DESIGN & DECORATION

At this time of year annually, we celebrate great design, colour confidence and, quite simply, the joy of decorating! It’s said that good design is invisible, that when things just work the way they’re supposed to, you don’t even notice them – like a drawer that slides closed gently and never catches little fingers, or a stand mixer with a setting that can whip eggs into the perfect meringue consistency. It’s about the little details you don’t consciously address until something doesn’t work the way you expect it to. Which means that great design is often unnoticed, unsung, completely invisible. This idea led us to ask ourselves – are some of the design principles we’re living by, such as that of the kitchen triangle (where the active cooking, cleaning and prep zones are positioned just a footstep or two apart) actually outdated, or do these old rules still apply? Find out in our kitchen design story on page 150.

Of course, design is not just about appliances or layout; design is also at the heart of great decoration. A finished room tells a story, and when it’s told well, you don’t notice all the individual elements that make it up. Imagine ‘Living In Colour’ (page 39), our inspired feature on how to use Pantone’s Colour Of The Year, ‘Classic Blue’, with a random yellow cushion in the mix – it just wouldn’t work. Instead, it’s a symphony of blue: soothing, calming, modern yet timeless.

Also this month, we’re exploring five incredible homes, each with a particularly strong style point of view: see them from page 53. If I had to pick a favourite, I’d go with the coastal bohemian home of Amanda and Brad in the Byron Bay hinterland (page 84). It’s a dream idyll that also functions really well as a family home – good design in practice.

I hope you enjoy the issue!