Merry & bright
Your Home and Garden|December 2019
Christmas is a colourful affair in this 1920s Auckland bungalow where little family traditions make the season extra special
Tina Stephen
Merry & bright

A snowy white Christmas is something most Kiwis find difficult to envisage; after all, we’re busy enjoying backyard barbecues, camping trips and walks on the beach come December 25. So when New Zealander Mary-Ellen Hinton stayed in Germany as an exchange student, she was enchanted to experience a storybook snow-clad Christmas come to life, and it made a lasting impression.

“Germans have the most amazing Christmas traditions – the trees, the decor, the markets,” says Mary-Ellen. “One of my good friends always had a 10-foot tree with decorations that were family heirlooms, passed down through the generations.”

Mary-Ellen now aims to give her children a similar experience by choosing a tree and purchasing hand-picked decorations to build a sense of tradition they’ll cherish. She draws inspiration from many sources, including her extensive travels, as well as her interiors business, Hello Saturday.

“We are lucky enough to have a Christmas tree farm just down the road,” she says. “So every year we go on a family outing to choose the tree and take photos of the kids amongst the Christmas trees.”

The traditional theme of a real tree and white decorations fits in well at the family’s 1920s home where a monochromatic palette is the backdrop to bright bursts of colour, ensuring that Christmas is a fun and cheerful mix-don’t-match affair.

THE RENOVATION

The Hintons’ traditional bungalow in central Auckland reflects Mary-Ellen’s love of colour and art, but it was a different story when she and husband Matthew purchased it in 2013. Back then, it was a tired old home with very dated decor.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2019 من Your Home and Garden.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2019 من Your Home and Garden.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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