If it's true that "the kitchen is the heart of the home", there must be hearts breaking all over Australia! If you haven't been lucky enough to find the requisite time or funds to renovate your kitchen, no doubt you're probably less inspired than you could be when it comes to preparing the evening meal.

It's not just about the 'latest look' either. The truth is that kitchens have come a long way over the past decade or so. More and more, they are becoming better suited to our casual lifestyles. Rather than a small room tucked away at the back of the house, kitchens are now an integral part of our living space - our kids can sit up at the bench and chat about their day at school or do their homework while you get dinner together. Ovens are easier to get to, dishwashers have changed our lives and more thought has gone into the design of the kitchen, making everyday life easier than ever before. Not all of us are lucky enough to have the kitchen of our dreams - or even of our decade! Every month, we run a new story about kitchens and every month we receive your letters thanking us for the ideas and inspiration, so this time we decided to really help things along. Check out the mag for your chance to win a truly amazing kitchen. Designed and installed uniquely for you, this will really be one to make the heart sing - hurry up and enter!

I'm also absolutely thrilled to have Catherine Martin in this issue. Catherine's creativity has inspired me for years, through the award-winning costume and set designs she's created for films including Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, and I know I'm not alone. To see her latest adventure in homewares design come alive in her own home is really something special. I hope you love it as much as I do.

-Wendy