Lately I’ve been thinking about how home carries us. Not just through our days, but through time. It might be the way the afternoon light lands on the timber floor, or how a piece of built-in joinery quietly shapes the way we gather. These small moments have a way of settling in. Over time, they form the layers that make a house more than just a place to live; they turn it into something that lasts.
Set high above the view, tucked behind timber screens, shielded from the wind or open to the sun, the homes in this issue don’t shout. They draw you in slowly, revealing themselves through thoughtful details and decisions made to endure.
There’s a quiet thread that connects the houses featured in this issue. It’s a sense that they didn’t start from scratch, even when newly built. In Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington, a new home by Holmes Architecture and House Party Interiors embraces a fresh start with warmth and clarity. You can see it on page 44. Just a few suburbs over, Studio 11:11 reworks a century-old villa, using curved gestures and a refined palette to soften and settle the space (page 58).
At Te Whanganui-a-Hei/Cooks Beach, a builder adds to his own family bach with the same hands that first made it — the extension shaped in collaboration with Edwards White Architects. Turn to page 72 to take a look. And in Bondi, Studio Pulp updates an Art Deco apartment for a growing family, balancing heritage and liveability in a way that feels close to home — one of the owners grew up in Aotearoa, and the connection is quietly felt. Head to page 84 for a closer look.
We wrap up in Wānaka, where a retreat by Roberts Gray Architects reflects a deep familiarity with the land and the memories woven into it. Find the full story on page 96.
Even as the season changes, there’s comfort in this kind of continuity. In grounded palettes. In generous textures. In places made not just for now — but designed to hold what comes next. That’s what we’re always looking to share here: the stories behind the spaces. Layers of meaning. The feeling of home as something that’s made, shaped and passed on.
An inside story, in every sense.
Alice Lines, Editor
@alice.lines