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

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.

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