From the editor - June 09

Colour experts say blue is the most optimistic colour in the spectrum. Is that because it is the colour of a sunny sky? I spent Easter with my mother in Central Otago and every day she pointed out just how beautiful was the blue of the sky. I learned to look for that pale, uplifting white-blue and for beauty in the simplest things.

For this issue, we have created a happy blue and white cover to take us into the darkest days of the year. We found a lovely sunny family room in which to shoot it and now we all want just such a room in our own homes. Blue hasn’t been a big colour in interiors in recent years but watch out for its comeback. In our May issue we devoted a whole Shopping page to the blues so expect to see more of it in coming months.

Quite different from the blue and white cover theme are the interiors in the home of NZ Gardener editor, the irrepressible Lynda Hallinan. Lynda’s presence does a great deal to enliven the corridors of Fairfax Magazines, especially when she went on an extended trip, leaving a bag of seed potatoes under her desk to hatch fruit flies and torment all her colleagues. And the colour of Lynda’s interior would be… pretty much wall-to-wall green and white. Very stylish is our Lynda, and her house is gorgeous. The planets must be in line this month. We’d no sooner finished exclaiming over Lynda’s green and white interior when style editor Tracey Strange announced that she’d selected a whole page of gorgeous green items for our Shopping pages this month. Green, the colour of peace and harmony, works well for me in these times.

PS There’s a bonus for you in this issue – a magazine within a magazine, thanks to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). We have worked with them on a mini-magazine showing the many ways in which we can make our homes energy efficient. If your power bill looks like mine, then you’ll probably find this supplement as useful and enjoyable as I have. There are some smart ideas for conservation, cost savings, and how to have a warm, healthy and stylish home. Look for it on page 99 of the magazine, or click here for a preview online.