Second homes as sites for the consumption of luxury

Abstract

This paper provides a critical longitudinal analysis of media representations of luxury in second homes in New Zealand and is designed to assess the validity of traditional definitions of second homes as anti-consumerist and the identification of ‘luxury’ second homes as a recent phenomenon. Using a thematic analysis of Home New Zealand magazine since its inception in 1936, this paper finds that second homes in New Zealand have always been sites for the consumption of luxury, as evidenced through representations of luxury in architectural design features, interior decoration and outdoor elements in the magazine. Generalised portrayals of second homes as anti-consumerist are therefore shown to be flawed. Furthermore, the paper finds that the architect-designed second home with its markers of luxury has existed since at least the mid-1930s in New Zealand and is therefore not a new phenomenon. The findings of this paper suggest that home and lifestyle magazines may be a valuable resource for second home research as they both influence and reflect societal values.

Keywords

Consumption luxury media New Zealand second homes thematic analysis

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