At Essence we love putting together our house features. We love seeing how people live, how form and function combine, how trends and practices evolve.
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From bookends to teddy bears – The Repair Café in Timaru sees a whole host of items through its doors.
“It’s really the same principle as the Repair Shop,” says volunteer and trustee of the Sustainable South Canterbury Trust, Rhys Taylor, referring to the popular UK reality television series.
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Hollie Reedy is the founder and designer of NZ based Age Eyewear. She established the business more than a decade ago and now runs it from her office at home. She lives in Auckland with her partner and 8-month old son and juggles life, motherhood and great eyewear design.
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If you’re looking for a quick way to revamp a room – paint is often the go to solution. Whether it’s painting a feature wall or, as Dorothy did recently, painting a concrete floor – a lick of paint can transform a space. (By the way – a tip from Dorothy – if you are painting a concrete floor make sure you wax it when you finish).
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From the driveway the home of Janice and John Newell looks elegant with its schist stone and timber exterior. Tucked onto a central Rangiora section, the angular looking home has not a single window onto the street front. But looks can be deceptive. Step into the double width entry hall and the house opens out all around you – with its three bedrooms, two living rooms and large open plan kitchen dining area – it feels big.
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The first time that musician Josh Keating (Ngāi Tahu) was up on stage for a musical performance was before he was born.
“I’m pretty sure I was at the NZ Gold Guitar Awards in Gore when I was in mum’s tummy,” laughs the now 19-year-old singer, song-writer and guitarist. “I’ve been going to those awards my whole life.”
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The long, slow flight of harrier hawks circling overhead is a sight many of us love to see against our wide-open Canterbury skies.
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When Michael and Brigitte Barker bought the Vicarage in Geraldine in 2017 – they knew that restoring a heritage building was a big undertaking. And they were under no illusion about their expertise in the area.
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This is a love story. It’s a story about a man called Chris who set eyes on a woman named Julie many, many moons ago. At the time, he swore that he’d met the girl of his dreams. But the timing wasn’t right. Thirty years passed before the two met again by chance and, then and there amongst the chip packets and ice cream cones of a corner dairy, Chris declared his intention to marry Julie and whisk her away to Paris for their honeymoon. And that’s exactly what he did.
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Everyone loves a risotto, especially this one as there’s no standing over a pot for half an hour stirring and stirring. It’s baked in the oven saving time but not cutting back on flavour and creaminess.
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We talk to lots of local business people and we’re frequently bowled over by their work ethic, knowledge and passion for what they do – whether that’s providing legal services or making great coffee. But regardless of the industry, many business owners struggle with cashflow.
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We caught up with Wongi Wilson, the awesome mural artist who has worked on pieces all over Canterbury, including the Triangle in Ashburton, Twizel and several in Christchurch. We wanted to find out a bit more about what goes into creating a mural and his approach to the art form.
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With Dry July just around the corner, it could be the ideal time to try out a little ‘sober curious’ living. If that sends shivers down your spine as you recall slightly sour white wine that so often used to be the low alcohol option – think again. No alcohol and low alcohol options are changing – and they’re getting much, much better.
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When Selese Rowe and her partner, Michael, first spotted their two-storey house in Timaru – it was the bedrooms that were the deciding factor. Bringing together a blended family – space was essential. But the location was a close runner up – near to school, the beach and the supermarket.
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For many embarking on renovating an old home – there are a lot of unknowns. But for Martin and Anne Stewart who took on a church conversion in Totara Valley – there were also some daunting knowns – like earthquake damage, no running water and the very considerable challenge of transforming the church into a residential building.
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Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday May 12th and if you’re looking for something spectacular to make for your mum, grandma or special mother figure in your life take a look at our Peanut Butter and Jam Layer Cake, it looks as good as it tastes!
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On a late summer morning by the river in Kaiapoi, artist Mel Eaton is ready to get to work on the wall of the Cure Boating Club. Local artist, Margot Korhonen, is already painting away – filling the wall with swirling purples and blues. But it’s not just a case of turning up with a few tins of paint and a brush.
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It’s two o’clock in the afternoon and Lee Barrington, cook and owner of iconic Kaiapoi café Out The Gate, is tucking into a sausage sandwich. Is that breakfast, lunch or dinner?
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Heritage homes are a little slice of history – yet all too often they’re neglected and destroyed for short-sighted financial gain. That’s probably why there aren’t that many of them around and it makes the sight of a perfectly preserved cottage in Kaiapoi even more striking. The Williams Street cottage has category 1 Heritage listing and continues in use as a private residence to this day.
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When Karin and Dale Mackay moved into their two-storey, four-bedroom house in Fernside in 2021 – it was showing its age. The mint green exterior hadn’t aged well whilst inside there were pink bathroom suites and a blue laundry. The single glazed doors and windows were old and draughty and the lack of any insulation meant it was pretty cold.
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