this blessed location […]

As the weather warms in the Antipodes, a nature-loving interior designer and her family in Sussex celebrate the cosy pleasures of an English Christmas When searching for zero cost, sophisticated festive styling ideas, interior designer Maria Le Mesurier, the creative force behind WoodEdit, likes to make her home Christmas ready using nature’s best. “Dressing our […]

A New Plymouth couple’s arts and crafts home is the result of time, patience and meticulous attention to detail Ros McKenzie hadn’t even driven all the way up the driveway when she realised she’d fallen in love. She and husband Craig had been alerted to the New Plymouth arts and crafts home where their good […]

An architect designed this sun-drenched home to perfectly suit a couple with plans of retiring When architect Richard Furze was approached by a design-conscious husband and wife for his professional opinion on a site in Ōmokoroa in the Bay of Plenty, his immediate response was, “Yeah, this is great.” Although it was a reasonably compact […]

A dark and dreary home is polished until sparkling light and bright. Take a tour of this inspiring renovation below When Brydhi Williamson first spotted this Alexandra home online, she was sure it was a diamond in the rough. Beneath the burgundy walls, crazy cottage wallpaper, dark wooden panelling and cluttered interior was her and […]

Driven by a highly refined taste and a love for plants and flowers, a TV producer has radically refurbished a basement apartment “I really wanted to create a space that felt completely separate from the bustling city outside,” says Rosie Rockel, who works in the entertainment industry as a television producer, when asked about her […]

Co-founder of The Hello Cup, Robyn Mclean’s modern Hawke’s Bay townhouse is filled with wit and whimsy, and a reflection of its fun and colourful inhabitants  ‘Impulsive’ is one adjective that might be used to describe Robyn McLean and Jol Bates. They’ve heard a few others too – reckless and radical, as well as instinctive, […]

This opulent family home was also designed to be luxury accommodation for guests to completely relax in a resort-style setting When expats Stuart and Rochelle Wilson were living in Hong Kong for 15 years, they dreamed of returning to New Zealand to build their dream home as “a place where people came to just exhale”. […]

A well-travelled Auckland family’s light and airy home, which overlooks a valley, features beautiful reminders of their overseas trips Far-flung destinations might be off the table for now but for freelance writer Helene Ravlich and her family, every day at home reminds them of their travels. She and husband Jooles Clements bought their early 1900s […]

Designer Lynda Gardener mixes old and new with the found and the collected to create a warm sense of whimsy in her inner-city home Lynda Gardener, an interior decorator and owner of boutique accommodation, is an avid collector. Her warehouse home is filled with countless treasures she has slowly collected throughout the years. What is […]

Jo Lavender and Rob Newland’s coastal cottage blends sorbet shades and vintage fabrics, for a home that’s cosy and chic After visiting a pretty coastal town a few years ago, Jo Lavender and Rob Newland fell in love with the idea of a home by the sea. They’d stayed at a local hotel recently renovated […]

There’s no place like home for this young family, who have breathed glorious new life into their cottage home What began as the chance to transform a dilapidated cottage into a dream home to be sold to another family, soon became so much more for builder Dale Cheesman and his wife Gemma Sampson. To the […]

A Wellington two-bedroom cottage has expanded over the years to become a restful, warm and beautiful home to a family of seven filled with vintage treasures collected over the years Everywhere you look in Sarah and Mark Vivian’s Wellington house there’s vintage rubbing up against new. Green velvet Trade Me chairs book-end a contemporary black […]

Building their dream home ensured this couple got everything they wanted, from Passive House certification to an enviable view across Dunedin The design As intrepid DIYers with plenty of renovations under their belt, Ilona and Mark Weekley wanted to start with a blank slate that wasn’t constrained by existing structures when they built their Dunedin […]

Childhood memories of the bush and nature inspired the design of this cool home Jane Power grew up on large farm and, as an adult, had visions of waking up and looking out her bedrooom window at lots of trees, something she’s finally managed to do in her new home by award-winning architect David Boyle. […]

After many years living abroad, a small but perfect Auckland cottage caught the homeowner’s eye After years of working abroad, Gretchen Young knew exactly the kind of home she wanted to live in when she returned home to New Zealand: sun-drenched, character-filled and close to all the action in central Auckland. It didn’t take long […]

A husband-and-wife design team dramatically transformed their cramped and dated bungalow To look at the sleek timber lines of this home in a small seaside town, you’d never know that a few years ago it was a pokey 1970s bungalow with a cramped, complicated layout. “People who knew the house from before we bought it […]

Industrial style, a little French country and grunge luxe is mixed to perfection in this spacious family home in Masterton Building a house from scratch isn’t an easy endeavour, but after working on their first home and loving the process, Masterton locals Danielle (Dani) and Johnny Burkhart took a gamble the hot property market would […]

A would-be holiday house became a cosy home when this family decided to swap busy city life for adventures in Wanaka For a family that loves getting outdoors and having adventures, suffering through Auckland’s busy commute every working day can only be endured with a ‘grin and bear it’ attitude for so long. The remedy […]

A Wellington couple transformed their little bungalow into a bright new home – but not without plenty of hard graft                   When Ryan and Hannah Frost first clapped eyes on the 1925 Island Bay bungalow they now call home, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. “It […]

Intent on creating a luxe holiday at home vibe, an Auckland couple took inspiration from coastal Hamptons sophistication and Hawke’s Bay landmark Black Barn Vineyards While most of us look forward to escaping everyday life with long weekends in the holiday hotspots of Hawke’s Bay or Queenstown, Sarah and Matt Cotterall took it one step […]

A husband-and-wife team, who can’t seem to stop building houses, have finally built a home in Kumeu that’s just right Back when Terena and Tony Anderson had three young sons and Tony was a fireman, the couple were constantly building homes. “We moved every nine months for six years when the kids were little. During […]

Renovating a home with hubby who likes to tear things apart and two tiny ‘helpers’ has its own challenges and blessings. See the before and afters of their reno below When teacher Hayley and firefighter Isaac first met they were living on opposite coasts. Hayley was based at Mt Maunganui, while Isaac was in Taranaki […]

Undaunted by restrictive property caveats and two earthquakes, a Christchurch family couldn’t be happier with their self-built and designed dream home With its wide eaves, low-pitched roof and walls of timber-framed glass, there is little mistaking one of the primary influences on the design of the distinctive Kennett/Maher house on the coastal hills of Christchurch. […]

An Auckland family’s contemporary home, with its judicious use of doors, features a number of ultra-cool design features The saying goes, “A builder’s home is never finished”. Well, tell that to Martin and Jodi Wiltshire, owners of a David Reid franchise, whose new home is not only finished but spectacular to boot. It helped that […]

When dreaming up their new family home this couple wanted open spaces, a timeless look and to bring the outdoors in. Here’s how they achieved it When Bay of Plenty couple, Geoff and Cris Seavill, set out to build a new home that was uniquely their own, they were clear about what they hoped to […]

   A young couple left life on deck in the Med and got on board with building their future in Kerikeri Meet & greet Amanda Cooper, (photographer), Ben Gavin-Young (landscaper), and Isabella, two. Ben Gavin-Young and Amanda Cooper say their Scandinavian-inspired house in Kerikeri is “the house that Pinterest and YouTube built”. When the couple […]

After leaving their large family home, this Auckland couple found their new forever place in a smaller character home where their art could take the stage Make-up artist Lisette Cross is used to translating the wants and needs of clients, using her flair for colour and composition. Her creative background and years of experience came […]

Moving to a property with four glasshouses prior to last year’s lockdown turned out to be a blessing for Michael Mansvelt

Statement pieces, a touch of whimsy and a tactful approach to colour ensure personality reigns in this two-storey, city-fringe apartment Crafting a comfortable, stylish home out of an apartment isn’t always easy. Even if you’re the owner, you can be restricted with what you can change in terms of the structure, and space is often […]

This barn-style house in Wanaka is designed to foster golden childhood memories with its cosy nooks, easy flow and semi-rural vibe. A site close to town with a rural aspect was too good to pass up for Anna Findlay, a Wanaka real estate agent for Ray White and mum of Estelle and Jake. “I had […]

Author Alice Nelson and her husband Danny saw great potential in this home. Their recent renovation is the latest update in a century-long tale of transformation. Author Alice Nelson used to write in cramped studios and at noisy public libraries, always dreaming of having a library in her own home. It would be a peaceful […]

Interior designer Kim Stephen’s home combines her signature flair for colour with a clever use of its relatively compact spaces

A creative couple designed and built their forever home in Gibbston Valley, with space for all the family including the horses For Laura Shallcrass, having a house in the hills with space for horses was always a dream. Settled in Queenstown for the past 12 years with her husband, architectural designer Robbie Dick, Laura, who […]

A carefully considered extension to a compact bungalow has given an Auckland family some much-needed breathing room – and extra display space Michelle Hall Collins and Michael Collins are “serial renovators”, but they may have done themselves out of jobs. The Aucklanders have spent almost 20 years having their 1930 bungalow in the city’s seaside […]

Influenced by holidays abroad, this family’s transitional villa embraces the colour and vibrancy of exotic Turkey and Morocco Clarissa and Doug Thompson’s brief for revamping the transitional villa they’d just bought was simple and unambiguous: “Anything but white.” They wanted the interior of their house to be colourful and to work with some of the […]

It was love at first when a British interior stylist first clapped eyes on this inner-city apartment The first time Shelby George saw the Auckland downtown apartment she now calls home was through her work. Her cousin Kate Alexander, founder of styling and interior design company Places & Graces, had been asked to stage it […]

After saying au revoir to France, a Kiwi family are enjoying la belle vie in their chic Christchurch apartment When Kiwi singer-songwriter-turned-business owner Flip Grater and French husband and fellow business owner Youssef Iskrane moved from Paris to Flip’s hometown Christchurch five years ago, finding a rental was a bit of a culture shock. “We […]

Completely private from the front, this home opens out to the private garden through sliding doors and raked windows. With no windows you can casually peer into from the road, Tim and Polly Dagg’s home is a mystery by day. “One of my pet hates is having big windows facing the street and looking into […]

Opening out to outdoor entertaining areas, you won’t want to leave. There’s something about the little pool house in Hannah Williams’ backyard that’s instantly relaxing. As soon as guests walk past the palm trees and the pool, they feel like the best vacation version of themselves. This tiny house, which Hannah created for guests and as […]

A serene home in Taupō unites breezy neutrals, soft textures and furniture with relaxation in mind. Meet & greet Selena McWilliam, business owner and interior designer, with daughter Jordyn, 11, and Burmese cats Polar and Egypt. When Selena McWilliam and Mike Austin first visited the empty 942sqm section at Botanical Heights in Taupō, they were […]

With a couple of kids under two, this hard-working tradie has transformed her home one colourful room at a time. After a massive villa renovation in Island Bay in 2018, builders Nikki Kettle and Tom Taylor were determined to find a home that didn’t need any work done. “We said to each other, we can’t […]

A previously stark contemporary home is given a lively makeover with bold colour, fearless pattern and travel treasures on display. You could never accuse Emily Hunt of being afraid of a challenge. Move to New Zealand from Australia? Channel a love of interiors into a design business?  Take on a major renovation that others might […]