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A
river runs by
Designing a holiday home on a beautiful wooded site near a river,
for clients with a love of fishing, watersports, and just being
close to nature - sounds like a simple and straightforward project,
doesn't it? Keeping things simple and straightforward was a
key concept in the successful creation of the Turangi family
fishing lodge... more |
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Balancing
act
Google 'feng shui' and be prepared to be swamped with an array
of definitions, practitioners and schools. Practiced for more
than 4500 years by the Chinese, the feng shui system harnesses
the energies of wind and water, the universal life forces, to
create an environment full of good energy... more |
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Beach
bathing
When a room has a real sense of place, you can imagine the setting
without so much as glimpsing what's beyond its walls. So it
is with the beach house bathroom, which exudes a sense of the
sea's refreshing calm; a retreat from the land locked business
of city life. The room's classic finishes - with the tongue-and-groove
look... more |
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Beginner's
guide to living with the animals
You have made your home safe and comfortable for the family.
What about your pets? When you host family, friends or neighbours
for lunch of dinner, you want to make sure they enjoy a safe
and comfortable environment. The same concern should extend
to your pets... more |
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Beginner's
guide to one table, four looks
It's one thing to eat dinner on your lap in front of the TV
most nights, but when guests come over, it's a great opportunity
to do something special. Creating a dining setting that's attractive
and inviting only adds to the pleasure of the meal and your
guests will appreciate... more |
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Chez
moi - Picture perfect - Tanya Wolfkamp
Oil paints, watercolours, collage, bleach, printmaking and even
house paints are all in a day's work for design director Tanya
Wolfkamp. As part of the team at Codi Design - the commercial
offspring of Maurice Kain's in-house textile studio - Tanya
uses many different materials and techniques to create new fabric
designs for drapes and homeware... more |
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Chez
moi - The family HQ
'We want our home to be somewhere the kids can think back on
fondly. Somewhere that's full of good memories of swimming and
playing in the trees, and in years to come I hope they can think
of it as their headquarters - somewhere they can always return
to... more |
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Chiaroscuro
It all started with a bold, fun sense of style - slightly retro
- and a love of entertaining. The owners and the designer of
this refurbished kitchen found the inspiration for its new look
in a re-covered 1920s couch, a sitting room featuring tones
of deep and mysterious black-red and the overall style of their
1950s Christchurch home... more |
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Choosing
and using a colour consultant
With thousands of shades to choose from in paint - let alone
all the other materials that make up your house - you can easily
become paralysed by choice when it comes to picking the ideal
scheme. Perhaps the safe palette you have seen in every showhome
turns out... more |
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DIY
Kidz (Habitat No. 4)
Activities to keep little hands busy - quiz, word find, colouring
in, jokes and a Name Plates project to try... more |
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Doing
it - Setting the scene - Kathryn Lim
Scenic artist Kathryn Lim has just completed three-and-a-half
years on the road, cultivating realistic props and sets for
the biggest productions in New Zealand's film history. Kathryn's
working tour began with Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Lord
of the Rings and finished with his remake of the cult classic,
King Kong... more |
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Going
green - 20 tips for saving energy
20 tips for saving energy to help you keep your power bills
in check... more |
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Hey,
Habitat (Habitat No. 4)
Habitat answers reader questions about decorating... more |
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Home
by the sea
Keryn Henderson admits she can get a little complacent about
the magnificent sea view, framed by pohutukawa, which is a feature
of her home in Auckland's Bucklands Beach. The new house, designed
by Julian Guthrie of Godward Guthrie Architecture, is on a generously
size 830sqm cliff top section... more |
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Off
the shelf
Innovative products new to market... more |
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Responsible
renovating - Thinking efficiently
Energy-saving features in two innovative Auckland houses offer
lessons on insulating our homes more effectively. One is the
NOW Home, a live research project undertaken by Beacon Pathway;
the other is Arhaus Group's flagship house in Hobsonville... more |
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Step-by-step
- Building a dog kennel
Learn how to build a dog kennel in seven easy steps ... more |
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Step-by-step
- Hanging wallpaper
Learn how to hang wallpaper in five easy steps... more |
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Testpots
Find out what new products have recently been launched into
the decorating market... more |
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The
hard truth about colour charts
When it comes to home decorating, one of the most exciting
and satisfying aspects - aside from seeing the end result,
of course - is choosing your paint. You get to spend hours
poring over colour charts, selecting different shades, narrowing
your choice down to a few lucky contenders and then using
testpots to view your colour choices on a larger scale. However,
have you ever stopped to think about just how those colours
end up in the colour chart?... more |
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The
textured garden
A Lower Hutt garden offers an inspiring example of the way
texture and colour can be used to turn a formerly bare lawn
into an unusual and dramatic space. This once-dull bungalow
was transformed by Wellington architect John Mills into an
open-plan modern home, which provided an easy transition between
indoor and outdoor living... more |
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Turn
up the heat
With such a wide range of home heating options available on
the market today, it's easy to be confused when considering
the most energy-efficient way of heating our houses. What
criteria should we use when making a decision? If, like me,
you live in a draughty old colonial villa... more |
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Habitat is printed on environmentally responsible paper using
environmentally responsible ink.
From issue 8 onwards, copies flow wrapped and sent to Resene
ColorShop Cardholders are flow wrapped in environmentally responsible
material from epi-global.
This product when discarded in soil in the presence of
microorganisms, moisture and oxygen will biodegrade
decomposing into simple materials found in nature, as described
in ASTM D6954-04. |
