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

What We're About

It’s nice every once in awhile to remind our readers why we’re here, doing what we’re doing. We thought we’d take the time today to share what Nook Staging and interior design means to us, why we focus on small apartments and small spaces, and how Nook has grown in the last couple of years!

First of all, Nook has become a little family. It isn’t just Megan on her own anymore roping her hubby in for late night staging jobs after she’s been out all day hustling consultations. It isn't running out of a storage locker with a smaller number of products at our disposal now either. It’s actually becoming a bit of a machine! This year we have some new plans and expansions in business up our sleeves! Megan has a partner by her side (aka me) throughout the week and we’re currently swimming in furniture packages, staging jobs + a renovation city-side! We have a big ol’ warehouse where all of our products fit for staging jobs and we’re dreaming up of where-to even from here! It’s a pretty exciting time to be a part of the business, to be honest.

We focus on staging smaller spaces and apartments in Auckland because Megan noticed a couple of years ago that there was a need for that in the industry. She wanted to bring quality design, service and products to those looking to sell their apartments from a bespoke brand. She’s been developing that brand continuously and now we fit out Airbnb’s and small properties all over Auckland. We have solid relationships with our sales agents and regular clients and have even put our hand to renovating a property under Nook just off Symonds Street. We’re feeling really lucky to be where we are and to have some cool opportunities to expand Nook.

We love what we do. That’s why we do it. From brushing shoulders with people on their A-game in the industry, to helping clients sell their homes at the price point they were expecting to, it’s just a pleasure to go into Auckland properties throughout and dress the place to it’s potential. We’re also pretty nerdy about putting together look-sheets on our computors and creating hypothetical environments then get really stoked when we get to see those colours and feature pieces bring a place to life. We find it rewarding. Our clients do too. That’s why we do what we do. If you’re looking for interior designers, home-stagers or consultants with passion - you’ve just met your match. :)

Investing in Practice - Jason Hoe from Argo Property

One of the great things about being in the property industry in Auckland is that it is small. Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with some very experienced and knowledgable people in different areas of expertise. One of those people is Jason Hoe, who I worked with when I was a property manager. Jason and I both studied a Bachelor of Property at the University of Auckland, and have gone into different areas within the industry - but have both focused on Auckland apartments.

Recently Jason started a consultancy company called Argo Property which helps people who are not knowledgable about the apartment industry make informed decisions when it comes to investing.

He recently shared with me a story about how he and his partner purchased and renovated an apartment earlier this year and achieved over $7,000 positive cash flow. There's details about some of the problems they faced and a complete breakdown of the numbers on his blog.

Having more of an interest in design and presenting properties for sale than being numbers-based, I find it helpful to see the costs and income drawn up for me - something Jason does very well! My only gripe is that he didn't use Nook Staging to furnish or home stage it for him, crucial error! (Haha).

Have a look by clicking here - it makes for some very interesting reading.

Megan