It may feel like summer is just around the corner, but we’ve been working on warmer weather content since early September. Putting together each issue of homestyle is like an advanced screening of the season ahead. At times that involves fervently dodging spring rain to capture houses in the sunshine, but it also allows us to get an insider’s look at how people create a holiday for themselves at home.
Take our cover home, for example. How fantastic would it be to come home every day to the comfort and warmth of a house that feels like a bach? When I visited the Easterbrooks’ home, I admired how they have built an environment for their family that embraces a simpler lifestyle – something that is so important in today’s busy world.
Sometimes getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life means going a little bit further afield. Another couple of our homeowners often escape to their architecturally designed holiday home on Rakino Island. It’s a mere 40-minute boat ride from Auckland city, but it truly feels a world away when you’re there.
But, when you really are based a world away, how do you make your house feel like home? According to New Zealand artist and interior stylist Anna Church, the key is stamping your personality on a space with art, vintage finds and things you’ve made yourself. Anna has put this theory into practice in the rental she currently resides in with her family in a leafy suburb in Toronto. See the results on page 56.
Anna’s ethos struck a chord with me, as I’ve been applying the same approach to my own home, and have a list of handmade projects to embark on this summer. These are not limited to, but include my newfound passion for pottery, a topic I had the pleasure of discussing with Holly Houston and Felicity Donaldson – two emerging potters who I have much admiration for.
Between said projects, long lazy brunches with family (inspired by Kelly Gibney’s delicious wholefood recipes on page 126), and adventures in the outdoors, I’m looking forward to getting away from it all with a holiday at home.
We hope you can find the time this summer to do the same.
Alice Lines
Editor
