HOME: WHERE THE HEART IS

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Built to last. Timeless design and quality that lasts a lifetime.

All Meluka products arrive fully assembled. Zero hassle set-up. Enjoy your new furniture instantly. Fully customisable. Endless finishes and configurations to suit your style.

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FROM TOP: Orbital extendable dining table in emperador marble ceramic by Calligaris $17,879

Silhouette extendable table from $8,079

Scandia dining chair $1,289

Holly dining chair $1,449

HOME WHERE THE HEART IS REFINED LIVING, FOR HANDCRAFTED WARMTH AND ELEGANCE

It’s winter and the team at Refined Living are poised to help you warm up your living space with one of their lush brown leather sofas or hand crafted armchairs.

It’s a great time to check out New Zealand's home of Halo furniture and add some uniquely handcrafted pieces to your home.

Halo furniture uses traditional techniques and tools which add to the overall quality and durability. Halo’s reputation for designing and manufacturing distinctive, innovative furniture influenced by iconic designs of the past and present, is a testimony to the timeless elegance.

Visit the Refined Living team at their showroom, 59 - 61 The Strand, Parnell. T: 09 930 6268 or www.refinedliving.nz

Kensington Armchair in Vintage Cigar Angel Chair - Destroyed Raw & Weathered oak Angel Chair - Riders Gunmetal & Weathered Oak

Viscount William 3 seater in Old Glove Espresso

REFINED LIVING

VISIT OUR NEW SHOWROOM AT THE STRAND, PARNELL!

BLAIR HADDOW: TOP-END PROPERTY SALES REMAIN RESILIENT TO VAGARIES OF THE WIDER MARKET

The top end of Auckland’s residential real estate scene – encompassing homes selling in the $5 million-$10 million range – remains largely immune to trends being seen across the rest of the market, according to a leading real estate agent.

Blair Haddow from Bayleys Ponsonby said that while much of the city’s residential property market was now softening, the extremely tight supply of homes in the upper value echelon across suburbs such as Herne Bay, St Mary’s Bay, and Westmere, meant the balance in setting pricing levels was still firmly tilted towards vendors.

Blair Haddow said the resilience of the top-end city-fringe residential property market could be showcased by two of his high-end auction sales achieved this year - 3A Hope Street in Westmere which sold under the hammer for $5.85 million, and 48B Sunny Brae Crescent in Westmere which sold under the hammer for $6.2 million. Both had multiple bidders vying for ownership in the auction room.

“I could sell another half-a-dozen $5 million-plus homes in a week… if they were out there for sale,” he said. “But people in that pricing bracket tend to hold onto their homes tightly simply because they don’t come onto the market that often for them to move, which is why, when they do, my buyer database is quick to act.

“I even have quite a few buyers in the $15 million-plus price bracket waiting patiently for the right property to come onto the market.”

Blair Haddow’s analysis is supported by property sales data firm Valocity which broke down the number and value of high-end transactions in New Zealand over recent years.

Between 2015 and 2019, the average number of residential properties selling annually for $5 million-$10 million was 100, while the annual average number of $10 million-plus sales was 11.

By 2020, the number of $5 million-plus sales hit 211, 16 of which were in the $10 million-plus bracket.

The top end did even better in 2021 with the number of $5 million-plus sales jumping 51 percent to 334, and the number of $10 million-plus sales reaching 32. This represented 0.3 percent of the greater residential real estate market in 2021. Bay and Westmere were justifiably seen as a safe and solid investment locations for high-end home buyers, with entry level alone to some streets in those locations now sitting at around the $5 million mark.

Mirroring Blair Haddow’s sales experiences in the Herne Bay, St Mary’s Bay and Westmere locales, OneRoof.co.nz noted that more top-end homes were going to auction than in previous years.

Adding more clarity to the trend, Blair Haddow added: “The buyers I work with in this niche portion of the market are very experienced property owners. They know exactly what they want. They are well funded and they usually have a background in business operations so they know about financial aspects. And they are prepared – at least to some degree – to wait until the right opportunity comes along.”

James Wilson, head of valuations for Valocity, acknowledges that several years of inflation in Auckland’s property market had an influence on the number of properties selling in the $5 million-$10 million price range.

"They are not your clifftop mansions that once upon a time would have been a $5 million property,” he said.

However, James Wilson did point out that historical sales values were a good indicator of where suburbs such as Herne Bay, St Mary’s Bay and Westmere – all within in Blair Haddow’s field of sales expertise – would sit in the broader value ‘pecking order.’

"Where the high value housing stock typically sits is relatively consistent over time, and that's one of the reasons why high net worth buyers like that stock. It's almost like an asset they can trade and transact relatively liquidly because it's always going to be maintained by being in those locations," Wilson said.

Blair Haddow agrees. “You’re buying into a premium location, with premium homes, and wealthy homeowner neighbours who understand the value of maintaining – or even adding to – the value of their real estate asset,” said Blair Haddow.

A contemporary mix of geometric patterns and natural colours blends Harlequin Momentum curtains with Roman blinds, furniture fabrics, cushions, and flooring in this modern yet traditional living room.

THE LIVING ROOM – YOUR HAPPY PLACE

Want to revive your living room window furnishings but have no idea where to start? Lahood® have inspirational ideas that will put your curtains and blinds front and centre.

Since your living room is often where you and your loved ones connect, it's likely you're prioritising comfort and family. Your window furnishings can serve a practical purpose whilst being the cornerstone to your décor decisions.

First think about what your priorities for window furnishings are. Do you want to create a focal point, retain privacy, reduce sunlight damaging your furniture and flooring or provide easy outdoor access? Your window furnishings should fulfil your requirements of both form and function.

Impress at the heart of your home with luxurious curtains that are generously draped.

Your living room might include bi-fold or sliding doors or more traditional French windows, a shapely bay, or casement windows. Blinds, shutters, and curtains all provide treatments that can inject colour, patterns, and textures. This is where you can be bold and use your window furnishings to focus on a colour or theme that you can accentuate with other furniture or accessories. Lahood’s showroom team recently worked with a Herne Bay client who had just purchased an architecturally designed home. The living room renovation included contemporary aesthetic window furnishings using a combination of Luxaflex® shutters and Duette® blinds and softened the look with full length lightweight sheer linen curtains on a ceiling mounted track.

But it’s not just about aesthetics. Light control to reduce glare on screens and protect upholstery from fading may be vitally important, depending on the room’s orientation. Street-facing rooms need a treatment that brings privacy without making them gloomy, and here specially designed blinds, shutters and curtains can come to your aid.

In living rooms where the family spends a lot of time, indulge in automation. Having the convenience of remote control to close blinds and curtains can help retain heat and keep your home cosy and snug.

A soft light and look are achieved with Luxaflex® Duette Architella blinds in this beautiful bay window. Natural colours in the furnishings and accessories extend the feeling of comfort and warmth. Duette blinds offer excellent insulation properties and are perfect for remote controlled automation.