Design News

Golden hour

A return to earthy, grounded hues is evident in interiors; colours that feel both timeless and distinctly of the moment.

In portrait

The Portrait Chair by Simon James draws inspiration from the Brutalist architecture of the 1950s, reimagining it as a modern take on the club chair.

The art of design

In the latest edit from Matisse: Blown glass pendants suspended like precious objects; Stella McCartney x B&B Italia, and Rimadesio’s Sail sliding doors.

Kitchenology

Boffi’s Kitchenology collections seek to create a distinct way of living.

Material alchemy

In Milan this year, the kitchen emerged as a theatre — concealed function gave way to quiet drama where form and material took centre stage.

The Dulux Colour Awards winners

Pac Studio took out the New Zealand Grand Prix award with its residential project, Lava Flow, while Richards Stanisich won the Australian Grand Prix title for a graphic retail space.

The velvet effect

In this expansive central Auckland home, designed by Masonry Design Solutions with interiors by Franc Atelier, spaces of scale and volume were imbued with character and detail.

Office retreat

Queenstown-based architectural duo Alister Brown and Katrina Dravitzki, aka Dravitzki Brown, have long embraced working from home. It was part of their lifestyle well before the pandemic reshaped the way we work for good.

A natural evolution

Known for its tactile, handcrafted rugs, New Zealand design studio Nodi has expanded its material language — introducing carpet in a thoughtful reimagining of the category.

Green style

From a sun-drenched, loft-style boutique in Auckland’s St Heliers, a small team of experts is redefining indoor greenery with a bespoke in-home potted plant design offering — a service that sits somewhere between landscape and interior design.

Transparency and permanence

It begins with dust: fine, dry, and strangely weighty. Packed and labelled with numeric codes, PeterFell’s coloured oxides read like elements — ready to be combined with concrete and set in permanence.

Natural opulence

In this Auckland interior, texture takes centre stage. Upstairs defined by a refined loop pile in grey-green. Downstairs, a forest-toned cut pile with an indulgent depth. Both carpets speak fluently in the language of wool: natural, enduring, and inherently beautiful. They reveal the ultimate scope of the Feltex range — and a new collection that redefines what it means to walk on something truly considered.

Arrival statements: Entrada by Powersurge

The latest in a long line of perfectly distilled collections from Powersurge is the Entrada range of handles — pieces of rigour and subtlety, specifically designed for large portals.

Alpine clarity: Dulux Mt Hutt

Luminous, natural, and light: the whites in the Dulux Colours of New Zealand range have become timeless favourites. These tried and tested colours have been used by architects and designers for over 20 years, and the newest white is equally as alluring: Dulux Mt Hutt.

Perfectly understated

It is often in the pursuit of simplicity that great design takes shape. A recent collaboration between VidaSpace and Powersurge articulates that premise with purity, precision, and a quietly powerful presence.

In frame

Designed by Jonas Trampedach in 2011 for FRAMA, the Rivet Series is crafted using a hand-hammered alternative to welding aluminium.

Intuitive simplicity

When it comes to home automation, a job well done is a job unseen. If you don’t notice it, and don’t need to interact with it, that’s the measure of success.

Enduring character

Completed 10 years ago, and designed by architect Rich Naish of RTA Studio for his family, this home has settled effortlessly into its busy suburban setting in central Auckland.

Autumnal colour

Celebrating the organic beauty of natural materials, we curated a palette for our back cover that explores autumnal tones and textural depth.

Design freedom

New Zealand-owned furniture wholesaler, Hawthorne, has transformed its offerings and launched an expansive new showroom — a celebration of creativity and craftsmanship.

Portraits of the forest

Is it beautiful? That’s the question Sara Langdon asks herself when composing portraits of Auckland’s volcanic peaks and the homes that appear to grow from their soils.

Ephemeral movement

Ahead of her upcoming exhibition with Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert at Aotearoa Art Fair, we caught up with New Zealand-raised, Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis.

Sculptural escarpment

The long, low form of the 2025 Coastal Home of the Year appears to emerge from the base of a daunting cliff face at Onetangi on Waiheke Island.

Asymmetry & artefact

A fruitful collaboration between Plumbline and sculptor Gidon Bing has resulted in an alluring new vessel — an artistic centrepiece that speaks beautifully of New Zealand’s diverse landscapes.

Borrowed landscapes

Bordering Hagley Park, a new enclave of contemporary penthouses at ground level is a distinctive foray into contemporary urbanism in Christchurch.

Vertical village

High above Aotea Square and what is likely to become Auckland’s busiest transport link, Te Waihorotiu Station, a new vertical village is under way: a place to live, work, play.

A pristine canvas

From above, this partially subterranean dwelling presents as a series of geometric forms that appear to be carved into the hillside in some places, and gently protruding from it in others, reminiscent perhaps of ancient ruins – an enclave of forms enshrined in their setting.

The return of Max Patté

Best known for his large, circular, light artworks that adorn walls all around New Zealand, and the iconic Wellington Harbour statue, Solace in the Wind (The Naked Man), Spain-based Max Patté is launching a new, solo show in the windy capital.

Stargazer

It was an interesting proposition to marry modernist sensibilities with passive house design principles, architect Rohan Collett says of this recently completed dwelling, which he believes should be a marker for the future.

Layers of life

Painting with sediment deposits collected from her ancestral stream a few hundred metres from her Piha home, Charlotte Graham finds inspiration and connection in the process of creation.

Wave maker

Wellington maker Dee Johnston’s work is informed by many things, perhaps most notably elements of her Croatian heritage: the simple act of gathering around food, the conversations that unfold, the connections that are formed.

Smart charge

Every year, more and more New Zealanders are handing over the keys to their petrol or diesel-powered vehicles in favour of EVs, but what does this mean for our household power bills, and what do we need to consider when it comes to choosing the right charger?

Home of the Year 2025: The finalists

Twenty-two projects have been selected as finalists in the 2025 Home of the Year Awards. Cast your vote for the project you believe should win the Readers’ Choice Award.

Organic luxury

Over the past three decades, Powersurge has become synonymous with powerful, enriching design. The spaces their work inhabits are sumptuous, and defined by meticulous craft.

Sculptural divide

Auckland-based multimedia artist Josh Davison’s unusual pairing of techniques presents a captivating take on traditional oil painting.

The solar effect

Clean, green energy has never been more accessible, and, when it comes to rooftop solar installations, the myriad benefits are hard to look past.

Poolside in the city

This contemporary villa renovation in central Auckland offers a joyous distinction between old and new, and a beautiful harmony of form, material, texture, and experience.

Tonal clarity

In the dunes of Te Ārai, this coastal retreat was designed with two aims: to make its presence known and to sit quietly with its back to the forest and its face to the sea.

Golden hour

The latest from Snelling Studio is a minimal take on the abstract shapes of our native forest; familiar, beguiling, and perfectly distilled.

Cascading light

Marrying function and artistry, this five-metre bespoke pendant was designed by Nightworks Studio as a centrepiece for a dramatic double-height space within a sculptural blackened steel stair.

Of this land

Michael Moore was born in the Wairarapa, where he grew up looking at the land — and never stopped. He has an innate understanding of his surroundings; it is the land that defines his work as an artist.

The vehicle of architecture

The 2024 New Zealand Institute of Architects Architecture Awards were announced in late November. Here, we explore the winners in the housing categories — a quartet of diverse and fresh approaches to varying concepts of ‘house’ — and look at the recipient of the Sir Ian Athfield Award for Housing.

An interior designer at home in the Dorset Street Flats

When interior designer, Campbell Johnson, returned to New Zealand after a decade of living in Italy, one thing was certain: he had a new appreciation for living in small spaces. Combine that with his love of mid-century architecture, and the result is something truly special.

Heart of craft

Step into the Auckland headquarters of design and make studio, Fieldcraft, and you’re immediately immersed in a world of creativity that extends well beyond these four walls. Separate from the main industrial workspace is something particularly special.

Veritable veneer

As unique as your own fingerprints, each sheet of Prime Veneer is as distinctive as the tree it was cut from. In fact, you can go as far as using the Track my Tree tool to trace exactly where your New Zealand native veneer was sourced.

Coastal high

This sculptural holiday home in Leigh is an artful arrangement of three buildings, an enclave of sorts, designed to accommodate various personalities and requirements.

Soul soothing

The much anticipated 2025 Dulux Colour Forecast presents three compelling palettes designed to uplift and nurture; comforting, enlivening hues for the year ahead.

Perfect summer

Embracing life outdoors has a new meaning, and it’s firmly centred around a beautifully streamlined range of bathing and kitchen products by ABI Interiors: the Sola Collection.

Nature’s beauty

Flooring is the one element that can provide continuity and tie together an interior space. Wool flooring does so with textural warmth and, in the case of Bremworth, plenty of design flair.

Sky high

Crowning Auckland’s newest skyscraper, The Pacifica penthouses, an exploration of understated luxury high above the bustling downtown precinct, have been unveiled by international design practice, Plus Architecture.

Intuitively right

We sat down with Sarosh Mulla and Aaron Paterson, founders of award-winning architecture and interior practice, Pac Studio, to hear about everything from fusing beauty and sustainability to colour as a storytelling tool, and the art of designing homes that feel intuitively right.

Wide eyed

Suzy Platt has established herself as a leading figure in New Zealand portraiture with her distinctive whimsical and emotionally engaging style. Often depicting young women, Platt’s work reveals more than just the subject matter – captivating viewers with intricate detail and a playful aesthetic.

Pristine clarity

On the banks of Lake Whakamaru is a diminutive structure. Its translucent skin forms a simple gable, a nod to the rural sheds that are dotted around the area. What’s inside tells an important story about the future of home heating and innovative ways to harness the power of renewable energy.

Bathe al fresco

In the heart of Hawke’s Bay is an artisan workshop garnering significant attention, and for good reason. Led by designer and craftsman Toby Payton, Raw Concrete Design specialises in handcrafted bespoke polished concrete products for residential and commercial settings.

Road to salvation

In a first for New Zealand, 30 new social housing apartments were opened last month in a heritage building in Dunedin, designed in a creative cross-Tasman collaboration between a Dunedin couple and an architecture firm in Tasmania.

Golden light

In an established neighbourhood in Wānaka this holiday home presents a contemporary face to the street.

La-de-da

The latest luminaire from visionary New Zealand lighting designers Nightworks Studio is as playfully evocative as it is precise.

Islands of stone

There’s an honesty to natural stone that’s hard to look past. Part of the allure is its inherent character — each piece entirely individual.

Painted narratives

The winners of the 2024 Dulux Colour Awards seek to set precedents; to evolve our design language, and to create communities.

Naked dance

Experimental niche perfume house .Oddity’s ethos is simple — to inspire with offerings that pursue creative expression through craft, culture, and storytelling in an interplay of visual and olfactory arts.

The power of one

The latest collection from BoConcept is all about transformation — how can a space become something entirely different with one commanding statement piece?

The art of reduction

Essential Induction, an innovative collaboration between Gaggenau and Cosentino, was launched at Milan Design Week with sculptural installation offering a glimpse into the future.

Snapshot of a city

With over 50 buildings unlocking their doors for one weekend only and dozens of lead architects revealing the secrets to their creations; Open Christchurch 2024 proved to be an invaluable barometer of where the Cantabrian city’s built environment is headed.

Almost

The poetic collision between art and furniture; the tipping point from function to form; sculpture on the edge of rational and reasonable. These are the themes that RTA Studio founder Rich Naish explores in an ensemble of three pieces on show as part of an upcoming exhibition at FHE Galleries entitled ‘Almost’.

Reframed classics

Consisting of a series of interconnected rooms, the Knoll pavilion at the Milan Furniture Fair was designed by Belgian architecture practice OFFICE, and conceived as a space that envisioned life through a sequence of intimate spaces and elegant flower gardens.

On the edge

The location of this home, verging on land and sea in the Christchurch suburb of Redcliffs, meant material selection was focused on both durability and the creation of a subtle elegance suited to a remarkable landscape of natural beauty.

A meeting of materials

At the centre of the renovation of a 1920s home in the Christchurch suburb of Strowan is a kitchen of beautiful juxtaposition.

Quiet elegance

In the heart of this Westmere home is a collection of beautiful, sculptural materials that emanate from the ground up to create a space of embracing warmth with an openness that takes in an unusual yet captivating green view.

Street smart: embracing urban density

Ken Crosson of Crosson Architects, who won Home of the Year 2024 for Boathouse Bay, considers a sustainable vision for our future cities — and offers his thoughts on why the imperative need for both environmental and social change is very much upon us.

A beautiful collision

ABI Interiors began its journey in a humble garage set-up on the Gold Coast, with a simple yet powerful concept: to offer an affordable range of architectural fixtures that rivalled the quality of the highest in the market.

Here & now

Queenstown-based artist, Elan, has spent the past 35 years travelling the world conducting philosophy programmes for global organisations. We caught up with him about how philosophy and art intersect.

Time Traveler

To mark Milan Design Week, Nilufar presented ‘Time Traveler’, a wide-ranging exhibition curated by Nilufar founder Nina Yashar.

The choreography of home

There’s a finely crafted simplicity and considered calmness to the work being produced by young architecture studio, Seear-Budd Ross.

Impactful design

The 2024 Readers’ Choice Home of the Year, Sumner House by RTA Studio, is a place of striking proportions and captivating creativity: a powerful response to a challenging set of site constraints.

Tangibility and presence

Nine years ago Scott Thorp moved to Christchurch to be closer to the mountains. It was here that he felt most connected to the land, and a place that ultimately inspired his photographic journey.

Painted heritage

Drawing on eight distinctive New Zealand landscapes, each reminiscent of a particular era in our colour evolution between 1830 and 1930, a new collection from Dulux is designed to turn a fresh lens on heritage renovations.