Your Home and Garden July 2017

Does your home work hard for you? If your house has kick marks in the cabinetry (yours, not your kids’), a pantry that makes your blood boil, scream-worthy storage and more ‘no’ than flow, you might need a rethink. So what makes a family home work? First up, it’s family – love before looks. But when you have a busy household, love only gets you so far. A layout that works for the way you live, good storage, an efficient kitchen and practical flooring are sanity savers. It’s also important to have zones dedicated to activities you and the family love – some will be all hustle and bustle, others should be quiet and reflective. Comfort, warmth, natural light and a connection to the outdoors are food for the soul. The families…

Homestolove.co.nz More ideas for your home are only a mouse click away Where to shop for vintage furniture Here are some handy tips for vintage shopping, both online and on the street, to help you find the perfect unique piece for your home. What it’s like to design a house with your partner Sally and Ben of Patchwork Architecture discuss what it was like to be their own client and build on an impossibly steep section. Instagram We love seeing images from our #yourhomeandgarden community. Especially rooms you’ve styled, shops you’ve spotted, painting you’ve completed, or a snap of you with the latest issue of YHG. @yourhomeandgarden Facebook The posts you loved most this month on facebook.com/YourHomeGarden were: This Auckland couple had big dreams about living small A major DIY project returns a Christchurch villa to its former glory e:newsletter Sign up to…

Hang it up Your little ones will love hanging up their clothes on fun unicorn and giraffe coat hangers. These cuties are crafted in wood with woollen braid embellishments. Pick up a pack of two for $39 from teapea.co.nz. FEEL-GOOD FOOTSTOOL Trade Aid’s new home collection for winter is a treasure trove of beautiful handcrafted items for your place. We love the colourful and textural dhurrie footstool, handmade by artisans from the Aspiration collective in India. The footstool cover is woven from 80 percent jute and 20 percent cotton and filled with cotton. At $289 from tradeaid.org.nz, you can rest easy knowing its sale will directly benefit the artisans who crafted it. Art lover Celebrating the organic and graphic, Cotton On Home’s new range of artwork is a love song to the perfectly imperfect. These…

SOFA BUYING TIPS: > Measure up the space you’ve allocated for your sofa before heading to the shops. Make sure you measure the doorframe of the room your sofa is going into to ensure it will fit through. > In style Your sofa should be the same style and scale as your other furniture so it doesn’t seem oddly sized or out of place in your home. > Fabric and function The fabric selection should be based on how it will be used and where. If your sofa is for a busy area such as a family living room, a delicate fabric or light colour will quickly degrade. Also consider sun exposure as dark fabrics will fade in sunny spots. > Ask about the sofa frame, construction, fabric, cushions and cleaning. > Choose a colour…

James, a structural engineer by trade, operates the retail store and showroom as well as creating custom-designed kitchens and laundries for clients. His partner, Jess Thompson, works in the store and is in charge of merchandising. If you’re in the market for a new kitchen, couch or dining table, make sure you visit The Mood Store. “We’re happy to customise our designs to suit your needs,” says James (pictured above with Jess). In 2014, brothers James, Sean and Thomas Daniels took over their father Grant’s furniture workshop. “Dad had owned his own furniture business for 30 years so we decided to refresh the brand,” explains James. Thomas has been in furniture design since he left school and now manages the furniture-manufacturing side of the business. Sean, with 10 years in the building industry…

Children’s bedrooms are one place in the house where interior-design rules can be thrown out the window. The key objective is to create a space your child loves to play and sleep in. Kids engage with their surroundings in a very tactile way so ensure the room has some textured elements for them to enjoy; these will also give depth to the space by creating a layered look. Getting started If you aren’t sure where to start when designing your child’s room and feel overwhelmed by the choices on offer, start by having a chat with them about the colours they like or a theme they might want to include. Keep storage in mind and think about a scheme that could see them through to their teenage years. It helps to choose one…