Your Home and Garden March 2017

When deputy editor Kristina was renovating, she’d come in every Monday exhausted from hours spent scraping wallpaper off a house with no bedroom to sleep in, zero storage and decor resembling a hoarder’s. When she told me her and partner Ashton’s budget was $30,000 for the whole house, I was surprised. When they stuck to this budget and I saw the results, I was blown away! Their home is well planned and executed, with plenty of wow factor. The couple’s mindset was smart: this house was for now, not for ever; a stepping stone to get them closer to their dream home. So they kept their resale market firmly in mind when making every decision and took care not to overcapitalise – and it paid off (read more on page…

Facebook The posts you loved most this month on facebook.com/YourHomeGarden were: Put your feet up and browse our summer galleries online Inside homes A state house gets a colourful kitchen Creative projects Make your own stylish copper coat rack Style inspiration Top 5 decorating tips for rentals Plant projects How to grow plants from cuttings 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 YH&G. @yourhomeandgarden e:newsletter Sign up to our newsletter and get a weekly dose of inspiration straight to your inbox! Visit the homepage at homestolove.co.nz Homestolove.co.nz…

Beach to table Taking inspiration from our beautiful New Zealand landscapes, Makerie Ceramics are handcrafted in Auckland using locally sourced raw materials. Fine beach sand from the North Island is folded through the clay before each piece is wheel-thrown and hand-finished so no two items are the same. Makerie’s glazed white earthenware pieces are simple and contemporary, and occasionally feature whimsical shapes and patterns. The wide range of items available include pinch pots, bowls, serveware, mugs, saucers and a spoon set. Prices range from $10 to $48 from makerieceramics.com. Bargain of the month Small woven rugs are a great way to add texture to a room, and this style update is more affordable than ever with EziBuy’s new range of floor mats. The on-trend rugs are available in varying combinations of deep navy,…

Damian Townsend and Jonathan Smeets – Damo and Jono to most who know them – have been on a whirlwind journey which has taken them from designing a few decor pieces for their home to becoming the proud owners of their own store, Created Homewares, which opened last April. The pair, who have a background in retail and design, wanted to create a shop that celebrated well-made, New Zealand-designed products and showcased work from some of the makers they had met over the years. They pinpointed Wellington’s Upper Hutt as just the spot for their venture. “This area is a goldmine,” says Jono. “There is a plethora of people moving here as it’s close to the CBD yet housing is still affordable. These people want to shop at our kind of store.” The…

Comfort is the key to any dinner party so when furnishing your dining area, think warm colours and graceful, clean lines. Your Home and Garden stylist Emily Somerville-Ryan pops into Harvey Norman and gathers some stylish pieces of furniture and tableware to achieve this welcoming, yet sophisticated look that will ensure your guests will never want to leave. WALLS A light, clean paint colour in the dining area is a great starting point when putting together a sleek and elegant entertaining space. Here we have used Resene ‘Black White’ on the walls (and also added touches of white elsewhere), marrying it with black, pale sand and warm wood tones. FURNITURE The brief was to create a formal yet modern dining area which was also relaxing and comfortable. With this in mind, the…

MEET + GREET Hilary West, 41 (architect), Eldon Reeve, 42 (recycling business owner-director), and their children, Harvey, 7, Jaxon, 4, and Naomi, 6 months; Hilary’s parents, Stan West, 68 (property cost planner), and Joanna West, 69 (retired landscape gardener); Hilary’s brother, Hamish West, 38 (company director), his wife, Suzy West, 38 (business owner), and their daughter, Indigo, 3. BACKGROUND Summer at the family bach on Kawau Island is a relaxed, low-key affair for Hilary West and the wider West clan. This is their happy place, somewhere to unwind and escape the hustle and bustle of inner-city living. Kawau, one of the largest islands in the Hauraki Gulf, is only accessible by private boat or by ferry from Sandspit, which is an hour’s drive north of Auckland. Throw in no road access, no shops and…