We like: Hometown Boomtown

Preservation arguments are raging in Christchurch right now, which makes this very interesting clip from the documentary Hometown Boomtown from NZ On Screen all the more pertinent. It examines the major changes to Wellington's cityscape (many of them made in the name of earthquake strengthening) in the 1970s and 1980s, includes interviews with many of the major players of the time (including Bob Jones and then-mayor Sir Michael Fowler), and has heaps of amazing demolition footage. Worth a look!

A word on Heirloom Guilt

My grandmother's pot inspired
my home's orange touches

"For you, [Bea] you are on a different level, 'Zero waste' means you have to eliminate even mementos and pictures. To each their own, but it's not a road I am willing to go down." - Sam.

Come on now, let's not exaggerate, I have reduced mementos, but have not eliminated them, and especially not pictures! I cherish them so much that I have even scanned most of them to keep them safe from deterioration and loss.

What I did eliminate from my life though, is heirloom guilt, that is the guilt associated with letting go of heirlooms by fear of:

• Forgetting our ancestors,
• Disappointing our ancestors,
• Not conforming to the tradition of passing down,
• Erasing a family story,
• Lowering one's financial worth ("I can't sell it for what it is worth").

I believe that we do not need things to remember our lost ones. But everyone is free to do what feels right. I feel right having chosen not to hold onto anything that belonged to my grandpa, even though I loved him dearly. I get reminded of him everyday when I get lost into the blue of Max's eyes, when I see Leo's "derriere" that sticks out (a family trait), and when I wear my boots with metal heel plates (he wore them too and I can hear my grandpa walking in my shoes).

As with everything else, I applied the 5R's to guide the way I deal with heirlooms:

Refuse: Say no while you can. Being proactive is a big part of our lifestyle. Thinking of outcomes and addressing them before the time comes (in this case a family death) is key: My living parents already know that I am not interested in inheriting their stuff. I have just what I need and I like what I have. End of story. A hundred years ago, it might have made sense to pass down a good set of china to support a struggling young couple. But with today's consumerism, that same set of China no longer supports, it clutters.

Reduce: Stick to one box per family member. Letting go of the pieces you can part with, helps keep the amount under manageable control. Sell the coin collection and take a trip with the proceeds. Wouldn't your mother agree? In the hospice, dying people do not mention regretting leaving their coin collection behind, they regret not going after their dreams (Bonnie Ware, who worked for years nursing the dying, wrote about a great article on "5 Regrets of the Dying"). Maybe their unfulfilled dream can fund or kick start yours!

Reuse: Use Your Heirlooms. I do not need to store my grandmother's pot, I can actually use it (it even inspired my home's orange touches!). I think my grandmother would be happy to know that I have not let the pot clutter my life (stored for safekeeping somewhere, using up expensive real estate), she would be thrilled to know that I am actually using it. After-all, it is not the stuff that she left behind, but the memories and the stories that we share, that matter.

"The last thing I want is for someone else to have to throw away my junk! I'd rather leave only memories and skills behind" - Anonymous.

Recycle: Turn worn-out items into something else; make bulk bags out of an old sheet for example or plant flowers in your grandfather's boots. All my kitchen towels are made from an old linen sheet from my grandmother. I am using her thrifty ways (a skill that I did happily inherit from her) to use every inch of it.

Rot: If I run into another lock of hair, it's definitely going into the compost!

I can affirm that for me, the biggest advantage of living a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity has been a great improvement in quality of life, but also freeing myself from heirloom guilt. I believe that when parents pass something down, they do not mean to burden us or instill guilt, they just want to make a gesture that they think is mandatory. But once it’s yours, it’s your choice to do whatever you want with it. It's a free country, right?!

Do you feel burdened by heirloom guilt?

We like: Diana Vreeland, The Eye Has to Travel

Sometimes those late-night internet shopping binges don't carry any post-purchase regret: this morning our copy of Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel arrived in the post, and we've all been swooning ever since. Vreeland was fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar in its mid-century heyday (with editor Carmel Snow and art director Alexey Brodovitch, with an incredible roster of contributors including Richard Avedon and a host of other top-notch photographers) before moving to become editor in chief at Vogue. The layouts she worked on are still beautiful and inspirational. (The image on the cover was photographed at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West). The book is a perfect Christmas gift.  

Outtakes: Melling Morse's Garden Shed

Wellington's Melling Morse Architects do an accomplished line in compact, relatively cheap, incredibly charming dwellings, and the Garden Shed, a finalist in our 2011 Home of the Year award, is no exception. It was given its name because its site is a garden sub-divided from a larger property, and because the home's owner wanted to feel as if she lived in the garden (rather than in a house that had monstered it).

This desire to keep as much of the property for gardening as possible partly explains the decision to position the house right up against the footpath of its street. (These photographs are by Paul McCredie).

While it presents a relatively closed face to the street, the 65-square-metre home's northerly elevation opens to the garden, with tall windows drawing sunlight into the double-height kitchen, dining and living space. The generous scale of the home's terrace adds an interesting note of grandeur to an otherwise highly efficient composition.

The home's main bedroom is downstairs and opens onto the terrace that overlooks the garden. Upstairs (shown in the image below) is a space containing a mezzanine study area and room for a spare bed if needed (the owner currently uses this area for doing yoga).  

We like: Patti Smith's photographs

There probably isn't anything this woman can't do. In the New York Times' style magazine, T, A.O. Scott interviews Patti Smith, who has an exhibition opening of her photographs, all of them beautifully composed and acutely observed. The link to the article is here, and the photograph of Smith below is by Anton Corbijn from the New York Times.

Quince: the perfect Zero Waste Fruit

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Open Garden Project, a weekly garden exchange. I love the concept. I brought a couple of jars of homemade pickles (one of the jars was that of the vinegar mother) and came home with quince fruit.

Ah Quince, the mystical fruit.

Cored whole quince

The woman who brought them to trade, had a full tree at home but did not know what to do with them. I was happy to take them off her hands and work on the delicacies my mom used to make for us. It's amazing how much you get out of the (whole) fruit and cannot bear keeping the following recipes from you;)

QUINCE JELLY

• Wash and quarter the entire quince (I used 4 this time) Do not peel or core
• Cover with water generously (the width of a couple fingers as my mom would say)
• Cook until tender
• Stain over a bowl and let stand for 12 hours
• Weigh the strained juice and mix with equal amounts of sugar (putting aside the cooked quince for the recipe below)
• Add the juice of a lemon (optional)
• Cook until it gels
• Pour into sterilized jars (my four quince yielded the 2 jars pictured).

Strained cooked quince

Quince jelly

QUINCE PASTE

• Remove and compost the seeds from the above cooked quince
• Weigh the cooked quince and mix with equal amounts of sugar
• Blend using a hand blender
• Cook until thick (scraping the bottom of your pan will leave a line in the paste)
• Spread into plates (I used our picnic plates because they are deeper than my everyday ones)
• Let dry for about a week, flipping them a couple of times
• Cut and enjoy with Pecorino style cheese or roll in sugarfor a sweet treat
• Store in air-tight containers.

Quince paste drying

Quince Paste rolled in sugar

Both make great presents.

What seasonal delicacy are you working on?

Auto Pilot

Some might think that we are obsessed with Zero Waste. Although it is an eminent part of our lifestyle, I do not consider it an obsession... anymore. It might have started as such, but as I mentioned before, Zero Waste for us is now more than just garbage reduction. With the logistics on Auto-Pilot, we can fully enjoy its financial, health, and time savings benefits. I realize that our success with the lifestyle relies mainly on organizational skills applied to shopping, so I thought I would share my Friday routine with you.

GROCERY AND ERRANDS LISTS

We have grocery and errands lists pinned to our wall in the laundry room (adjacent to our pantry). Both lists are made of strips of reused, single-side printed, school paper, clipped and tied to a refillable pencil. We use the sheets from bottom up, so we can tear just the portion used.

When one of us empties a jar or notices butter running low, we make note of it on the GROCERY LIST. The whole family adds to it. Leo once wrote, "10,000 bananas", out of frustration with our local produce ;). I also jot down items needed for special occasions (e.g., extra cheese for a potluck). The GROCERY LIST includes items available in the grocery store that I visit on a weekly basis, which I selected based on its bulk selection, convenience / location, and on-premise bakery. By now, I have built a relationship with its employees and look forward to seeing them every Friday (the day that also coincides with the local farmers' market).

When we feel the urge to get something from another store, we write it on the ERRANDS LIST. Usually, by the time Friday arrives, I have eliminated and/or found a reason not to purchase many items on the list. A great money saver. I also use the ERRANDS LIST to jot down such items as donation drop-offs or specialty bulk items from a different store/town (such as pasta, shampoo, conditioner, Castile soap, dog food, cooking oil, and dishwasher detergent).

Grocery and errands lists seem like obvious must-haves, but through my consulting business with other families, I was surprised to see that more than 3/4 of households, do not have an on-going list, resulting in frequent (sometimes daily) grocery runs and impulse buys.

TOTES

I have three large totes (no need for more): Two GROCERY TOTES, and one FARMERS MARKET TOTE .

I keep the FARMERS MARKET TOTE (containing produce mesh bags) and one of the GROCERY TOTES (containing bulk bags, crayon, bread pillowcase, bottle carrier and baguette bar code) in the trunk of my car.

In the house and next to the lists, I keep the other grocery tote (KITCHEN GROCERY TOTE) handy to fill during the week with: Washed bulk bags, empty jars, empty containers to be returned for a deposit refund (milk and yogurt), empty egg cartons, and empty produce bags, along with ERRANDS ITEMS, such as finished library books/movies, and items to be taken to a repair shop or friend's house for example.

ROUTE

On Friday, I take the tote down to the car with both lists, making sure that I have a minimum of five jars to fill. I number my ERRANDS LIST by stops, starting with the furthest errand and maximizing right turns (better for gas mileage;)

I put the GROCERY LIST in one of the GROCERY TOTES, and pull ERRANDS ITEMS out of the KITCHEN GROCERY TOTE to lay them on the passenger seat, for easy access and quick drop-offs. I also transfer the egg cartons and produce bags in the FARMERS MARKET TOTE.

Then I work my route, crossing out the errands on my ERRANDS LIST as I go. My last three stops are the farmers' market, the grocery store and the library.

At the farmers' market, I take the FARMERS MARKET TOTE, go straight to my favorite veggie stand (veggies at the bottom), then my favorite fruit stand (usually softer than veggies...), and finally the egg stand to get my cartons refilled (the most items fragile on top...).

Then at Whole Foods:

• I load a cart with both GROCERY TOTES, and make a first stop at the customer service to return deposit jars for a refund (I wrap the refund slip around my credit card, so I don't forget to use it during checkout) and occasionally get a tare on a jar or bottle (we use the bulk crayon to write it on).
• I then head to the bakery to order “Ten baguettes, no packaging”.
• I proceed to the salad bar (mostly for grated cheeses at a low price), the olive bar (for the appetizer items like capers, cornichons and olives), and the deli, meat, and fish counters.
• I’ll grab some milk while my jar gets filled at the cheese counter.
• I get my fill in the bulk aisle, writing the item number on the cloth bag with the bulk crayon before filling it (easier) and sometimes fill a jar/bottle at the nearby liquid counter (e.g., honey or olive oil).
• I sometimes also stop in the produce section for a specific item that I would have not found at the Farmers' Market (e.g., loose spinach) or the wine section for white, or the bakery bins for some croissants.
• My loop ends back at the bakery counter, where fresh out-of-the oven baguettes get placed in my pillowcase, giving me much needed warmth (I get cold in grocery stores) and filling my senses with childhood memories, as I make my way to the checkout stand.
• I unload jars first (because heavy items will need to go into the totes first), then bulk and bread. I pullout the baguette bar code (cut from an old wrapper and glued onto a piece of cardboard) and remember my deposit refund slip wrapped around my credit card, as my totes get filled. I say “no” to the store receipt and head home with a quick stop at the library.

Once home, I unload the car, refrigerate cold items, fill storage jars with bulk, (make a sandwich), cut in half and freeze the baguettes, store veggies in the produce keeper of the refrigerator, replenish the fruit bowl, put dirty bulk bags on the washing machine, recycle my lists and put the totes back in place: Two in the car, one in the home. Ready for use the following week…

How do you automate your Zero Waste Shopping?

From our archives: A royal visit, 1953

In 1953, the visit of the Queen and Prince Philip was considered significant enough to make the cover of our predecessor, Home and Building.

Events: The Department Store

Thanks to Altherm Window Systems, Waipara Hills wines and The Department Store for their support for a client function we held at The Department Store in Takapuna last night.

Our guests got to use their Department Store vouchers from their gift bags (which also contained The Department Store newspaper and a copy of the new issue of HOME) to shop a little before our conversation about design with architects Patrick Clifford of Architectus, Michael O'Sullivan of Bull O'Sullivan Architects and Richard Naish of RTA Studio.

We even had a celebrity guest (thanks for coming, Tim Finn!).

We like: Al Brown's Depot

We would like to join the chorus of approval for Al Brown's Depot in Auckland's Federal Street. The pleasingly rustic interior, designed by Charlie Nott, feels as if it has always been there; the food is easy-going and excellent, and the service impeccable. These photographs are by Florence Noble, and are also featured (along with a terrific write-up by Simon Farrell-Green) in our latest issue. We wish the eatery was a bit closer to work, as we'd go there even more often.

Below, Al Brown at Depot before the lunchtime rush (the place is open from 7am but doesn't take bookings, so it's best to arrive earlyish to ensure you get a table in good time, although the staff are very good at managing waiting times).

A vintage aesthetic permeates the place, making it feel like a long-lasting and well-loved establishment, even though it's pretty new. Just out of shot in this pic is where they shuck the excellent oysters.

Diners down the back get a good view from their benches of the small kitchen.



Happy Spooning

Little things make me happy.

On a Tuesday evening a month ago, Scott and I were kid-less. We contemplated going to the local theatre for Comedy Night, but opted for a downtown stroll and a stop for dessert instead. With Zizou, our Chihuahua, ecstatic at the sound of his leash, we knew we had made a good choice - little did I know that Dana Carvey would make the theatre roar that same evening! The night was chilly, and with much haste, we made our way to the town's organic gelato place, tied the dog to the tree outside and headed straight for the colorful lit display of the handmade delicacy. After a couple of minutes perusing our options (decisions, decisions!), it was time to deliver our words of choice. Since my heart was torn between Fior di Latte and Honey Lavender, I let Scott decide. He too hesitated, and asked for a taster.

As I finally took my eyes off the display, I looked up and there they were! That's when I noticed the reusable stainless tasting spoons that the store had recently adopted  . "Yes! They did it!", I yelled. The sight of these little tasters made my day. Yep, that's right, as meaningless as it seems, this small change makes me happy.

Last year, as part of an Earth day event, my kids and I picked up trash around town. Not that picking up garbage was a first (we had participated in such events as Coastal Cleanup before), but this time was different. It was not about picking up the floating plastic bag that might have come from some faraway place, it was about picking up the waste that my own community would dare discard on their own city streets. The items we found also said a lot about the business practices taking place downtown Mill Valley. And from the amount of "biodegradable" plastic spoons and single serve cups that we found, I concluded that our gelateria, was the main source of street waste on its block. I found out "Looks ( Flavors) are not everything". An organic business ought to know that Tater Ware spoons do not simply "biodegrade" (as mentioned on the spoons) or disappear from the street.

I believe that it is not only up to residents, but also businesses to show care for the environment and lead by example. And as you already know, I strongly believe that one must "Refuse the things that we do not need or do not want to support in order to be sustainable". Along with a few words of explanation, I brought the found spoons back to the gelateria and discussed solutions with the owner. I boycotted for a year the practices that I did not condone, but let my kids enjoy a cone when Grandma offered.

The fact that the business is organic and uses local ingredients, shows interest in being sustainable. I am really happy that they took their sustainability further by offering reusable stainless taster spoons, and will support their business going forward. I thank you, Noci, for the new spoons, and applaud your efforts. At least until the cups that I still find on the ground, get me back on the boycott ;-)

Events: Kevin McCloud, a reminder

A reminder, for those of you who don't have your tickets yet (and many of you do, we know), that HOME New Zealand is delighted to be part of the team bringing Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud to New Zealand to do a lecture at The Civic in Auckland on Wednesday October 26, 2011. Tickets are on sale via The Edge at the link here.



We like: David Hockney's iPad show

One of the best things about our recent visit to Copenhagen was seeing David Hockney's show of his drawings on the iPad and iPhone at the Lousiana Museum of Modern Art (which is about 30 minutes by train north of the Danish capital). In a darkened room, a wall was lined with iPads showing slideshows of Hockney's sketches - all of them small observational moments with an incredibly charming naive quality to them.

Hockney began using the 'Brushes' application on his iPhone in 2008 and drawing by making strokes with his fingers. More recently, he has been using a stylus on his iPad. He says one of the things he likes about these drawings is the questions they raise about authenticity and reproduction: he emails drawings to his friends which are, as he says, not copies of the original works, but identical to them in every way.

His commentary accompanying the exhibition also makes the point that, in this context at least, the iPad is a magical medium, lending a luminous quality to these beautiful drawings that pen and ink could never emulate. There is also a pleasing showbizzy sort of touch to the exhibition, with the animated playbacks of some of the drawings being created projected onto one of the gallery walls.

You can read more about the exhibition at the Louisana Museum of Modern Art site here. The drawings below are on display on the site.   



Outtakes: The Kare Kare house, our Home of the Year 2011 by Michael O'Sullivan

From the black sand of Kare Kare beach, the HOME New Zealand magazine Home of the Year 2011 is almost invisible. The house was designed by Michael O'Sullivan of Bull O'Sullivan Architects for Bob and Barbara Harvey. It's a pleasure for us to be able to show you some outtakes from Patrick Reynolds' beautiful shoot of the house here. In the shot below, you can just see the house nestled among the trees in the lower right-hand corner of the frame.

Inside, the house faces south towards the beach, but draws light in from a sheltered north-facing courtyard and from glass panels on the roof. The weatherboard ceiling appears to fragment and fall away as it nears the home's southern wall, giving way to the glass panels overhead. 

The ceiling tilts towards a band of windows that frame the view towards the beach into a horiztonal slot. Holes for lightbulb recesses are punched into the ceiling.

Outside in the courtyard, the ceiling plane appears to erode again to admit as much sunlight as possible into the space.

The main bedroom (the 129-square-metre house has two bedrooms in total) features orange carpet and windows wrapping the ceiling and wall at the northern end of the room. The door at left leads to the courtyard.

This view from outside the house is about all that can be seen of it from the road. It shows the main bedroom volume (clad in black bituminous roofing membrane) cantilevered over the carport.  



We'll post more outtakes of the finalists in the 2011 Home of the Year here on the blog in the coming days. Thanks again to our Home of the Year partner Altherm Window Systems for their ongoing support of New Zealand's richest architectural prize.

Real Estate: A piece of New Zealand history, for sale

It's not often you see a piece of New Zealand history in the real estate pages, but now potter Peter Stichbury and his wife Diane are moving out of their South Auckland house and studio and putting the property up for sale. (The auction's on Sunday October 30 - more info at the link here).



Peter stopped potting about five years ago, but you can read more about his works at Te Papa's website here.

Zaha Hadid's second Stirling Prize

British architect Zaha Hadid has won the 2011 Stirling Prize for her design of a London school building, the Evelyn Grace Academy. She also won the award last year for the MAXXI Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome. The award, now in its 16th year, is intended to recognise the best European building designed or built in Britain.  

You can read Vanessa Thorpe's story on the prize announcement in The Guardian at the link here. The newspaper also features a video presentation of the Stirling Prize finalists here.

Renzo Piano at Ronchamp

There's an interesting piece by Jonathan Glancey in The Guardian about a new convent designed by Renzo Piano at Ronchamp, which of course is also the site of Le Corbusier's revered Notre Dame du Haut chapel.

Much consternation surrounded the announcement that Piano was to create a building here, but the purists need not be worried about architectural sacrilege, as Glancey praises Piano's "quietly masterful" work in producing a convent that "wraps itself around contours of the hill, burrowing into the landscape like the strands of a rosary pressed gently into the earth". You can read his story and see more images of the convent at the link here. We'd like to go and visit right away...