Why are your interiors important to you? What’s the tale it’s telling currently?
We have a home office in our apartment so I spend a bit of time working from home. I can't focus on my workday unless I have an orderly, clean and pleasant area from which to work. So interiors are important for me personally, and for the business. I realised when I lived in a flat through university that I really need a “sanctuary” to retreat to which is free from clutter and is quiet, with all my special items surrounding me. I never thought I was a homebody until I became sick when I was about 20 and had to spend a lot of time at home recovering. It was during this time I discovered how important and powerful interior spaces can truly be. For me, they are a place to relax and restore yourself from the outside world (like a little bubble of happiness!). Our place currently tells a story of young professionals who like to spend time off relaxing rather than gardening or doing housework (it’s really low maintenance as it has no garden), it's furnished with items we have collected on our travels, there's inevitably dog toys scattered around in weird places from our french bulldog Bronson, the fridge and pantry are normally stocked with limited but good quality ingredients for cooking a couple of yummy dinners a week, the laundry basket is always overflowing with sweaty gym gear (lucky we have a door we can shut off so no one sees this!), and it speaks of our love of natural materials, warm oak and texture. We also love plants but are pretty crap at keeping them alive - most of our plants have a disease of some kind at some point and are being nursed back to health.
What was your approach to your interiors?
Even though I find it really easy to decide on a direction for clients’ interior spaces, I find it really hard to decide on pieces for my own home. I think it's because I know how much choice is out there and I hate choosing items only to then see something else I prefer a few months later! I have a clear style in terms of the things I like, but I am definitely the type to mull things over for many months before making the simplest of decisions. That's the one approach I would say I have - a snail pace (haha).
Was there a thought process or direction you borrowed from someone else to put it all together?
No, I tend to just plug away at things myself. We bought our apartment off the plan, so it was brand new. We also sold all our old furniture to the person who bought our old place so we were starting completely fresh when we shifted into our current place. It was a true blank canvas. We had many months leading up to completion of the property where I could order key items, which was very handy. I ordered the sofa, a lounge chair, dining table and chairs, plus our beds, prior to completion. Because we weren't allowed access to the property (being a construction site) I had to hope and pray the dimensions for the items I picked would work in the space! We'd been allowed in to measure once but I hadn't been able to get a feel for the space since the kitchen hadn't been fitted and many of the walls weren't properly in place at that stage. So it was definitely a risk. But it all worked out in the end. I think this is largely because I used the "Nook formula" by which I mean purchasing flexible pieces that can be worked in anywhere if needed - a chair which can be put in any corner, a sofa without a chaise so we could move it around in the space, an ottoman which could be used as a chaise or separately if needed.
Were you considering things like function, a certain aesthetic or fashion trend when approaching things yourself?
I don’t have current fashions forefront in my mind when choosing things, but I have definitely adopted certain trends which are in fashion at the moment, because they inspire me. For example - I definitely jumped on the "bar cart" trend in our living space. We have a brass and glass 1920s style trolley which I purchased after living in the place for about a year, and I love it. This is trendy at the moment but I know it will continue to be a cool piece forever. The same thought process applies to pretty much all the stuff we purchased - yes it is in fashion now, but hopefully because they are fairly classic pieces they will continue to be even as trends cycle around. I tend to invest in key furnishings which will get us through for a while. We spent quite a bit on quality linen curtains, and also spend a bit on artwork, but less on things like soft furnishings as those can be changed over the years as different colours come and go from favour.
What’s the most recent purchase you’ve made for your property and why?
I think the last thing we purchased was a huge Tyler Shields photographic print we have hanging above our dining space - it's called "The Swans". My husband really wanted us to have one of Tyler's photos in our house. We bought it both as an investment (hoping it will increase in value at some point as it’s a limited edition) but mostly because we love to look at it. I think this is important with artwork - you still have to love it, even if you have bought it as an investment. The print was shipped over from London and Hannah & Priya at Gow Langsford Gallery here in Auckland were amazing in terms of coordinating the receiving/inspection of it, framing and hanging for us.
Thanks for reading guys! Hopefully this helps you put language around understanding your own home!
Talk soon,
Megan
