EDITOR’S LETTER

Naomi Larkin on this month’s issue.

There’s nothing like a lockdown to make spring even more appealing. This season is always associated with new growth and a mental reset. It heralds great things for the garden and inspires a revision of your personal surroundings. We chose this issue’s mix of homes and gardens because their high-impact colour, vibrancy and adept flow between the inside and the outside capture the essence of spring.

With our Home of the Month, owner Lorraine West has coordinated the Auckland apartment she shares with her husband Ian by collection and by colour, and instituted her belief that “every room should have a mirror or a play of light.” The couple’s art – as is the case with all of this month’s homes – also helps transform the apartment from standard to show-stopper (page 30).

Kiwi model, stylist and mum Angela Radcliffe’s Victorian home is nothing short of awesome (page 88). From the vertical garden in our cover image, which provides so much greenery in the heart of Notting Hill, London, to the emphasis on light and texture throughout the rest of the house – all demonstrate why this expat is sought after by others keen to emulate her style.

With the gardens for this issue there was no way I was leaving out the North Canterbury delight created by well-known illustrator Jenny Cooper and her partner Chris Raateland (page 118). The abundance, lushness and variety of flowers in a “region beset by howling spring nor’westers followed by hot, dry summers and freezing winters” is truly admirable.

You may not yet feel ready or able to entertain the way we love to but our Special Feature/Spring Entertaining will help you prepare. We’ve tracked the seasonal trends and done all the hard work with products that will give you the look (page 145).

Oh, and we’ve added an extra 16 pages to this issue so you’re getting even more of your favourite magazine.