Living with plants (and cats)

While moving from gate to gate at the Puerto Vallarta airport (they are so freaking disorganized) a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across this apartment in the latest issue of Elle Decoration Mexico. I have an obsession with plants, which is pretty hilarious considering I am only mediocre at keeping them alive, so this home really drew me in. It is the Auckland, New Zealand home of stylist Charlotte Rust and it is filled with plants! And a couple of cats! The contrast between the raw, lifeless concrete and the beautiful greenery is lovely. This is a perfect example of how you can easily warm up a space. Plants always help. So do cats. :) (Perfectly captured by photographer by Jessica MacCormick)

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Harbour View Road

I have one more New Zealand home by Bull O'Sullivan Architecture to share with you. This one has a bit less wood used than the last, and instead features alot of green carpeting which to my horror, I really enjoy. It is like being in a forest, and the carpet is the mossy, grassy ground. And I have a thing for random size windows, so that sliver of a window in the bedroom (complete with shutters it looks like) is going into my inspiration folder.  

Evans family home

I found this really cool New Zealand home with a midcentury modern vibe and lots and lots of wood and had to share. Designed by Bull O'Sullivan Architecture, it has some interesting features like the groupings of light fixtures throughout the main space (an electrician's nightmare) and the floor to ceiling window looking out onto the backyard. I'm not sure I could live with this much wood but it certainly makes the space feel warm and "earthy". 

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Yeah

Oh yeah! That's the way to finish the working week. Remarkable refurb of a 70s home by Auckland based Dorrington Atcheson Architects.

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Inside Out and colour, colour and more colour

Inside Out hits the newstands tomorrow and yes Managaing Editor Lee Tran Lam has sent us a sneak peek but what a house! Colour overload. Makes me want to do my happy dance. I'll let Lee Tran tell you a little more about this New Zealand gem.

"I've got some eye-catching pixels from the new issue of the magazine, out Thursday, and they're from a home that definitely hunts out your attention!he house belongs to designer Alex Fulton and was styled by LeeAnn Yare and photographed by Larnie Nicolson. I love how Alex's style is completely unbound and each room has a one-of-a-kind feel – such as the green wallpaper that flourishes all across the surface of her living room, and the sofa that matches its well-cultivated and growing patterns! There's also her daughter Isla's room, which Alex has given a confetti-like scatter of graphics, by applying stationery spots on the walls. And in the bathroom, she 'serves' a fruit salad above the sink and decorates a lamp with an upside-down pendant. This is a home that's shot through with original idea after original idea."

Aussie readers can pick up their copy of the February Inside Out on Thursday. Don't fret if you aren't in Australia because you can read along on  Zinio, Google Play,  the Apple Newsstand and Nook.

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