Over Easter Mark and I took our three girls up to Mahia for a few days. Mahia is a tiny beach settlement on the east coast of New Zealand renowned for it's laid back lifestyle and excellent surfing. It's the perfect place for small, busy kids, a big water-loving dog, and a surf-mad husband! We had friends staying close by, so active days were followed by long, social evenings. Games of cricket, and touch rugby caused much hilarity (our girls - five between us - still haven't quite worked out the 'forward pass' rule); neighbours dropped off freshly caught crayfish; and glasses of chilled bubbles went down a treat after sun-baked days. Being away from my computer for a few days was quite therapeutic, but design was never far from my mind. I was completely inspired by our beautiful, rustic surroundings. Skies and sea the most gorgeous shades of deep, rich blue; masses of toi toi grass ranging from milky white to dusky pink; and bleached white sand dunes graduating to a dark golden in the surf. As I snapped off photos, I kept thinking of how to incorporate the colours into a home...
