There is something inherently charming about the balance of contemporary and historic. The traditions of the latter serve to remind the former that timelessness is not found in of-the-moment trends. It is a balance that Decus Interiors manages with an expert hand in this delightful Sydney home.
A single-fronted Victorian terrace, transformed for a young couple and their child, this residence is given new life without entirely turning its back on its foundations. It exudes a modern sensibility via its subtle palette and considered use of materials like Calacatta pro marble, Carrara marble and injections of brass and timber. Recurring shades of blue and grey connect the spaces, while verdant touches and furnishings that don’t shy away from the spotlight, offer focal points throughout.
But practicality was clearly never far from the minds of Decus Interiors. This is, after all, a family home and nowhere is this more clear than in the kitchen — where the appliances are cleverly integrated into a clean, simple design, anchored by a marble island presided over by a sleek, custom brass pendant.
Despite the hardships of this year, it must be said we have been blown away by the calibre of eateries that have newly opened in our special town. With other major international cities back in lockdown or experiencing renewed challenges, we feel nothing but lucky to have such a plethora of incredible culinary choices on offer, and joining the ranks is a newcomer to get very excited about.
Conceptualised by top international chef Sean Connolly, who has recently returned from Sydney, Esther is bringing the beguiling flavours of the Mediterranean to Viaduct Harbour as QT Auckland’s signature restaurant.
Open from today, the sophisticated European-style bistro serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, focusing on simple, approachable food that’s bursting with flavour and cooked to perfection. Inspired by Connolly’s overseas travels to sun-soaked locales, diners will find flavours derived from Sicily to Southern France to Morocco.
Beautifully fresh produce and daily-caught seafood are core tenets of the offering, with a substantial menu that caters to all manners of tastes. Breakfast spans the healthy and wholesome, to the substantial and satisfying. Start the day with a breakfast bowl with avocado, greens, roasted chickpeas, beetroot and barley; or a wood-fired breakfast flatbread filled with eggs, feta, mozzarella and ricotta.
Lunch and dinner sees everything from snacks, stand-alone dishes and larger sharing meals well-deployed, with Esther’s Mediterranean flavours weaving their mouth-watering spell throughout the menu. Start with hot puff bread from the oven, taramasalata, fire-roasted padron peppers, and stracciatella with salted egg yolk. Seafood like Pacific rock oysters, scampi crudo, and Cloudy Bay clams joins interesting small plates like baked sagnaki, a Greek fried cheese dish, served with honey and chilli, and classics like Sean’s signature steak tartare with shoestring fries.
There are enticing options for those craving pasta, and larger dishes encompass yet more delicious seafood, plus spatchcock chicken with harissa; aged grass-fed rib-eye and lamb tomahawk chops.
Alongside Esther’s opening, QT Auckland also welcomes Rooftop at QT, boasting panoramic views across the harbour and an extensive cocktail menu. Sitting down for a flavourful feast at Esther, then slipping up to take in the prime outlook on the roof for a cocktail or nightcap, sounds like a pretty perfect meal to us.
Opening hours: Breakfast: Monday to Friday: 6.30am – 10.30am; Saturday & Sunday: 7am – 11am Lunch: Monday to Friday: 12pm – 3pm Dinner: 7 days, 5.30pm till late
Anyone who’s had the pleasure of staying at a QT Hotels & Resorts property in New Zealand or Australia knows what a unique and enjoyable experience it is. Now, those visiting Auckland can get familiar with the hotel brand’s particular flavour of quirky luxury, as QT Auckland is now open and welcoming guests.
Joining its popular Queenstown and Wellington locations, QT Auckland is situated in the Viaduct Harbour, and builds on the company’s philosophy of ‘expect the unexpected’, celebrating its city surrounds and reflecting the prime waterfront location.
With 150 rooms and suites, several public spaces and meeting rooms, plus a restaurant and rooftop bar, the design harnesses custom furniture and found objects to bestow a signature individuality to each of the hotel’s spaces. We caught up with the man responsible for the fitout, designer Nic Graham, to hear about his inspirations for QT Auckland’s interiors.
Bold, polished colours are a feature
How did you go about setting QT Auckland apart from the Wellington and Queenstown locations? Building the DNA of QT hotels started eight years ago in Australia’s Gold Coast, where we combined vintage quirk with a modern twist and a strong sense of locality. We always try to deliver a contemporary story that has vintage influences across building design, graphic design, accessories, art and furniture.
We interpret this differently for each property, reflecting their local surrounds. QT Queenstown brings to life après-ski and the year-long outdoor sports scene, bringing bold ski jacket and active wear patterns to aspects of the interior, and QT Wellington has an iconic art gallery theme as a nod to the creative capital. QT Auckland aptly celebrates its harbourside setting — while not far from the Viaduct and the yachts, we didn’t want a nautical theme, but rather something more interesting and complex. While each QT carries a common design-led thread, every hotel is certainly a character in its own right.
You were interestingly inspired by the form of an oyster for QT Auckland — can you expand on this? On my first trip to Auckland, it was a freezing cold day, the ocean was a deep green-grey and the site of the soon-to-be hotel was a fairly nondescript office building waiting to be converted into something uniquely QT. After two martinis and a dozen of Auckland’s finest oysters, it was revealed to me how treasured the oyster is in New Zealand, and rightly so. The idea of the rough outside and seductive polish of the inside was a nice metaphor for a repurposed inner city building and hotel conversion — a shell hiding the luxury that lies within.
The oyster narrative is a loose one, but extends to some interior components that we used such as wall textures, bold polished colours, bespoke rugs and carpets and graphics and artworks that celebrate Auckland’s DNA and the mythical sea surrounding the land of the long white cloud.
Bathrooms feature deep green sea wall tiles
What do you love about mixing in bespoke, commissioned and found objects to the rooms? In a building such as this with guest rooms of many shapes and sizes — some with curved walls — there are many different room and suite types that demand attention. Oyster carpets, concrete wall features and bold use of colour, coupled with a nice mix of chair styles, all point to a cocoon-like room experience. We’ve used colour blocking in the guest rooms as a way to bring the light in.
We especially love the guest room bathrooms with the marble floor tiles and deep green sea wall tiles. The vintage-look ribbed glass and metal screens keep the bathroom connected to your living and sleeping space, and modern light fittings by the beds add nice height and drama to the wall — inspired by the way New Zealand green lip mussels are grown from vertical ropes in the sea.
The oak floor boards contrast with bespoke carpets and rugs made of New Zealand wool. You’ll find metal wardrobes inspired by oyster cages, plus leather strap details reminiscent of fishmongers’ aprons. Custom oyster-shaped mirrors were made locally, and iconic roly poly chairs are draped in dyed New Zealand sheepskins.
Two standout local elements are stunning blown-glass lamps and bathroom accessories made for us by Lava Glass, which I found on a holiday in Taupo, and resin soap dishes by Auckland-based Chan Andreassend.
Misterwolf artworks on level 1
You have worked with local and international artists throughout the hotel, can you tell us who they are and highlight some key pieces of art? We collaborated with a wonderful local creative agency Misterwolf to create a collection of quirky and unexpected custom ‘salon hang’ artworks in the lift lobbies. This resulted in 90 individual bespoke works delivered in the iconic QT style, a mismatch of customised prints and artworks inspired by local history and culture.
Each element in the collection was created using a wide variety of source material, bespoke crafting and locally commissioned artists and photographers to deliver beauty and humour — often combined in unexpected ways, such as the ‘Pearl Diver’ lightbox; cheeky interpretations like the ‘City of Cones’, a nod to the city’s never-ending roadworks, and the ‘Land of the Long Flat White ’ which points to New Zealand’s obsession with barista-made coffee.
Works by other local artists such as Ilya Volykhine, Louise McCrae and Max Patte are featured in public spaces throughout the hotel. A collection of hanging objects in a lobby niche by New South Wales artist Minka Gillian marries well with lift car and bathroom walls graphics by our graphic collaborators Toben. They tell further visual stories of the mythical sea. A beautiful composition by NYC digital artist Jennifer Steinkamp plays slowly on the LED screen wall in the lobby, as we always try to include digital art into our projects.
Right: Blown-glass lamps from Lava Glass
How do you go about infusing individuality but still making sure the rooms are timeless? Timeless is an interesting concept in the current world we live in. What does timeless mean? Something that doesn’t age or remains classic forever? QT Auckland is a design-driven hotel that produces some very memorable interior moments that become inspirational and iconic to guests.
We’ve created a series of spaces that have a sense of warmth and sometimes nostalgia, cocooned in the shell of a repurposed building. You notice the colours and textures that aren’t timeless, but they are proudly more of the moment, using a very tasteful palette of well-considered furniture, lighting and objects that build a rich, multi-faceted story of a modern inner-city hotel. It’s not one note. It’s not minimalist, industrial or bougie. QT Auckland has a character of its own, and is unlike anything in the city. This was a deliberate design decision.
To celebrate the opening of QT Auckland, we have an exciting experience to give away. Enter to be in to win 1 night’s stay at QT Auckland for two people, in a QT Deluxe Corner Room.
This includes breakfast for two in signature restaurant by chef Sean Connolly, Esther, and late checkout until 12pm.
This competition has now closed.
Terms and conditions: Subject to availability & excludes event dates. Maximum two people. Valid for six months from competition close date
Many of us have our own rituals around opening and serving a bottle of wine. It could be a certain vintage, saved for that extra-special occasion; or a favourite drop savoured at the end of a long, hard day. The way in which a bottle of wine is served can also be a key aspect of enjoying a meal outside the home. Perusing a restaurant’s wine list, making a selection and having it poured at the table all add to the feeling of ceremony and heightened experience.
Now, renowned wine brand Cloudy Bay has reimagined the ritual of serving wine in a beautiful and memorable way, with the Cloudy Bay Amphora. Bringing together the old and the new, these sculptural glass vessels are inspired by times gone by when large ornate jugs were used to transport wine directly to the tables of patrons. Amphora is also the term for a large clay pot that is often used to ferment and age wine.
The glass stopper on the red wine amphora mimics a vineyard boulder
Cloudy Bay’s versions take cues from the wonders of nature and the landscape from which their wines are born, with their wines now being presented and poured from these spectacular art pieces at Auckland restaurants Prego, Non Solo Pizza and Ostro.
Crafted by award-winning Martinborough-based glass artists Crystal Chain Gang, each Amphora has been handcrafted using the art of glassblowing specifically for Cloudy Bay’s white wine, red wine and sparkling wine varietals. The bases of the white and red wine amphora reference Marlborough’s rocks and glacial soil from which the wine grapes grow. Both with long, elegant necks, each has a stunning glass topper that references the vines and boulders on the vineyard.
The Cloudy Bay Amphora experience is available at Prego, Non Solo Pizza and Ostro
The Pelorus Brut and Rosé also receive the Amphora treatment, with a similar vessel to a champagne bucket having been exquisitely crafted in a pink hue, inspired by the raspberries, cranberries and wild strawberries in the Pelorus Rosé. The bubbled effect also references the foaming sea of Cloudy Bay, and this Amphora will sit elegantly on the table of diners, filled with ice to keep the bottles chilled.
Prego, Non Solo Pizza and Ostro will be hosting the Cloudy Bay Amphora experience from today, with diners able to enjoy the service with any order of Cloudy Bay wine by the bottle or glass for a limited time only.
To celebrate the release of the Cloudy Bay Amphora, we have a $250 Cloudy Bay dining experience to give away at Non Solo Pizza.
Fix & Fogg, New Zealand’s favourite peanut butter purveyors, has teamed up with Good Dog Bad Dog, the city’s top dog dealers, to create something truly special.
The new hoagie, playfully christened as ‘Good Fogg Bad Fogg’, marks the longstanding friendship between the two brands, a collaboration which was ‘always going to happen’ according to Good Dog Bad Dog’s Oliver Simon.
Featuring charred chicken, Fix & Fogg’s legendary Smoke and Fire peanut butter, McClure’s sweet and spicy pickles, American cheese and a smattering of iceberg lettuce for some crunch (and a virtuous touch of greenery), this new offering joins Good Dog Bad Dog’s infamously naughty menu of loaded hot dogs and hoagies.
Here for a good time, not a long time, the hoagie is available at Good Dog Bad Dog’s Commercial Bay location from Tuesday 10th November.
Plus, to mark the occasion in true style, you’ll be able to chow down at a tasty pop-up event taking place at Fix Fogg’s Newmarket window, this Friday 4th December. From 4pm find frosty Garage Project beer, Part Time Ranger drinks and Good Fogg Bad Foggs galore (plus a special Fix & Fogg dessert to boot).
With glorious weather soon about the hit us in spades (we hope), now marks the perfect time to get organised and look at booking a night or two outdoors before the rest of the country gets there first, seeing as we can’t travel overseas. Let’s face it, camping isn’t for everyone, so for those who are wanting to get a taste of the outdoors while still having full protection from the elements, access to a comfortable bed and flushing toilet, glamping is the perfect fall-back. If you’re after something a little more ‘tenthouse suite’ and less ‘haphazard bivouac’, there’s an array of glamping abodes up and down the country that will serve as everything you could want and more.
The Round Tent
Just ten minutes from Raglan stands The Round Tent, a Mongolian style yurt which uses distinctively luxe furnishings to create a superbly relaxing and unique abode. You can kick back by the willow-lined pond and revel in the scenery by day, while the on-site fire-pit creates a wonderful place to while away the evenings.
Woodpecker Hut This off-the-grid timber home boasts intermittent phone service, meaning more time immersed in the outdoors and less time scrolling through Instagram. Enjoy the sweeping ocean vistas by day, while at night, you can witness a sky like no other thanks to minimal light pollution.
Woodpecker Hut
Fallow Hills Venture down to North Wairarapa (just under a two-hour drive from Wellington) and you’ll find Fallow Hills. Serving as the ultimate romantic escape, you can expect a queen-sized bed, wood-burning stove and two side-by-side claw-foot outdoor bathtubs.
Clifton Glamping
Serving up picturesque views of the Maraetotara river, dense forests and rolling green countryside, Clifton Glamping is Hawke’s Bay’s glorious hidden gem that is worth seeking out. Beautifully decorated tents comprise a semi-outdoor kitchen, while the glamping site itself offers outdoor showers and bathtubs for a serene experience to remember.
Clifton Glamping
Kekerengu
Situated just 40 minutes north of Kaikoura lies the Kekerengu, set smack-bang in the middle of Ngaio Downs sheep and beef farm. Three large luxury tents create the perfect spot for a group getaway, while the positioning — they all look out towards the rolling ocean — ensures that any guests are served up a supreme sunrise experience.
Fossil Bay Lodge
Just a stone’s throw away from Auckland, Waiheke’s Fossil Bay Lodge is ideal for a last-minute weekend getaway. The romantically quaint lodge offers an array of lotus belle boutique tents, all decked out with carpet, plush queen beds and private bathrooms.
The turbulence of this year has left no industry unscathed, whether that be hospitality, travel, beauty, the arts — or fashion. For some, it’s brought into focus the delicate thread on which everything hangs, for others, the impossibility of continuing at the same rate that things have been going until now.
Fashion’s reckoning had been occurring for some time within the sustainability and ethics sector. Ever since the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, in which 1,134 people were killed in a garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, conversation, thought and action has been swirling around the churn of fast fashion and the relentless march of the seasonal fashion calendar. Most of the industry has a long way to go to address this.
The new Britomart Maggie Marilyn store, designed by Katie Lockhart
From the time she launched her label in 2016, Maggie Hewitt of Maggie Marilyn has made it her mission to prioritise manufacturing and retail practises that care for both the Earth and its inhabitants, and her methods have evolved with each new season. The latest evolution has come after a year of reflection for Hewitt, who announced this week that her label will no longer be stocked with wholesalers. Instead, it will be sold on a direct-to-consumer basis from maggiemarilyn.com, and the newly-unveiled flagship store in Britomart — designed by renowned interior designer Katie Lockhart, Hewitt intends for it to be the first of many stores around the world.
“Our purpose is to use fashion to create a better world. Our mission is to help transition the fashion industry to one that is transparent, circular, regenerative and inclusive,” said Hewitt in a statement. “Our vision is for a healthy planet, empowered people and an economy that puts these things first.”
Somewhere Sport
Moving away from the traditional, seasonal fashion calendar, Maggie Marilyn will now be released as 95 percent ‘Somewhere’ pieces — the brand’s range of more affordable seasonless basics made with traceable fabrics — and 5 percent ‘Forever’ capsules, designed to reflect the whimsical and colourful aesthetic that drew many to the brand in the first place.
As part of this launch, Hewitt has released Somewhere Sport, a leisurewear range of track pants and shorts, crewneck sweaters, one shoulder singlets and more, all in-keeping with the ethos of traceability and circularity. Both ranges also have an extended size range, now available in sizes 6 to 20.
While Maggie Marilyn got its flying start selling through international e-tailers like Net-a-Porter, the goalposts have shifted and now it’s about being sustainable in the original sense of the word — able to be maintained, long term. With a mission to use fashion to create a better world, Hewitt is well on her way with her latest venture.
Longer evenings and warmer nights mean one thing: the chance to enjoy good times with good company. Enter the Gin Rosa Malfy Gintonica, a sophisticated yet unfussy cocktail that makes the perfect partner for summer entertaining. Starring Malfy Gin Rosa, an elegant fusion of Sicilian pink grapefruit, Italian lemons, handpicked juniper and fine botanicals, this delicate and deliciously fruity gin provides the perfect anchor for this relaxed aperitivo cocktail. Inspired by the Amalfi lifestyle, Italian-owned Malfy Gin embodies the essence of La Dolce Vita. Also known as the Malfy way of life, this philosophy is realised in effortlessly refreshing cocktails like the Gin Rosa Malfy Gintonica. With assembly as simple as splashing and stirring, you can spend more time soaking up those special moments. Cheers to that.
Ingredients 50ml Malfy Gin Rosa 150ml Fever Tree elderflower tonic 5ml sweet vermouth (such as Lillet) Pink grapefruit and rosemary sprig, to serve
Method Build ingredients in a glass over cubed ice and gently stir to combine. Garnish with a wheel of pink grapefruit and a sprig of rosemary.
We’ve filled our shelves with the latest and greatest novels, gotten swept up in the gripping appeal of non-fiction, now we turn our attention to memoirs — the art of a true story, crafted from memories and written in one’s own words. Lifting the curtain on interesting lives across the globe, these memoirs span from scientists and single mothers to comedy kings and modernist masters.
Girl Decodedby Rana el Kaliouby Rana el Kaliouby, a young, Muslim woman, became a global pioneer in emotional AI after co-founding Affectiva, a company that revolutionised technology. This captivating memoir follows the scientist’s quest to reclaim our humanity by imbuing technology with EQ to counteract our emotionally-blind digital universe.
A Very Punchable Faceby Colin Jost The head writer at Saturday Night Live pens his memoir as a series of hilarious essays that pull back the curtain on the funnyman’s colourful life, and reveal why he has had to learn, on more than one occasion, how to take a punch.
The Hungover Gamesby Sophie Heawood Funny, poignant and painfully honest, this is the story of one woman’s journey from a carefree life in Los Angeles to suddenly facing the challenge of motherhood, on her own. Told with frank and fearless humour, it’s easy to see why this soulful, unflinching, tribute to single mothers was so widely acclaimed.
The See-Through House: My Father in Full Colourby Shelley Klein Having grown up in a modernist house that was like a work of art, with a father (Bernat Klein) whose textiles were hugely influential to 60s and 70s design, Shelley Klein frames her own world by delving into the fascinating, creative life of her father.
Award-winning Parnell restaurant Cibo has served its elegant, seasonal fare to celebrities and us common folk alike for over 20 years, and it is fair to say the kitchen knows a thing or two (or three) about turning out a special plate.
This year, the stalwart is turning things up a notch with a festive menu sure to knock the metaphorical socks off any discerning gastronomes, helping us put this hellish year behind us in the most delicious way.
For group bookings, the menu is available as a two, three or four course experience, with each option including side orders, tea and coffee. Cibo also offers private dining tables, so groups wanting to really kick back and embrace the festive spirit can do so in privacy while the attentive staff facilitate every last detail.
From left: Cibo’s ‘Phenomenal’ pina colada; Lamb with cauliflower, hazelnut and mint
Staying true to the refined, quality produce-led style Cibo is known and loved for, the offering spans land, sea and earth to bring together a delightful combination of interesting flavours on each plate.
On arrival, each Christmas group booking receives sustainably-sourced North Fiordland whitebait snacks. Then, an appetizer comprising crayfish and scallops, spiced butter, burnt coconut and macadamia is followed by the diners’ choice of entrée and main, of which there are four options each. The salmon ‘NYC bagel’ with cream cheese and pancetta is particularly intriguing, as is the lamb and sticky rib with cauliflower, hazelnut and mint. Sweet-tooths will find a lot to love within the dessert menu — pavlova with afghan pieces, dulcey cremeaux, chocolate and walnuts, anyone?
Kicked off with a ‘Phenomenal’ pina colada (or followed up with one), we think Cibo’s Christmas menu will have you feeling pretty phenomenal, too.
Cibo’s Christmas menu is available now until 23rd December.
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