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Kitchen, Bath & Interiors Journal

Independent notes on kitchens, bathrooms, colour and the craft of a New Zealand home.

The Interiors Journal

Houses are lived in for decades. Plan them that way.

Measured, practical writing on kitchens, bathrooms, colour and texture, furniture and finishes, and the unglamorous planning that decides how a renovation turns out. Written for New Zealand light, weather and building rules.

Latest

Planning a renovation budget and choosing trades

A calm guide to NZ renovation planning: setting scope, building in contingency, sequencing trades, licensed practitioners, written contracts and consents.

Kitchens

Layouts, benchtops, lighting and the order of decisions that makes a kitchen easy to use for decades.

  1. Benchtop materials compared: what each one is really like to live with
  2. Kitchen layouts that work: triangles, aisles and landing space
  3. What a kitchen design process looks like, step by step

Bathrooms & laundries

Wet areas, ventilation, waterproofing and small-room layouts, with the Building Code kept in view.

  1. Small bathroom design in NZ: layouts, showers and keeping moisture out

Colour & texture

Choosing colour for real New Zealand light, and layering timber, stone, wool and linen so a room feels finished.

  1. Texture, timber and stone in New Zealand interiors
  2. Choosing a colour palette for alpine light

Furniture & finishes

Reviving old pieces, painting and waxing safely, and picking fabrics that cope with family life.

  1. Chalk-style paint on old furniture: a careful step-by-step guide

Planning a renovation

Budgets, trades, consents and the comfort basics (heating, ventilation, acoustics, storage) that shape a renovation.

  1. Planning a renovation budget and choosing trades