By Deborah Cooke, Melissa Singer, Nicole Abadee, Melissa Fyfe and Frances Mocnik
SPOTLIGHT /The niksen era
Niksen is the art of intentionally doing nothing.Credit: Getty Images
Those northern Europeans really know how to nail a lifestyle trend. The Danes gave us hygge, the feeling of cosy contentment. The Swedes introduced the world to döstädning, literally “death-cleaning” but, in essence, the mindful clearing out of possessions as end of life approaches. And now the Dutch are letting us in on niksen, essentially the art of doing SFA.
It might be the weed, but the Dutch are apparently quite good at doing very little. That’s not the same as being lazy or putting off an expanding to-do list; US self-help author Jeanne Nangle recently told Newsweek that niksen “celebrates idleness and relaxation”, while Olga Mecking, author of Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing, told the NBC: “You have to be intentional … You’re taking the time to sit and not do anything on purpose.”
One can get one’s niksen on by simply staring out a window, lying on the grass looking at clouds or collapsing on the couch and listening to music. “Sometimes, doing nothing is the most productive thing we can do,” Nangle added. And why is that good? Well, according to Melbourne psychologist Brooklyn Storme, “it allows space for your subconscious to expand, boosting creativity”.
Historically, niksen had negative connotations for the practically minded Dutch. But in an increasingly frenetic world, the concept has gained ground over the past few years. And with some 40 per cent of Australians surveyed at the end of 2022 rating their stress as a seven or more out of 10, doing absolutely nothing sounds like something we should all be embracing a little more. Deborah Cooke
The novel examines how a female artist balances home life and creativity.
READ / Sliding doors
Imagine playing second fiddle to your clever, charismatic sister all your life. Such was the fate of Linda, younger sister of Stella Miles Franklin (author of My Brilliant Career), vividly reimagined here by Amy Brown in her debut novel My Brilliant Sister (Scribner Australia; $33). Linda’s story is bookended by the (fictional) tales of two contemporary women: Ida, a writer chafing against the domestic bit, having sublimated her own ambitions to meet the demands of her partner (also a writer) and their small child, and Stella, a singer whose personal life has gone haywire as her career has taken off. A deft, layered examination of sisterhood and the time-honoured question: how does a woman artist balance domestic duties with creativity? Nicole Abadee
WEAR / Short change
Country Road tackles the “interesting trench” trend.
Last month in Paris, Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri made a strong argument for an “interesting trench” to be high on the season’s list of must-have investments. Opening the show with a twist on this classic item, which featured short sleeves and a splaying collar, demonstrated that there are limitless ways to tweak a fashion favourite. Cue Australian heritage brand Country Road, which is celebrating 50 years in business, with its own spin: a cropped jacket with epaulettes and buckles that evokes an airman’s jacket ($349). Just add aviators. Melissa Singer
SOOTHE / Suck it and see
The chemical-free approach to relieving the itch of mosquito bites.
If you’re a mosquito magnet who regularly has to seek relief from the discomfort of bites, the Bug Bite Thing ($14) is a manual suction device designed to alleviate itch and swelling by, literally, sucking out the offending bug saliva from your skin. Simply place the tool over the bite, pull up the handles, syringe-like, until you feel the suction, hold for up to 20 seconds and release; no chemicals, no waste, just relief. Frances Mocnik
SHOP / Green peace
Gardeners look out: this AI-powdered motor is cutting your grass.
Smell the roses, not the sweat. The Worx Landroid VISION robot mower, an AI-powered, cloud-connected system (from $2999), eliminates the guesswork and stress from sculpting the perfect lawn. With an onboard HD camera and lightning-fast image-processing (0.05 seconds), it’s able to recognise grass and mow without the need for a perimeter wire or antenna. The system continuously measures factors such as temperature, soil composition and sunlight, learning to optimise lawn-care. The “unbox and mow” mission statement promises a lush, hassle-free lawn. Frances Mocnik
STAY / Magic moments
Some rooms in the Yarra Valley’s boutique hotel Re’em overlook vines and an ornamental lake.
Helen Xu and Joey Zeng are really into unicorns. The owners of Helen & Joey Estate winery, in Victoria’s splendid Yarra Valley, are so fond of them that the single-horned creatures not only grace the wine labels at their new, $22 million boutique hotel, restaurant, cellar door and visitor centre, but also inspired its name (re’em is the Hebrew word for an animal mentioned in the Bible, translated as “unicorn” in the King James Version). The 16-room hotel is perfect for a romantic getaway or wedding, but the restaurant menu – inspired by the couple’s birthplaces in Chengdu and Zhejiang – is really something else: refined, balanced and beautifully curated by chef Abe Yang (TarraWarra Estate). Find a booth next to the floor-to-ceiling windows for maximum romance before heading to your room and into the enormous, white, circular bath. On the upper level, there are views overlooking the vines and ornamental lake. You might even spot a unicorn (from $430 a night). Melissa Fyfe
To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.