Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i Your Home and Garden

So this is Christmas and what have you done? Well, like many, I’ve been in lockdown for much of the year, and my home has become my universe. Has that stopped me getting excited about Christmas? Not a chance. In fact, having got the jump early in the November magazine, just like this issue, my festive preparation is reaching fever pitch. Christmas really is the ultimate mood enhancer. Everything is so much better with baubles, so going all out is a way of defying the sucky year, celebrating family, friends, resilience and our collective humanity. We’ve got plenty of decorating ideas from our cover house’s pretty Yuletide treatment on page 38 to the organic, earthy style of the home on page 52. There’s even an idea for a Christmas tree…

Rethink your wrapping It’s hard not to fall for wonderful Christmas wrap, but if the mountains of glossy paper left over after the gift-giving extravaganza leaves you wincing, why not wrap your gifts in fabric this year? Either buy your own fabric and hem it so your gift recipient can use it as a tea towel, or wrap it in a reusable bag. Essentially giving them two gifts in one. Lucky them! ANOTHER CRACK If you love the tradition of pulling on Christmas crackers, but hate the waste, you’ll find your sustainable solution at Waste Free Celebrations. Their reusable crackers are filled with plastic-free, locally made gifts, reusable cotton crowns and are designed with a clever inter-locking tube to ensure you’ll get the satisfying ‘crack’ when you reuse them next year. Christmas…

When it comes to Christmas, I value slow, sustainable and intentional gift giving. I opt for quality over quantity, and believe that less is always more. Most conventional stocking stuffers involve plenty of plastic and excess wrapping, which often ends up in the landfill – something I don’t enjoy thinking about. But not to worry, as I’m here to offer some lovely, thoughtful alternatives. In a time where we’re mostly shopping online and trying to spend less money, I’ve curated a list of 21 ideas that inspire a feel-good Christmas. Not only are these gift ideas friendlier on the earth, they’re also an excellent opportunity to share the joy of local or artisan-made goodies with your loved ones. A few of my favourite online stores offering beautiful gifts · Paper…

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 crafted their mid-century-inspired sanctuary on the fringe of a coastal town. The result? High among the trees on a pristine plot of bushland, this new home is testament to the pair’s unwavering vision and tenacity. Soulful and serene yet family focused, the elevated house is defined by a sense of tranquillity and a seamless connection to nature. Megan, a former model born and raised in California, and Mike, a design manager in the fashion industry, fell in love with their local area long ago. “We’ve lived in the area for 12…

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 country as a quick break from their company’s tour of Australia in 1979. Between then and now, Patricia has been the artistic director of the Grand Rapids Ballet and been a principal dancer. Aside from the RNZB keeping her busy, she’s undertaken a two-year makeover of her inner-city Wellington apartment. Can you tell us about your apartment? We live in the heart of Wellington, in Cuba Mall. We are part owners of a historical building that, collectively, we are preserving by earthquake strengthening to ensure its survival for future generations. We occupy the top two floors. There are Juliet balconies…

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You will need • Bedside table • Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer • Paint brush • Roller • Dowel 8mm • Handsaw • Caulking gun • Construction glue • Ruler • Fine grit sandpaper • Resene Quick Dry Waterborne Primer Undercoat • Resene Dusted Blue • Drill and drill bit the size of the handle screw (mine is 4mm) 1 Prep the bedside table by making sure it is clean and dry. Apply the Resene Smooth Surface Sealer with a brush or a roller to the exterior surfaces – leave the drawer face as it is – and allow to dry. 2 Measure the face of the drawer and cut the dowel accordingly. I required 51 cut dowels for each drawer face. Use a handsaw and a sturdy surface (I…

Red rice salad SERVES 8-10 INGREDIENTS ½ cup whole hazelnuts1 cup red rice, rinsed well3 cups water½ cup mixed tri-colour quinoa, rinsed well1 cup water, extra2 Tbsp lemon juice⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil1 tsp honey3 medium green apples, sliced very finely½ cup dried figs, chopped2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves150g goats’ cheese, crumbled 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. 2 Place hazelnuts on an oven tray and roast for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer hazelnuts to a clean tea towel. Using the tea towel, rub away the skins of the hazelnuts. Cool and chop coarsely. 3 Place rice and water in a saucepan; bring to the boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until just tender. Drain any residual water. 4 Meanwhile, place quinoa and extra…

Kew’s Kitchen Gardener Helena Dove can do wonders with a few packets of seeds. Helena shares her secrets from growing rocket and radishes through to unusual species – oca, tomatillo or sea kale anyone? And if you ever wanted to force rhubarb or create an asparagus border, or know someone who does, this would make a great gift. Be it an early morning orange juice on the patio or a martini on the veranda watching the sun go down, a stumble, a slip of the fingers and smash, there’s broken glass everywhere. Which is why we are keen on the latest acrylic and polycarbonate “glassware”. It looks, feels and pours like glass, but it bounces. No one has yet managed to catch it on the rebound, let alone with the…

WE LOVE Glass artist Amanda’s painterly pieces are a hit – and her glass baubles are exactly what your Christmas tree is mising. @amanda_dziedzic Hat or lampshade? The latter, but we’re easily fooled, Lana brings a fashionable approach to her handmade lampshades. @shadeslaunay CONNECT WITH US We love seeing images from our #yourhomeandgarden community. @yourhomeandgarden PET OF THE MONTH Despite an initial reluctance to having people in his home, Scottish short-hair Bear relaxed into the shoot after a quick cat-nap. Page 38 TRENDING ONLINE Celebrate the silly season with these eye-catching trees yourhomeandgarden.co.nz TOP INSTAGRAM POST A mother-daughter team complete an epic reno together @yourhomeandgarden Instagram @yourhomeandgarden Facebook facebook.com/yourhomegarden Pinterest pinterest.com/yourhomegarden…

Throw some shade The creatives of the world will always seek to find new ways to represent the Christmas tree. This is a brilliant and easy take on it. Take five parasols and fix them in various states of openness. Secure one on top of the other and it’s job done. Grand entrance We may have moved on to putting wreaths up anywhere and everywhere but still the best place for one is the front door. This wreath ups the ante by adding a pair of ice skates, a big advance on the more traditional red berries (faux or otherwise), flowers, ribbons and pine cones. If you have a skater in the house, it’s a novel idea. Otherwise, go with what you’ve got. So chair-ful Pay attention to the smallest…

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 and new arrival Ruben. Covid restrictions will decide whether they get to spend it as they usually do – with family in Whakatāne, Taupō and Ohakune – or at their home in Birkenhead, Auckland, but whatever the case, the run-sheet of the day will be the same as it always is: lots of good food and relaxing. Well, hopefully. “It’s always good to see Josh relax on Christmas Day and that holiday stretch. His business is usually so busy that those few weeks over Christmas are the only ones he gets. But if we stay in Auckland this year,…

“I love the notion that we are having a regular family dinner but have disco lights on too. It’s all about being playful.”KIRSTEN GOSS 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 stepped beyond the lobby. This is the kind of quirkiness that one has come to expect from the design dynamite behind Kirsten Goss Jewellery. Kirsten admits they took on the transformation of this home with the same out-of-the box intentions as she has when fitting out a new shop. Capturing views of the Constantiaberg Mountains, clearing the garden and shifting the bearing of the house proved to be the making of the home. The ever-changing shades of the…

The typical New Zealand summer revolves around the great outdoors, with hiking, camping and exploring some of the favourite pastimes for Kiwis. It’s also about spending time with friends and family, and the meaningful connection that brings. In short, there’s a real sense of freedom to be enjoyed over the holidays. These are our golden days, exploring our environment with an almost child-like enthusiasm. The Dulux Wonder palette brings that playfulness and exuberance into spirited colours, so we can be adventurous with our interiors and capture the irrepressible, fun-loving mood of summer. These colours are tinged with ’80s nostalgia when soft tones such as cornflower blue, lilac, lemon, green quartz and rose-gold reflected the boundless optimism of the time. This is precisely what the Wonder palette is offering up –…

In pursuit of a shade of blue that seamlessly fit into the ’50s nautical bach vibe for her Taupō home, Holly Spooner tried and tested too many hues to count. It wasn’t until a friend shared a picture of her newly renovated kitchen, painted in Resene Half Kumutoto, that Holly found she had discovered one that fit the bill. “It was the exact shade I’d been looking for,” she explains. “It’s a gorgeous bold blue that creates a statement without being too dark.” When paired with fresh window trims in Resene White, it delivered the nostalgic bach feel Holly was after – with a twist. Because, simply having bright blue walls wasn’t enough for the furniture upholsterer, she then added a hand-painted striped mural in Resene Poppy, Resene Laser, Resene…

The Resene Powder Room Awards 2021 winner will be revealed in our January 2022 issue, and receive $1000 cash. When dreaming up the look for her Christchurch powder room, Rebecca Taylor knew she wanted it to be “surprising and a bit fun.” She found Resene Tropic Exotic Wallpaper 220122 fit the bill for the ‘fun’ aspect, but it was friend and interior designer Victoria Gibbons who suggested adding in the surprise element of icy grey Resene Loblolly on the ceiling and the dark forest green of Resene Canyon for the doors and the window trims. “It’s definitely my bravest room in the house,” Rebecca says. More Resene colours to try:…

Antipasti selection SERVES 12 Head to the deli to get most of the provisions required for this board. Ideally, have meats sliced to order and ask to see the first slice to ensure it’s the desired thickness. If possible, request that the slices be separated by wax paper for easy arranging later. If you have a steady hand and a sharp knife, it may be more economical to buy a whole sausage and slice it yourself. MAKE + Grilled zucchini flowers+ Mushroom arancini+ Cracked green olives with pecorino+ Tonnato dip or smoked fish pate+ Grilled vegetable sandwiches BUY Salumi Prosciutto, bresaola (cured beef), ‘nduja (chilli-infused spreadable salami), garlic and fennel salami, mortadella (see below) Cheese Parmigiano-reggiano, gorgonzola dolce, burrata (cream-filled mozzarella), bocconcini Fruit Melon, pears, fresh figs, grapes Bread-like things…

December That joy of summer, basil, can now be sown directly into the soil, or seedlings planted outside, in a sunny spot. Keep the soil moist but try to keep it off the leaves. In the summer heat, to avoid bolting (that is, going to flower and seed prematurely) lettuce and coriander are best out of the midday sun. Check if early potatoes are ready to harvest by burrowing your fingers into the base of one of the plants and feeling how big the potatoes are, a method also known as bandicooting. PRETTY GOOD When picking Christmas lilies for the vase, choose stems with the buds just beginning to open. Leave at least one third of the stem on the plant because if it is cut too short the bulb…

“Another joy of lawn paths is they can look lovely when viewed from beyond, rather like a knot garden.”MARY LOVELL-SMITH Useful as they are for getting from A to B, from the back door to the washing line or the front door to the gate, paths need not be purely practical. As they say, it is as much about the journey as the destination and few patches are too small for a path. Even simple stepping stones allow access to another world. It is time to get a lot more trails into your life. A wide berth Conventionally, main paths are broader than lesser ones. One 120cm wide allows two adults to comfortably walk along it, side by side. Those with space can be more generous with their main path;…

What’s going to be your go-to present to give this year? My go-to present would have to be Ferm Living’s bowl candle holder. A practical gift would be our enamel gravy pot paired with a Natural Dishcloth and pot scrubber. As a small Santa gift, I adore the felted gingerbread man and woman set, or the felted acorns along with a pair of twisted taper candles. The books I’d give would be The Natural Home and The Kinfolk Garden. My go-to for kids is the Little People, Big Dreams range of books. The Big Dreams Journal is the most gifted children’s gift of mine. A girlfriend gift would be the Linda Tahija stud earrings – we have a pretty good range now. Best thing about Christmas? The pure excitement and…

House of card Here’s an advent calendar you’ll be tempted to leave up all year – Rifle Paper Co’s Night Before Christmas with 24 windows featuring sweet illustrations. $48, madamefancypants.com GIRL’S BEST FRIEND If you love a bit of bling, try your hand at some diamond art. It’s like paint-by-numbers but with gems. Sparkle art kit in blue moon, around $51 from journeyofsomething.com SEW FESTIVE While away the hours until Santa arrives with this charming Night Before Christmas embroidery project. $49.90 for the supplies, from cleverpoppy.com Be-leaf it Celebrate Christmas with a festive foliage garland that will last all season. $36, teapea.co.nz WIRED MAKE WFH A STYLISH AND CORDLESS SPACE WITH LOGITECH’S NEW MINIMALIST WIRELESS KEYBOARD, THE MX KEYS MINI, IN PALE GRAY, GRAPHITE OR ROSE. $199, LOGITECH.COM FULL OF BEANS KICK BACK AND RELAX…

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 family of three. Today their family has a new member and, while the house appears relatively unchanged from the street, it’s a completely different story inside. “When we first bought the home, we hadn’t really thought very far in terms of renovation plans,” says Maiko. “All we were really focused on was getting it liveable.” Yet, when asked about future plans in her house feature three years ago, Maiko said, “We’d love to turn one of the wide windows in the lounge into French doors that open out to a deck for…

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, when Chloe and Shaun bought it, it looked a lot like Gru’s home from Despicable Me: the brooding, black house on the street. “Most of the period features had been removed and, what little bits remained, had been disguised with the harsh black paint job. Inside, it had been painted in vibrant heritage colours,” says Chloe. The couple relocated the three-bedroom, one-bathroom villa onto their section in Riverhead, West Auckland, in 2016 before embarking on an extensive renovation that would take them until 2019 to complete. “We both loved this…

“We’re overjoyed we get to share the success with the other teams.”TIM COTTON Team Blue’s Tim Cotton and Arthur Gillies were the judges’ favourite. They also came away as the biggest winners The Block NZ has ever seen, pocketing $660,000, plus the $100,000 prize money for netting the biggest profit over their reserve of $2,270,000 when their house sold for $2,825,000. Each team keeps the profit their house makes over the reserve price. “Had you said at the start of 2020 that we’d be crowned Block NZ champions in November 2021 we’d have been pretty discombobulated,” said Tim, who thinks he’ll get back into the market with his winnings. The flatmates’ Pt Chevalier house was the first to be auctioned – a decision brothers Dylan and Keegan may regret as…

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: • Clever interior colours• Inventive paint projects• Exciting exterior paint Get your entry in by December 1, 2021 and you could be our third finalist HOW TO ENTER Email photos and a 200-word or more description of your space to yhg@aremedia.co.nz with your last name and ‘Resene Colour Home’ in the subject line. Please include your name, home address, email address, daytime phone number, the names of the Resene colours used, and details of when your space was painted. Please credit anyone who assisted you in choosing your colours. The six finalists will each appear in Your Home and Garden. Every finalist will receive a $250 Resene voucher and a feature in the magazine, with the winner taking out the Resene Colour Home Awards and…

GET FIGGY WITH IT Cheese with fruit paste on a cracker – it’s a time-honoured way to get drinks under way. Rutherford & Meyers’ latest fruit paste offering Fig & Orange is a brilliant combination to elevate the experience. It works particularly well with a soft goat’s cheese. $6.99. rutherfordandmeyer.co.nz I SAID NO, NO, NOGRONI Best news ever for those abstaining this summer – the NOgroni is about to be unleashed. Seedlip (of non-alcoholic spirits fame) is doing a limited edition, alcohol-free take on the classic Negroni cocktail. Ready mixed, it’s made from just the right mix of Seedlip Spice 94, and from sister company Æcorn Bitter and Æcorn Aromatic. Pour over ice and garnish with an orange twist, the NOgroni is vegan, calorie and sugar free. We can but…

I want to start a worm farm – how do I make it a success? It will pay to look into your options and gauge how much space they require. Standing worm farms are easy to use and can be kept outside on the patio or even a balcony. They produce both worm castings and worm tea from your kitchen scraps. When you first set it up make sure you have organic compost and the worms, which are sold separately. What are companion plants? Companion plants are planted together to benefit one another mutually. This can include plants that encourage better pollination in the area, attract prey insects (for sacrificial/trap crops such as nasturtium, which attracts veggie-destroying aphids) and plants that put nutrients back into the soil.…