Introducing Nook's New Team Member - Hannah Bates!
Meet our new team member Hannah! We welcomed her to the business a couple of weeks ago and we’d like you to know the woman behind the face a bit more. We sat her down for a quick chat:
Where are you from?
The first thing you’ll notice about me is probably my accent. Originally, I’m from Texas. I grew up in Fiji and India for the most part though. My parents were aid workers so we moved around a lot. I’m almost a citizen of New Zealand now though - yay! Been here for seven years.
What got you interested in interior design?
A sense of home has become increasingly important to me because I’ve lived in so many that I had stopped putting effort into what my space felt like, because I knew we’d be leaving again. Over time, every space has become important to me because of how they can make you feel. I’ve learned there’s so many things you can do to provoke a certain sense of a place and even perpetuate a certain lifestyle by how you invest in your surroundings. I’ve been fascinated with people’s homes for a long time because each country I lived in had different trends, cultures and placed value on different parts of their houses. I think how people present their homes gives away secrets about them. It’s a special thing to be invited into them and an authentic extension of ones self to invite others into your own space. I believe creating beautiful spaces is a hospitable work and I love that I get to do that for a job!
What is your favourite room in a house?
My kitchen. I love to cook and have friends over. There’s something so romantic about opening a nice wine and chatting away with friends while I prepare something fresh and delicious. Again, the art of presentation gets involved here. I love all the colours in my kitchen from canisters, to spices, to plates, to garnishes. I almost dance while I cook because my kitchen is my favourite place to be and I get to dress a dish after spending all day dressing rooms. It makes me so happy to make the things around me look beautiful.
What’s your favourite part of your job with Nook Staging?
Planning colour schemes and fit outs, getting to meet new clients, doing the actual instals, browsing the web or shops for new products we could bring into our work. It’s pretty cute though, Megan or I always bring the other a Long Black in the morning, and it’s a nice little practice to have while starting our days off together to acknowledge that we’re in this together and that we’re about to work hard. I love it.