The 1/2 We Don't Tell You

As you probably know at this point, we do a lot of quoting for properties all over Auckland City. We quote to provide AirBnB packages, full stages (which means we stage a completely empty property), part stages (which means we work some of our items in with the client's pre-existing items), or to offer a styling service where we visit a property, head back to the office and draw up a suggested plan of attack for our client. The point is, we run around quoting a lot!

Now, we show you the beautified results after we’ve been through and worked our magic but boy do we have some stories of properties we’ve only ended up quoting for! My personal favourite is having arrived at a property when a party had just finished and the cleaning crew hadn’t been through yet! We find ourselves in an array of different situations upon arrival. 

We visit properties that haven’t been built yet and we aren’t going to get to see before the day we’d bring all of our gear in! Our skills accommodate for this. But we also arrive to screaming kids, families in the middle of a move, I’ve literally had to step over a sleeping child before, ha! I mentioned in another blog that we get dogs running full force at us too! Luckily we’d do the same thing to them if it was socially acceptable. Another skill we have though is showing up in people’s lives and properties at a time where things are usually a whirlwind for them and commit to just meeting people where they’re at.  

We exchange jokes, assure our clients as to how we can help and leave them hoping we’ve brightened their day at the least, before heading back to our office to draw up a proposal and quote should they be interested in going ahead with our services.

I wanted to help you understand through this blog that it's a wild ride being an interior designer sometimes. Yes, it’s so beautiful to be able to do what we do and meet so many amazing people but it’s also a delicate art to meet people where they’re at and paint a picture for them of what their property can look like when their minds might be in overdrive, their homes might be a smidge chaotic in the middle of a move, or their 4 kids might all be home on school holiday and their multiple dogs might be getting potty trained still! We pride ourselves in hosting people to an exposé of our services on their turf and get excited with each new property at the vision we develop while we’re there.

Let me assure you here, like I would do during a visit to your property, that Nook has got you! Needing to grab a quote? Inquire with us now. :)

Confessions of a Flat: Hannah Edition

Have you taken some time lately to listen to the story that your home is telling? If you’re anything like me, my place can get real messy, real quick, the busier I get. Floor-drobe can become such a political issue we should hit up our PM about it. Point being, our surroundings reflect our lifestyle. Most importantly, they definitely influence our attitudes about life, the experience others have of our hospitality, and plain and simple, can sometimes become a health and safety issue, ha.

Let me explain the story my house is telling at the moment to give you an idea of what yours might be saying. My house whispers that it holds a lot of visitors, because we have one too many sofas in our lounge. Honestly, we have 3. It’s also saying the whole flat likes to cook, as indicated by our many exposed pots, pans and cooking utensils. It’s laughing at us about how my flatmates and I need to utilise our dining table more, because currently there’s a paddle board on it, as depicted by the intro photo here. It’s saying that there’s a bunch of transient young adults living here as we haven’t put up much art around the place, but those of us looking to lock down a long term place are starting to hang art in our rooms! It’s a start.

More specifically, let’s talk about my room. There’s a large piece of art, nestled into an oak frame, featuring Toetoe above my bed, a light green duvet with light brown decorative cushions, a white closet unit, rattan bedsides and an old-school picnic basket that holds an even more retro mirror. I’ve placed my furniture thoughtfully throughout the room to make sure I’m taking advantage of how open it could be. I’ve thought about how lighting hits the room throughout the day and want my bed to get that first, crisp morning sunlight while I sip on my coffee. My room is saying that I like earthy tones, nature, sunlight and open spaces. I like to sit on the floor while I do my makeup in the morning (because most of my upbringing I lived in places you sat on the floor), and that I like photography and interior design as depicted by the magazines in my bedside drawer and cameras on my wardrobe. 

What tale is your house spinning? Have a wine and go room to room to think about it, because we often don’t. Visitors notice and if we’re honest with ourselves, we do too on some level. May your home be a happy, productive, hospitable place. If you can take anything away from this wee blog remember, your interiors reflect your lifestyle. I'm looking forward to Megan's blog about the story her house is telling next. Keep an eye out x

Aroha,

Hannah

An Autumn Excerpt

Trees are brushing off their neutrals, burnt oranges and reds in those chilly winds, fall fashion is layering up our sun-kissed bodies, we’re holding on to coffees a little longer than usual for extra warmth and what we’re cooking for dinner is slowly accommodating for colder times too. Let’s talk interiors. Auckland skies are holding more clouds and our sunlight is disappearing quicker, so it’s important to have a space that provides a positive environment for the wintery times ahead.

Time to take inventory of our surroundings. First of all, what’s going on with your lighting? We spend more time inside in man-made light as the weather changes, so we highly recommend getting this right! Do your light bulbs give off a white or yellow light? Which of the two makes you feel calmer? Or makes your space feel bigger? It’s important to have good light throughout winter to optimise your mood. Adding a lamp here or there can be a help too! Secondly, what’s going on with the textures of your rooms? Draping a blanket on the arm of your sofa or chair, or replacing a couple of cushion covers with texture could work a charm! Even plumping your cushions regularly is a simple tool to help your living room feel cosy. Keep in mind that the fabric of your cushions affects the experience of temperature you and your guests have too. For example, do you feel chilly when you think about leather cushions during winter months?

Last but not least, colour! Depending on the room you’re working with you might want to play with darker, neutral colours - to set your intentions for rest. If you’re needing to wake up the room you might want to add a tinge of pop to solidify your expectations, through aesthetic. That is just scratching the surface of the whole colour conversation but hey - it’s simple advice you can take on board immediately!

Have a chat with your family about their favourite colours at the dinner table and see if you can give your home character with their character throughout this winter. A little something for the kids to smile at whenever they see it. Or chat with your partner about lighting and see how they feel about whether or not you have enough in your home for those books you’re both about to get stuck into. Or have a play with textures on a rainy day by yourself and feel it transform your room. Make it a conversation with yourself and the people around you and keep warm, friends!

Dried Florals, My Father’s Florist

“I don’t think I’ve shared this before, but a big part of my business and my love for dried florals is grief. But grief interwoven with learning how to step into gratitude and step into joy.” A quote from our new obsession over at My Father’s Florist. Joanna is a beautiful weaver of stories and she tells those stories through dried florals. Based in Auckland, this dreamy woman spends her days foraging in the wilder parts of Piha and the like. Her care and hard work is so evident in every bouquet, in her modern circle designs, in her mood boards, frames and oh my - you should hear her talk about her brand! This woman is belly-full with belief about why she does what she does, and we’ve fallen for her brand too.

The reason why we’ve chosen Joanna is because her products speak for themselves. In our line of work we want products that will create an aspirational space for potential buyers, will last a fairly large amount of shifting, and will add a sense of magic to what we do. Dried florals have an amazing lifespan and we’re chuffed to be working with a local business we can get behind. If you’re thinking she sounds like a good idea - we’re right there with you! Check out her website and give her a cheeky follow on Instagram to get in touch or keep up with her Piha adventures. Her arrangements and displays are perfect for the colder months because they pair so sweetly with autumn and winter tones. We’re obviously a little bit into her and found her at the right season for our designs!

- Megan and Hannah

Why Home Stage? A Few Thoughts and Figures from Megan

It was while I was working as a property manager that I became passionate about presenting properties in their best possible condition. I saw time and time again that the properties that were well maintained and presented in their best condition rented quicker, for higher rent and to better tenants, or sold faster and for higher prices than those which were not. 

New Zealand continues to lag behind when it comes to getting in the right mindset with investment property. We tend to want to do everything ourselves, and with minimal money spent. While this is commendable in many ways, it also means many of us struggle to see an investment property as just that – an investment. Investments by nature do not cost nothing to upkeep. They tend to need some money spent on them in order to get a return. 

I have been doing some reading on overseas markets to get an understanding of the differences the NZ market has. I found some interesting statistics compiled by the National Association of Realtors in the USA, where home staging is almost a routine occurence. 32% of agents believed staging a property increased the dollar value a buyer was willing to offer for a home by 1-5%, and 16% believed it increased the dollar value by 6-10%. If we are looking at a standard apartment, even a 1% increase in value more than justifies the cost of staging.  There are also many other less quantifiable benefits for staging apartments. These include making the apartment stand out from other listings in the same building, which in turn could decrease the time taken to sell the property.  The same survey also found that 28% of agents believed buyers were more willing to overlook other property flaws if the listing was staged. 

So how can you use this information to your advantage? Well, obviously contacting Nook Staging to furnish or stage your property is a great start! There are also a few other tricks of the trade you might like to keep in mind:

• Remove as much clutter as possible. People need to be able to imagine living in the property, and it makes it tricky for them to do this if there are personal belongings filling up every square inch available. Remember that in apartments storage is at a premium, and therefore storage spaces need to be clear of clutter as well to make them look as large as possible.
• Make sure your apartment is presented in a clean condition, and smells good. I use diffusers and candles when staging to ensure the property smells good for the duration of time it is listed.
•  Have the property painted/carpeted with neutral colours throughout. 
• Don’t fill small apartments with heaps of bulky, large furniture. Glass is non-intrusive. Couches which have space underneath the base are less intrusive than those which sit directly onto the carpet. Mirrors are also a good way to make rooms feel larger.
•  Great art and plants elevate a property from being boring to amazing!
• Make the property as light as possible by having all curtains drawn, all lights on for viewings, and lamps in any dark patches. Consider changing bulbs for brighter daylight types if possible.
• Fresh flowers and small touches are the cherry on top which make a house feel like a home. 

I am happy to work with you to ensure your property is presented in the best possible condition for rental or sale. Be sure to send me an email if you wish to find out more about how Nook can help your apartment look sharper.

Megan