homestyle April/May 2020

The process of collecting is something that endlessly intrigues me, and when I get the chance to peek inside people’s homes and studios, I love hearing the stories behind the art, objects, books, plants and ephemera they choose to surround themselves with. When I was a kid, I collected elephants, and every time someone in my family travelled overseas, they’d bring one back as a keepsake for me. It was such a lovely way to turn a touristy souvenir into something meaningful that told a tale of adventures afar. In my twenties, I started collecting on my own travels. For a while there, rugs were a particular interest and took me on some dubious missions, including following a trader through Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar to his warehouse piled high with thousands of kilims.…

TSAR PLAYERS Coco Republic’s latest range is heavy on major-looking investment-style pieces with pleasingly minor price tags, and champions the beauty of stone with items like these natty marble Tsar Stripe bookends. Also starring in this scene are the Toledo desk with marble-topped drawers, antique brass Arnage table lamp and winged Franco chair. cocorepublic.co.nz LOVE A FAIR? An extra-special attraction running alongside the Auckland Art Fair, new offering May Fair debuts from April 29 to May 3. It provides a platform for emerging artists and thinkers to showcase their contemporary works in informal booths — to which entry is free. mayfairartfair.com HELLO, LADIES Do these voluptuous stoneware Aura vases remind you of anything? Both functional and sculptural, they make us want to get the girl gang together for a chat — stat. Their German makers,…

Plants for the People by Erin Lovell Verinder (Thames & Hudson, $45) May the vital force of plants be with you via this modern guide to botanical medicine that promises to support you, soothe you and make you reconsider burning the candle at both ends. A herbalist, nutritionist and energetic healer, its author considers plants the wisest mystics of them all and seeks to redirect us to become more in harmony with them and our bodies. “Plant medicine attunes to our needs the way only nature can, offering essential healing elements for body, mind and soul,” she says. “This is the return to simplicity, the return to nature.” These thoughtful, informative pages offer recipes for curative balms, elixirs, essences, syrups, tinctures, poultices, pastilles and other melodic words for things to make…

Gathering by Kristen Caissie (Rizzoli, $105) It’s hard to imagine anyone could fill an entire book with ideas for setting the table, but Californian florist/designer/ stylist Kristen of Moon Canyon has done so — and we’re definitely not mad at it. In a series of evocative scenes supported by abundant tips and techniques, she shows how to include botanicals and hero homeware among the usual knives, forks and spoons as a symbol of sharing that creates a mood and excites the senses. Eat Your Greens! by Anette Dieng & Ingela Persson (Gestalten, $90) Twenty-two ways to cook a carrot is just a taste of what this cookbook includes. Is this the future of recipes in our time-poor age? Just pick a vege then navigate to several short, delightfully inexact instructions for what to…

Rough and ready to be incorporated into your home, this prehistoric aesthetic has been around for a little while now, but it’s becoming increasingly accessible for residential interiors. Hand-carved monolithic forms with a crude essence are the bedrock of the look, which sees raw natural materials (such as stone) and their man-made counterparts (like cement) used to add texture to spaces and provide a back-to-basics contrast to our digitally ‘enhanced’ lives. Indeed, a major part of the appeal of this style that’s resonating around the world is the grounded feel and visual escape it offers — a welcome relief from our hectic, device-driven days. Play with this at your place with objects, nooks, in-built furniture and recessed shelving that rocks outside and in. Such imperfect shapes work well in the neutral…

So you’ve fallen for a real looker — how do you introduce it at home? When we met this modular Carmo sofa by BoConcept, we instantly envisaged it as the romantic lead in a scheme peppered with simpatico pieces from the Danish brand’s 2020 collection. In a matte, autumnal velvet that veritably glows in the light, the object of our affection is a statement-maker that charms amid neutral colours and other touchable textures. We went with white, cream and earthy hues plus a dash of black, along with tonal cushions in shiny velvet and suede, a glossy glass and marble side table, a shag-loom rug and some sculptural foliage — dried, not fresh. This sofa’s low-slung cool compelled us to keep our décor on the same plane and opt not…