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. :)

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!

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