Every so often, we could all use a gentle nudge in the right direction when it comes to dining out. This season, that nudge is towards Somm Wine Bar & Bistro on Auckland’s Princes Wharf.
After a typically wet and weary Auckland winter, warmer climes and lighter spring menu edits usher in a welcome change. In keeping with their expansive local wine list (conveniently available by the glass) and a plethora of gastro offerings to boot, Somm’s October menu edit has arrived at precisely the right time.
Featuring lighter bites to share, like the crispy chilli salt squid alongside heartier mainstays like Venison bourguignon, leave the wine pairings up to the seasoned sommeliers and consider yourself in very safe hands.
Left to right: Crumbed green olive salad & Chilli salt squid
For a Friday night wine that quietly segues into dinner by the water, we can attest that the smaller shared plates here leave no crumbs. Somm’s green olive salad with rocket, pear and walnut sits neatly alongside a robust Chardonnay list, while the crab toasts offer a satisfying and flavour-filled bite.
Tucked into Princes Wharf with front-row harbour views, this wine bar and bistro is the kind of place you plan to pop into for a glass and yet somehow end up staying all evening. The cellar is a love letter to New Zealand’s best producers — with an ever-evolving food menu that echoes the same sentiment.
There’s something to be said about updating your sleepwear as frequently as you do your wardrobe. After all, you likely spend more time in it than anything else, and luxurious fabrics and chic cuts go a long way.
Perfectly timed to coincide with springtime clear-outs and wardrobe refreshes, this month sees the unveiling of the highly anticipated Papinelle x Karen Walker sleepwear collection, entitled Garden Reverie, designed to celebrate femininity through elevated floral prints and muted hues.
Love Letter Full Length PJ
This limited-edition, luxury collection invites wearers to slow down and unwind in style, a dreamy ode to nature. Here, Karen Walker’s whimsical prints and romantic florals take centre stage, effortlessly paired with Papinelle’s renowned lightweight, eco-friendly fabrics across a range of separates — from short and full-length pyjamas to nightgowns and robes. This year’s collection also offers a Mum and Mini addition, with children’s sizing now available in selected styles.
The collaborative collection between the two legacy brands — now in its seventh year — is both refined and utterly relaxed, offering a line of sleepwear that not only looks chic but feels like a soft, airy dreamscape. Whether you’re lounging on a sunny spring morning or drifting off for a peaceful night’s sleep, this edit brings a softened elegance and contemporary whimsy to downtime.
Karen Walker Love Letter Crop Boxer PJ from Papinelle
Karen Walker Love Letter Flutter Boxer PJ from Papinelle
Karen Walker Love Letter Silk Wrap PJ from Papinelle
Karen Walker Seersucker Stripe Full Length PJ Set from Papinelle
Going beyond aesthetics alone, the collection was conceived to conjure a serene sense of relaxation, and a momentary escape from the bustle of life. “Pyjamas should work for sleeping, lounging or spending a whole day in them,” says designer Karen Walker. “Papinelle’s fabrics are key, from cottons to machine-washable silk, and our prints bring them to life, making every piece practical, beautiful and chic enough to live in all day.”
Across the range you’ll find something for everyone, from buttery yellow seersucker to soft florals in a variety of pastel hues, with a wide range of cuts to choose from — dependant on what makes you feel your best, and will inspire relaxation.
Lilies Crop PJ
Perfect for both home lounging and even casual outings, the Garden Reverie collection cleverly blurs the line between sleepwear and daywear, offering versatility with a refined twist, and turning downtime into a luxurious escape.
To celebrate the new Papinelle x Karen Walker collaboration, we’re giving away one set of pyjamas from the new collection, up to the value of $430. Consider gifting to someone special or treat yourself with the ultimate in elevated sleepwear.
The full Garden Reverie collection can be purchased online now and from Papinelle boutiques.
Perched above the Mediterranean, TAI Villa unites contemporary architecture and Molteni&C’s timeless furnishings in a sanctuary of refined elegance.
Set high on the hillside of La Reserva in Sotogrande, Spain, TAI Villa is a study in balance — a work of contemporary architecture that looks outward to the Mediterranean Sea while grounding itself in the textures and tones of its Andalusian setting. Designed by Manuel Ruiz Moriche of ARK Architects, the residence embodies openness, harmony with nature, and an enduring Mediterranean spirit.
The villa’s exterior, defined by its elevated stone-and-glass form, sits embedded into the landscape, while expansive terraces and fluid interior volumes dissolve the boundary between inside and out, framing long horizons of sea and sky. Natural light plays a central role, filtering through generous openings to animate surfaces of stone, wood, and glass. Sustainability underpins the design, from passive ventilation and bioclimatic efficiency to the integration of native plantings that preserve the local ecology, creating a residence that marries comfort and elegance with environmental intelligence.
It is within this architectural framework that Molteni&C’s furnishings take on a defining role. Carefully curated across each space, the selection reinforces the villa’s dialogue between modernity and timelessness. In living areas, Vincent Van Duysen’s Marteen sofa and Cinnamon armchair by Naoto Fukasawa anchor rooms with warmth, their sculptural forms softened by tactile upholstery. The Porta Volta armchair by Herzog & de Meuron introduces a sharper contemporary accent in the dining room, while Gio Ponti’s D.151.4 armchair recalls the elegance of Italian modernism in a second leisure zone. A series of outdoor terraces continue this narrative, with Yabu Pushelberg’s Sway sofa and Van Duysen’s Cobea dining chairs setting an inviting tone.
“ARK Architects’ sculptural volumes and Molteni&C’s curated furnishings converge in a vision of Mediterranean living that is both contemporary and timeless”
Throughout, furnishings are treated less as accessories and more as architectural companions, aligning with the home’s structural clarity while enriching its atmosphere. In bedrooms, pieces such as Rodolfo Dordoni’s Aldgate bed and Devon armchair, Van Duysen’s Ribbon and Ovidio beds, and the Alisee side table by Matteo Nunziati establish sanctuaries of repose, each distinguished by a quiet, understated luxury. The home office and spa are treated with equal consideration, their furniture selections ensuring functionality does not come at the expense of refinement.
What emerges is a residence where architecture and interior design speak a shared language. ARK Architects’ sculptural volumes and Molteni&C’s curated furnishings converge in a vision of Mediterranean living that is both contemporary and timeless; an environment defined by harmony, restraint, and connection to nature.
Before the neighbourhood runners incite a riot on their morning route — first let us explain. While pounding the pavement as the sun rises is by no means bad, doing so at dusk might just be better for you.
1. Less chance of injury
While you may have been sitting at a computer all day, as dusk sets in, your body is in peak condition — core temperature is elevated and the body is ready to respond to terrain change — more so than when you first rolled groggily out of bed.
2. Blow off some steam
How often do you wake up with pent up stress? We thought so. Hitting the streets after a long day at work can provide the stress and endorphin release that you — and the people you come home to — actually need.
3. Burn more
Your metabolism may take a little while to kick in after fasting all night, but a pre-dinner run when your metabolism is already fully functional will help burn calories well into the night and likely influence you to eat cleaner at dinner time. The added bonus of a dusk run? There will be significantly less temptation to indulge in any late night sweet treats.
4. Sleep Better
Previous studies may suggest that vigorous exercise shortly before bedtime disturbs sleep however a recent study proved the complete opposite, with participants drifting off 30 minutes post-exercise, possibly due to reduced blood pressure. Meanwhile, the jury is still out on sugar and screens, two major sleep disruptors.
Hot off a wildly successful few years stateside, New York-based contemporary artist Natasha Wright is now set to take up residence at her New Zealand gallery Sanderson, with an anticipated new solo show entitled Main Character — scheduled to run from Wednesday, October 15, through until November 9.
The show will feature nine original works fresh from Wright’s Brooklyn studio. Each is a celebration of the sinuous female form, rendered through Wright’s multilayered social commentary. Through the tactility of paint, Wright’s sweeping canvases are awash in muddied pinks and warming honey hues, each stroke a celebration of womanhood at its most elusive.
Main Character, 2025, by Natasha Wright, Oil on canvas, 1220 x 1525 mm
Main Character “emphasises the interchangeability between the ideal woman and the physical and cultural history that shapes her long hair and lovely waist.” Wright is, and perhaps always has been, unpacking what it truly means to be living in your feminine.
Best known for “exploring the dichotomies of womanhood and the gender-driven power dynamics perpetuated in popular culture,” Wright is an artist whose message has continued to evolve in a captivating way. Living and working in New York for almost a decade, the New Zealander has developed a distinct creative language that marries various iterations of the female form with the rich qualities of oil paint. Wright’s pieces draw the onlooker in with calligraphic brushstrokes, evocative colours, layered techniques and compelling forms.
Waist – Deep, 2025, by Natasha Wright, Oil on canvas, 1525 x 1780 mm
For Wright, the main character’s humanity is firmly located in her body — and in a time when a woman’s right to choose is wildly under threat in the United States, Wright’s work feels more necessary now than ever.
See here for the Issue 50 cover story on Natasha Wright.
With a whole host of free exhibitions currently on show, read on to learn more about what’s on our radar this season.
celebrate the life and work of prolific New Zealand artist, Louise Bourgeois, at ‘Louise Bourgeois: In Private View’
01. Louise Bourgeois: In Private View
Louise Bourgeois: In Private View celebrates the life and work of prolific French American artist, Louise Bourgeois. This free exhibit — on show until May 2026 — brings together a selection of works sourced from a private collection, available to the public for the very first time. The exhibition spans over six decades of Bourgeois’ highly influential career, from early paint studies to a fabric piece from the final year of her life. Widely known for her sculptures and installations, Bourgeois’ work explored the surreal and the subconscious, often drawing from her own personal experience.
Wastelands: Wastelands – Brett Graham, Wastelands (installation view), 2024, wood, synthetic polymer paint, steel, found wagon wheels, macrocarpa wood, paint, oilbased acrylic lacquer, wax. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased with the assistance of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery 2024
02. Brett Graham, Wastelands
Fresh off its presentation at the 60th Venice Biennale, gallery goers will be given the unique opportunity to get up close and personal with Brett Graham’s monumental sculpture, Wastelands. This commanding and historically significant piece — crafted from a combination of wood, steel, found wagon wheels, macrocarpa and acrylic lacquer wax — provides an emotive commentary on the Waikato-Tainui land conflict and the devastating effects on the tribal people and their land. Accompanied by a video installation, Graham’s work marks a significant acquisition for the gallery and is not to be missed.
03. Artland: An Installation by Do Ho Suh and children
Fit for the whole family, the whimsically collaborative, hands-on clay installation entitled Artland — designed by South Korean artist Do Ho Suh and his young daughters — is on show until July 2026. The installation features imaginative creatures and fantastical landscapes and invites visitors of all ages to sculpt their own creations.
Marvel at the eight-metre large fabric sculpture that appears suspended in space, hanging from the ceiling in the heart of the Gallery’s building. Identified as one of Suh’s most significant early pieces, North Wall is a vibrant green fabric sculpture, inspired by the artist’s father’s studio in Seoul and modelled after a traditional Korean scholar house. The piece — rendered using fabric techniques that have become synonymous with Suh’s practice — explores themes of longing, memory and cultural displacement.
Paul Gauguin Cow in Meadow, Rouen, 1884, oil on canvas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Julian and Josie Robertson through the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation, 2023
05. The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity
For the modernists among us, prepare to marvel at a 15-piece donation of iconic works, courtesy of the estate of New York-based philanthropists, Julian and Josie Robertson.
Works include Modernist masterpieces by the likes of Braque, Cezanne, Dalí, Derain, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso and will be free to view until February 2026.
Don’t miss the final Open Late Night of the year
What’s more, on Thursday October 16, the Auckland Art Gallery will once again open its doors after dark, for the largest and final Open Late Night of the year — a free admission event — will see the gallery’s North Atrium transform into a hive of activity, with live music, an assortment of food trucks and the Bourgeois Bar keeping gallery goers satiated from six until 9pm. Shop art and NZ-made from Auckland Art Gallery Shop here.
If your idea of celebrating involves sweeping lake views, architectural drama, and a guest list with multiple VIPs, Kinloch Manor delivers with cinematic flair. Whether you’re hosting a marquee wedding for 250, a golden anniversary for 20, or a wintery long-table dinner for your inner circle, this is a venue that adjusts to your vision.
Designed by Andrew Patterson, with interiors by Virginia Fisher (translation: design pedigree for days), this Central North Island destination pairs grand scale with quiet restraint. Kinloch is an architectural wonder perched above Lake Taupō — dramatic yet grounded, luxurious yet relaxed.
The events team is calm, confident, and brilliantly capable. Menus are crafted with organic produce from its sister property, Treetops, and the wine pairings are spot on. Rooms have stone fireplaces, deep tubs, and neutral tones, making them the kind of spaces you never want to leave.
If exclusivity and elegance are the brief, Kinloch is the answer.
More maximalist than minimal, the proof is in the pudding that our home — or rather the way a home is designed —can and should make us happier.
Backed by neuroscience and popularised by TikTok, interior design that boosts your serotonin levels and releases oxytocin is the ultimate end goal. Enter dopamine décor — a glass half-full approach to design that’s more emotive than it is trend-based.
While dopamine dressing might feel a little more straightforward — wear what makes you happy, essentially —both philosophies ultimately share the same principles. Think vibrant colours and prints that immediately elevate not only your home’s aesthetic but also uplift your mood, simultaneously activating neural pathways and releasing the feel good love hormones we crave. Think sumptuous statement sofas like Studio Italia’s ZaZa, rugs that spark memory of a milestone vacation or fabrications that soothe your senses or regulate your nervous system — the opportunities are endless.
2:1 Residence by Róisín Lafferty
While colour can and should be approached through a pared back lens for the more subdued, bolder hues are making their mark in the modern home and imbuing interiors with more personality and pep than ever before. So go on, get happy.
Is there anything quite as satisfying as tucking into a flavourful, vibrant plate of Mexican ? Luckily, in Auckland there are certainly no shortage of tasty taquerias and casual cantinas to find your fix, from cheap and cheerful to more elevated takes, and a veritable spectrum in between. Here, we round up a (non-exhaustive) edit of some of the best in the game, perfect for indulging in when the craving strikes.
A landmark new residential offering, Pillars is set to redefine luxury living across two distinctive addresses: the urban elegance of College Hill, and the refined intimacy of Dublin Street.
Responding to the duality of our urban lifestyles, Pillars feels perfectly aligned as the development Auckland has been waiting for. A bold, design-led offering that responds to the growing desire for homes that are both architecturally striking and genuinely liveable. Conceived by award-winning developer Precinct, this exclusive collection of 20 two-three bedroom homes (with additional media rooms) unfolds across one of the city’s most picturesque ridge lines with it’s vantage point serving a visual symphony of both shimmering water, and our vibrant cityscape.
The coveted, top of the ridge site spans 2,364 square metres between College Hill, Freemans Bay and Dublin Street, St Marys Bay, affording the best of both worlds, with the vibrancy of Ponsonby on your doorstep, and the serenity of St Marys Bay in your backyard.
College Hill, Freemans Bay’s front facade
Embracing this theme of duality, the architecture and interior design, conceived by Jasmax, expresses two distinct interpretations of modern luxury, each tailored to its streetscape and united by a shared commitment to enduring design and exceptional craftsmanship. Each home is crafted with meticulous detail to enhance the rhythms of modern life while offering a sanctuary of calm, comfort, and privacy. These are homes that are still connected to the vibrancy of urban life, yet refined by a quiet elegance that feels entirely homely.
Pillars of College
At 99 College Hill, Freemans Bay, 16 light-filled apartments are set across four levels, many capturing awe-inspiring, sweeping harbour and city views that continually transform from sunrise to sunset, when the glittering lights of our vibrant skyline come to life.
Pillars of College, Freemans Bay
Elevating its presence further, the building’s sculptural façades, fluted concrete detailing, and generous balconies echo the rhythm of urban living. Refined, expansive, and effortlessly connected, these homes balance bold architectural presence with quiet, everyday luxury and ease. The curved, fluted forms of the exterior create a striking silhouette from the street, while also providing natural rhythm and privacy to the homes within. Taking everyday luxury lifestyle elements into consideration, details such as the depth of the balconies have been carefully conceived, maximising on the spectacular view while encouraging outdoor living.
Inside, Jasmax has curated homes that feel as timeless as they do contemporary. Dual-aspect floorplans allow sunlight to move fluidly through the interiors, while open layouts invite a sense of ease. Soft material palettes lend each interior a sense of calm, warmth and permanence, while modern essentials, such as secure parking with EV infrastructure, private lift access, abundant storage, and sustainability features that prioritise health, comfort, and long-term efficiency, are seamlessly integrated across both addresses.
Pillars of College’, featuring its northern façade and gardens
Four of the ground-floor apartments open onto private, landscaped gardens, ideal for those who want to rightsize, but not compromise on outdoor space.
Pillars of Dublin
For those seeking a more intimate expression of contemporary living, Pillars of Dublin in St Marys Bay offers just four boutique homes. Situated along one of Auckland’s most iconic villa-lined streets, here, the neighbourhood’s heritage cues are reimagined through a modern lens.
Pillars of Dublin, St Marys Bay
Pillar-like vertical accents reference the past; gabled rooflines and deep-set balconies hint at tradition. And yet, every material detail, from the botanical landscaping to the sumptuous interiors, speaks to a new era of understated luxury.
This address is a quiet revelation, one that feels at once connected and discreet. Designed with scale, privacy and light in mind, each home unfolds with clarity and grace. The north-facing living areas extend to lush gardens or elevated balconies, inviting a sense of openness rarely found in inner-city homes. Inside, the flexible floorplans cater to a range of lifestyles, with two-three bedrooms plus a media room, generous storage, and subtle zoning between private and shared spaces.
understated luxurious interiors
The architecture carefully respects the character of the street, but elevates it through refined detailing and contemporary composition. Ribbed concrete and GRC panelling create texture and rhythm, while internal finishes balance sculptural form with natural tactility. While the interiors lean warm and welcoming, with natural textures, soft tones, and an enduring palette setting the perfect backdrop for daily life. Sustainability, too, has a part to play, with the use of eco-certified materials and high-performance insulation ensuring year-round comfort and long-term efficiency.
The result is a series of homes that are deeply rooted in their context, yet quietly progressive in their execution. Places that speak to the elegance of the past while embracing the freedoms of modern life.
Step into a lifestyle of elevation without compromise
At its core, Pillars is designed for how people live now. Flexible enough to adapt to our evolving needs, yet timeless in its aesthetic. Whether you’re seeking the lock-and-leave freedom of apartment living, or simply looking to be closer to the vibrancy of Ponsonby, these homes offer a lifestyle of elevation without compromise. The outlooks are impressive, the detailing exquisite, and every line, surface and proportion has been designed to enhance daily life.
*All images are artist‘s impressions only. Subject to final design.
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