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 CBD Apartment: Megan Edition

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

Could Interior Design be for You?

You might be finishing up high school at the end of this year, you might be in the middle of your university studies. Maybe you’re thinking about a career change in the prime of your own and finding those cafe meetings or trendy offices are the part of your day you actually enjoy the most. Perhaps it’s because you’re more preoccupied with the vibe of a place and how its interiors set the tone for said meetings. If you’re a keen bee after beautiful spaces and find yourself thinking about how you could switch just a couple things around at your friend’s house to create a better feel for the room then honey, you might just be an interior designer in the making! 

Here are a couple of confessions from our latest staff member, Hannah, you might benefit from if you’re considering the career!

1. As an 18 year old I wanted to change the world. I was so buzzing and eager to hop into a degree that I thought would aid me in activism. I didn’t have a particular cause I was interested in but that didn’t stop me from dabbling in both a Religious Studies and Social Work degree! If you’ve ever done the “Strengths Finders”, test one of my top ‘strengths’ is Restorative. That basically means I like taking broken things, or things I think could be better, and bettering them. I thought the way this strength could be best used was if I applied it to my idea of people that needed help. That got old quickly because I soon realised people are people everywhere and my teenage strength wasn’t enough to make them happier all the time! Actual Social Workers are heroes that walk among us! But I was the kid that had to try a bunch of different things to figure out what she wanted to do! 

2. During my studies I found myself thinking about how I love beautiful places! I’m a nature baby at heart but if I have to be indoors I want those places to be cool because I value how those places make myself and other people feel. I see it as an extension of hospitality when I get to invite friends and clients into atmospheres I’ve been busy putting my mind and hands to. Hospitality was something my momma raised me in. Our home was always a place full of people and there’s nothing quite like having smiles and laughter because, in part, you’ve created a moment for others to rest into and take a load off because of.

3. I started down several different career paths before I found interior design and styling. Prepare yourself for an extensive list. It goes like: Youth work, barista, poet, manager, flipping houses, early childhood, health care, marketing - you better know I gave my all to those things and found they just didn’t stick. Then I put my hand to styling and LOVED IT! Because I got to make spaces.. better.. and so began my romance with interior design. 

4. Fast track down the road a bit and here I am, surrounded by creatives in so many different fields! With projects coming out of our ears! Truly, I found something that makes me come alive. There’s so much diversity in tasks throughout the day that there’s barely any time for boredom, Nook is a business looking to expand itself constantly and it’s an exciting time to be a part of the business! Every job we take on we bring a new look and I still get to work with people! Have I even mentioned that it’s fun?                                                                                                                      

If that sounds like a bit of you, first, check us out on Instagram if you need to be nourished by our enthusiasm because you don’t know where else to go! We genuinely love being able to say at the end of the day that we made something beautiful throughout the course of ours. Second, plug in to some other accounts, get to talking to some interior designers and/or stylists! Third, get to talking to the people you trust around you about if they think this could be a career choice for you! I encourage you to do so because I get to wake up being thankful about what I do. Aim to make your main hustle the one that makes you thankful, I reckon. If yours ain’t that - reach honey’s, reach!

Winter, Hygge and How I Am Trying to Achieve it

I've been in a bit of a mid-winter rut for a few weeks. The cold weather has bought with it a feeling of sluggishness, and a lack of motivation for me. In order to combat this feeling, I have been looking into "Hygge" (pronounced hue-guh not hoo-gah!). Hygge is seemingly being mentioned everywhere at the moment. It is a Danish word which is used to acknowledge a feeling or moment at home or outside, ordinary or extraordinary as cosy, charming or special in some way.

There's apparently no English word which directly describes Hygge - but there are a few which can help us understand the general idea. Cosiness, happiness, a feeling of contentment, security, comfort and simpleness are all along the lines of the feeling of Hygge. 

Winters in Denmark are cold and dark, and yet the Danish continue to rank as some of the happiest people on earth - so I figure they must be onto something. 

I'm trying to approach my time at home with a feeling of Hygge as opposed to feeling guilty or lazy. I'm trying to relish the moment and acknowledge how good it feels to do things a little slower for a time. I am finding this is making it easier for me to then be productive and get things done afterwards!

So, how do we create a feeling of Hygge? It will be personal to each individual, as it is a "feeling" rather than an object or thing. I have found lighting beautiful candles when I am working, showering in the dark with a scented candle at night time, making a fragrant cup of tea with a teapot, having a great glass of red wine at night with dinner, walking my dog on a cold morning with lots of layers on, and sitting at my desk with a soft blanket over my knee are all bringing a feeling of contentment or cosiness for me this winter. Most of these things I would be doing anyway, but stopping to appreciate them seems to be doing the trick.

What are your favourite things to do to create Hygge? I'd love to know!

Megan

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

Abbey's Winter Edit

Hi guys, Abbey here!

Winter has always been my favourite season. Coats, boots, scarves….Layers upon layers. It’s all about the layers!!

At Nook, we have been creating warm and cosy rooms with a range of textures/fabrics which mimic the layering effect for interiors.

You can still use all your basic neutral pieces which translate across the seasons, but you can update the look for winter by adding the equivalent in homewares to a cosy sweater or scarf to build up texture and warmth in your home for the change of season!

My absolute favourite this winter are velvets, chunky knits and classic linens. A mixture of crisp, cosy and classic!

Fabrics can give such a tactile experience to a room. Velvet pieces often have beautiful dramatic shades and rich textures. Jewel colours create a glamorous luxe look which is perfect for creating a winter nest to relax in after being outside in the cold.

To keep the look feeling effortless, you can't go past linen. Neutral shades and washed pastels are stunning when layered with contrast or feature colours. I also love a traditional check wool throw, which works well with natural fabrics and wood furnishings creating a harmonious effect in the Scandi vein Nook is well known for.

All you need after that is a good book to curl up with!

Here's a few of my favourite pieces I have been loving working with over the cooler months:

Clockwise from top: Siesta Wool Throw from Citta, Gava Dish from Citta, Reflect Wool Embroidered Cushion from Citta, Space Works Book from Alex & Corban, Luna Wool Embroidered Cushion from Citta, Moss Stitch Wool Throw from Citta, Washed Velvet Square Stitch Throw from Citta, New Zealand Sheepskin from Thread Design.

Happy snuggling! 

Abbey x

First Homebuyer Series: Heidi & Dylan

Heidi and Dylan are the type of people I love to sponge knowledge from. They continually make clever and well thought out decisions when it comes to property (and everything else!), and when you add a tonne of hard work into the mix, the result is that they have both a home to add value to AND a tidy rental property. Talk about high achievers!

This week I talked to Heidi about their 3 bedroom home in Mangere Bridge, Auckland. Her and Dylan are at the tail end of a exciting renovation and I can't wait to see the end result.

I will also do a feature on their rental in the next few weeks - so stay tuned.

M: How long have you been living in your home? 

H: Five and a half years. 

M: What was your main purpose when buying it? 

H: We bought this as our first home with the view that we may not stay here forever. Our purpose has changed since buying it and we now have decided to stay here longer term. 

M: What immediately appealed to you about the place? 

H: It was an old do-up. It was a pretty villa under the poor paint job and tired decorating, so we were able to purchase at a good price and do the hard yards ourselves to make it into what we wanted it to be.

M: Tell us about what it was like when you first moved in:

 H: FREEZING, leaky, a horrid coloured yellow with mustard trims, lots of poorly built additions that needed attention. 

M: What have you done to the property since you bought it?

H: Basically everything!!!! 
In our first phase of renovations we
- Insulated the entire house, walls and all - this means re-gibbing and painting all the walls in every single room
- Added an ensuite
- Painted the exterior
- Re-did the toilet
- Got rid of the overgrown garden
- Built a small retaining wall to tidy up the driveway and planted a rose garden here

We then decided to stay put for the longer term so in the second phase we decided to extend the house, which involves
- A new laundry
- Open plan living/dining/kitchen in the extension
- New bathroom

M: Phew! That sounds like a lot of work! What was your best purchase? 

H: I love my Penny Stotter and my Ali Gulec prints! Also the solid wooden door which I've repurposed into my desk so I can work from home :)

M: Do you have a purchase you regretted?

H: Dining room chairs, I wish I'd spent more on getting some good quality ones from the beginning.

M: What do you love about the place? 

H: It's warm, highly practical, has great light and we've made it our own so it feels like home.

M: What don’t you love about it? 

H: Not a lot to be honest, I would have said the kitchen before the second round of renos as we're keen entertainers, so having the kitchen in a separate room was not conducive to good conversation while entertaining.

M: Describe your interior decorating style: 

H: Eccelectic? New and old, wood and metal, concrete and wood - all the opposites.