For Clare Mora, founder of The Art Precinct, curating a collection that tells the owners story doesn't start with the question "what art do you like?" It's something closer to: what do you want a room to say about you, before a single word is spoken?

Tucked along State Highway One in Kaiwaka, The Apple Basket has been drawing makers through its doors for decades – and once inside, it’s easy to understand why.

Just steps from the heart of Matakana Village, 28 Torea Road achieves the seclusion and calm of a boutique retreat while sitting so close to the pulse of village life.

From holding a pen the wrong way to contributing to an Ed Sheeran music video – Evan Heasman has built a career where storytelling, nature, and creativity come together.

Set on 14 kilometres of pristine white sand, Pakiri Beach Holiday Park is one of the north's most beloved coastal escapes – and feels a world away from the everyday.

Before it screened at Sundance Film Festival and earned international acclaim, Big Girls Don't Cry began in Matakana – and now it's coming home. We caught up with Director Paloma Schneideman.

Behind every hand-stitched piece from Two Mama's Threaded is the same simple intention that started it all – to make something worth keeping.

A hillside at dawn, two artists, two mediums – and a conversation that begins with the same landscape and ends somewhere entirely different.

For Lang's Beach based artist Christine den Hartogh, the mediums may vary but the purpose behind her works is always clear.

For Matakana-based artist Andrea Moore, beauty doesn't end when the blooming does – it simply moves into its next phase.

Just five minutes from Mangawhai township, Little Tin Shed sits on a small working farm yet feels like a world away.

Boutique design and marketing studio QuickFuse Creative reflects on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in creative work.

A contemporary renovation of an iconic Omaha beachfront home shows what becomes possible when architecture, interiors, and landscape work in genuine conversation with one another.

SHAPED BY THE SHORE

Tucked at the northern end of Omaha Beach, Sandtrap is a sculptural home that draws its identity from the very landscape it inhabits – sand, sea, and the ever-shifting light of the coast.

A RETURN HOME - Aatos Design

After more than a decade in Sydney, design-led studio Aatos Design returns to New Zealand – bringing a refined, integrated approach to residential interiors.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Mark O'Shea has spent years working on homes across Rodney and Northland – and built a business around quality workmanship and honest service.

OPEN LIVING, DONE RIGHT

Across North Auckland, Rodney, Kaipara and Northland, Northern Balustrades & Glass are crafting seamless indoor-outdoor living.

DESIGNING UNIQUE HOMES

With a new base on the Mahurangi Peninsula, design-led architecture studio DRAWN is bringing considered coastal design and invaluable planning expertise closer to home.

PORTRAITS OF PLACE

Simon Devitt has been photographing New Zealand architecture for more than 25 years – and his latest book suggests the journey is far from over.

EXPLORING THE SURREAL

Mangawhai-based artist Sam Leitch brings a surreal and deeply considered practice to the Northland coast, where the landscape has become both anchor and muse.