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Are you ready?
We live in a volatile world of earthquakes, floods and storms. Are you ready if disaster strikes? The tragic Christchurch earthquakes have been a wake-up call, reminding us that natural disasters can strike in any place at any time. Nobody can afford to be complacent, says Vince Cholewa, public information officer at the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, and the key to coping when a disaster strikes is being prepared… more |
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Choosing and using a Resene ColorShop
There’s shopping that you have to do. And then there’s the real shopping – the escapades that you come away from feeling inspired, creative and well looked after. Generally most trips for building or home renovation products fall into the former category. But not for Resene ColorShop shoppers. Resene has made a particular point of creating retail outlets that are inviting, helpful and inspiring… more |
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Closing the green loop
It’s all very well selecting eco-friendly products but they also need to be installed in the right way. That’s why Resene created Eco.Decorator. Established in late 2008, the scheme is a response to Resene’s drive for complete product stewardship. Eco.Decorator has been devised to ensure that those using Resene products do so in an eco-friendly manner from the start of the project to its completion… more |
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Eco examples on show, a round-up of exciting local eco-conscious projects
Including good insulation, passive solar principles and healthy products into a brand new home is easy. But a renovation? That’s a little trickier, although not enough to deter Future-Proof Building and Certified Renovations from renovating a house in Ellerslie, Auckland, and using it as a show home to demonstrate an alternative approach that will create a healthy, efficient home for its inhabitants… more |
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Exotic inspiration
The ordinary bathroom brief to an architect usually has a list of sensible things like the number of basins and lights, and a nice safe colour scheme of crisp white. But homeowner Sarah does not do ordinary. For the pair of bathrooms in the renovation of her 1970s townhouse, she gave architect Lloyd Macomber three words: Chinese lacquer box… more |
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Experimental artistry
Two artists use Resene paint in quite unexpected ways for vibrant results. The smattering of paint left over on an artist’s palette when an artwork is completed is usually washed away before it dries, with scant regard for the environment. But a West Auckland painter with a conscience – and a penchant for experimentation… more |
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Feast of design
A light and restful scheme for a traditional style kitchen is the winner of our Electrolux competition. Not only was Sheryl Herbert’s entry well thought-out, beautifully presented and wittily written but she had to be the most deserving in terms of appliance-need. She and husband Dave have an old cast iron stove, a 20-year-old microwave and a bench-top oven as their only means of cooking food… more |
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Flexible futures
This award-winning rural home has a special twist – it can be picked up and moved should the owners desire. Between the bright green vines is a glimpse of the red exterior of Balquhidder, a house that sits between the Wai-iti and Wairoa Rivers. Nelson architect Ian Jack of Irving Smith Jack Architects designed this simple house… more |
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Happy days
Happy, fun colours are stylist LeeAnn Yare’s current picks, set against a classic combo of black and white. “I work as a freelance magazine stylist and writer for leading magazines both locally and internationally, and was resident designer on the TV2 series Trading Houses. I am passionate about design and love to mix interior elements, showcasing everything from recognised designer pieces to vintage and second-hand finds… more |
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Hey Habitat
Habitat reader views and news... more |
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Home grown
The story of New Zealand’s own paint company which turns 65 this year. Resene was started in 1946 by an Eastbourne builder, Ted Nightingale, who needed an alkali-resistant paint to cover his concrete buildings. There was nothing available at the time, so in typical Kiwi style he developed his own – in a cement mixer in his garage… more |
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How to measure and hang curtains
Here’s how to plan and install your Resene Curtain Collection curtains… more |
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Life above ground
Once upon a time, we couldn’t imagine why anyone would swap the quarter-acre paradise for an apartment. Now, many of us couldn’t imagine life without them. So what has changed since our early forays into apartment living? Are they still fairly homogenised places with standardised layouts and all-white interiors? Shannon Joe of Warren and Mahoney Architects says cheap and bland is out... more |
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Making vintage a virtue
When Suze and Dave Crawford decided to build a new house, the last thing on their minds was a minimalist box. Today, their Cape Cod-style home is a treasure trove of vintage finds, cherished and inherited items and soothing colour. Injecting character into their new home began at the planning stages, when the couple chose wide architraves and skirtings, tongue and groove doors, higher than normal ceilings, turned timber balustrades for the balconies and stairs... more |
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Off the shelf
New products, places and ideas for the home... more |
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Open and shut
When an addition was first added to the rear of this old bungalow, the owners saw it as a fully open-plan space, with the areas defined by a low built-in cabinet and full-height glass shelves. After living in the renovation, however, they found that two completely separate spaces would be more practical, so asked interior designer Liz Kerby, of Workspace Design, for a solution… more |
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Out of the square
For 16 years, the ideas for a garden were forming in Sara Noble’s mind. For 16 years, she and husband David Kirkpatrick raised their children and renovated their old masonry villa in Mt Eden, Auckland. Then, finally, it was time... and the garden was born. Says Sara: “We had put off doing anything substantial to the garden on the theory that it would get trashed while we were working on the house. We put it off until last. Saw it as the icing on the cake.”… more |
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Step by step – floor with flourish
Use a French wash effect and a simple pattern to beautify your floor... more |
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Step by step – recycle robot
Make a cool robot out of your old cardboard rolls and boxes... more |
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The colours of our world
Influenced by the diverse and ever-changing moods of our environment, colour preferences change from region to region, in many subtle and dramatic ways. For every location, there is a Resene palette to reflect the complex blend of myriad elements that make every place unique. Interior designers from various locations tell us how their place in the world influences colour… more |
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Why just one?
Why stick to one paint colour when clever combinations will give you striking effects? Stripes are a classic favourite in decorating and can create many moods, from beachy tones for casual fun to finer stripes in regency colours for formality. With this wall, we’ve departed from the usual vertical stripe and gone horizontal in a range of tones inspired by the hydrangea flower. Do as we have by using wider areas of one colour at the top and bottom… more |
