Trendsideas

Removing the worn plaster ceiling for this apartment interior project revealed the elegant original concrete ceiling of the building, which ideally complements the introduced wood-look wall finishes

In keeping with its coastal setting yet bold in its design strokes, this Japanese-style shou sugi ban-clad home stands strong on the skyline – a kwila boardwalk path leads to the front door

Refined touches abound in this coastal kitchen – a waterfall oyster stone benchtop; dark, touch-to-open cabinets; and fluted glass-fronted upper cabinetry all finely balance the elegant and the practical

A Spanish quartz vanity, ceramic plaid wall tile and grass cloth wallpaper combine to create a sense of luxury in this powder room with optimised privacy – custom pendants complete the picture

Passive house design responds to sun, wind, rain and land-forms to optimise energy savings and indoor living quality – for this scenic Queenstown home, Altus Window Systems played an integral role

Need more storage and workspace? Here, a front peninsula provides more bench and storage space while creating an informal demarcation of the kitchen zone

For this kitchen, the cabinetry's timber framing connects with the room's plywood-finished walls and ceiling – helping to assimilate the workspace into the wider interior

While offering many expansive picture and clerestory windows, this home also features low, long windows that balance views, privacy and sunlight mitigation

In this bathroom, a wooden vanity benchtop loosely connects with the bathroom's timber wall boards – except, they're not timber at all, but rather textured board-formed concrete

A shapely Kado Lussi freestanding bath stands out in this bathroom – in part due to its plinth base and backdrop of large format monochromatic textured tiles

Strong coastal winds and an overly hot summer sun – potential negatives are turned into strong positives in this sculptural home that also boasts 'honest' materials and heroic architectural moments

How to achieve the look of a refined primary bathroom while keeping to a holiday home budget – here, marble-look porcelain sheet and a shell-look feature wall are just two luxury-feel elements