Home New Zealand

HOME covers the best New Zealand architecture, design and interiors. It features inspirational, ingenious and just plain breathtaking homes from all over the country – as well as new restaurants, exciting art and the latest furniture releases.

Editor's letter

Home New Zealand

Design, life, and culture • Art, books, events, people, and places of note.

To see and be seen • The completion of The Court Theatre signals not just the return of New Zealand's largest professional theatre company to the heart of Christchurch, but also the arrival of an architectural landmark that defines the city's cultural renewal.

Luminescent duality • Clouds floating into the unknown, or the poetry of a falling tear. What is it, beyond the physical, that compels us to see more?

Enduring luxury • Progressive design often happens where disciplines intersect. To celebrate the launch of its first fully electric wagon, the A6 Avant e-tron, Audi New Zealand invited furniture designer Tim Webber to respond to the vehicle's sculptural form and refined detail.

Restorative retreat • Tucked away on the southern hills of Waiheke Island is an eco-luxury retreat that has quickly gained global acclaim. We caught up with co-founder Silmara Scholtz about the journey to date, and what's next for this secluded escape.

Eighth wonder • A family retreat in Melbourne defined by light, natural textures, and honest materials, with New Zealand wool at its heart.

Mindful by design • The answer to non-alcoholic festivities this season? A range of grown-up drinks that deliver a cocktail-style burn without the alcohol.

Sea change • Strong biophilic principles grounded by the use of sandy-toned coloured concrete present a juxtaposition of ideas in this coastal home; there's a natural drama to it that's equally calming in its allure.

White heron • Managing the balance between architecture and ostentation can be a tightrope. It's something that José Gutiérrez thinks deeply about. In this suburban setting — a character house on an arterial road — he was asked to craft an extension that was true to form but expressive of the owners' personality. “New work with old soul” is the way José puts it.

A clifftop sanctuary • High above Little Vivian Bay on Kawau Island, a convivial pavilion sits long and low in a forest of kānuka — part kinetic sculpture, part holiday home.

Tranquil restraint

Garden shift • Transforming a backyard for everyday living involves combining all the features that make a space both practical and beautiful — from terraces and transitions to screening and shade.

That '70s flair • Architecturally designed 1970s homes in Auckland have a charm that is often difficult to replicate — the strongly expressed timbers, the fascination for long, uninterrupted glazing, that remarkable feeling of barefoot bohemia.

Endless summer • Make a statement this season with joyful colour and playful pieces.

Sunlit Refuge

Elevated geometry • In the heart of Ōrākei, RTA Studio has designed a striking addition to a well-known streetscape. Powerful, enigmatic, and dynamic, its jagged roofline and folded steel form float above the land, inviting observation and curiosity.

Rural idyll • Architect John Irving is well known for his work at Te Arai and Tara Iti — architecture deftly defined by proportion, sculpture, and light. His homes in this revered coastal region share an understanding of place: open to the sea air and defined by a sense of understated luxury.

Picture perfect • A seemingly simple, two-bedroom box on stilts above a precipice in Rangiputa hides a microscopic level of detail and clear-headed architectural thinking.

Floating lines • On a rugged, bush-covered site on Waiheke's east coast,...