There’s something about winter that invites a different kind of attention. With the season encouraging us to slow down, time at home feels more deliberate. The familiar takes on new clarity and even the smallest moments seem to hold more meaning.
Being on the road to create this issue gave me the chance to step out of the everyday — and to notice what I appreciate most about home. At this time of year, it’s returning from a morning walk to the roaring fire, when Nick (my husband) gets it going early for the day. Then comes the patter of feet up the stairs from my son Ted. We try to sneak in a cup of tea before he wakes, although you never quite know if you’ll make it to sunrise alone. Now that we’re past the shortest day, the light creeps back a little earlier through the kitchen bifolds, a subtle change that marks our place in the year.
That sense of connection to place, and how it shapes our lives, threads through the four homes we share this issue. We begin in Lake Ōhau, where Janet Muir and Richard Brown’s rebuild with architect Lisa Webb responds to both memory and material, resulting in a home that’s quietly powerful. You’ll find it on page 44. The Mumby family’s new-build in Taranaki occupies a slice of Kiwi paradise: the home overlooks a golf course and has a surf beach in the backyard. Take a look on page 58.
In Te Matua-a-Māui/Hawke’s Bay, Judith Markus’s farmhouse-style dwelling takes a low-key approach to living within the landscape, with separate guest accommodation thoughtfully provided. See more of this retreat on page 72.
And in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, architect Rebecca Walker has brought a 1910s villa into the now, giving it new life with spatial tweaks (so her teenage son can have his own private escape downstairs) and a classic-meets-modern palette. Turn to page 88 to read more.
Whether built anew or layered with time, these homes reflect a grounded kind of design — one that’s attuned to how people really live. I hope you find ideas and inspiration here to carry into your own space. Or simply a reason to pause, take stock and recognise the value of what you’ve already created, especially in the quiet of this season.
Alice Lines, Editor
@alice.lines