Trendsideas

There's open plan, then there's just open – as well as maximising the views, an open layout and low-set furniture create the luxury of spaciousness and light

For this designer's own kitchen, the Astra Walker Ikon Kitchen mixer is custom made to 400mm height with a curved spout in Urban Brass

An Impresa tileover shower tray and frameless-glass shower enclosure becomes the highly durable centre-piece fixture of any bathroom 

While the architecture is crisp overhead, the kitchen island and furniture have a more rounded presence – also a safe option for parents with runaround children

There are bricks, and then there are blocks – this mountain home echoes its rugged location with rugged and varied stone/brickwork cladding

Entry to this walk-in wardrobe is made more dramatic thanks to a travertine feature wall – low-set display storage also features

The defining feature of this modest house is a curved glass courtyard corner accessed by sliders – the curve is echoed on an interior wall

On a space-saving mission, the bathroom designer's innovative solution was to have the basin and mirror cabinet in front of the shuttered window 

Strips of LED lights draw attention to one of several features in this kitchen, the chunky rich grained oak veneer display shelving 

This early childhood education centre for 105 children by Copeland Associates Architects provides an essential community hub for a large new housing development at the southern edge of Auckland

1980s peach pink and pokey – that was the original kitchen; refined stonework and fluted wood finishes are just two features of the upmarket replacement

An internal forecourt complete with a koi pond, feature tree and with permanent openings is just one way this home draws nature into its heart