03 Magazine: April 05, 2024

Designing Interiors
to Treasure
Even as a very young child I had a
fascination with arranging things
and, not unexpectedly, with age I’ve
never lost that passion.
Now I’ve found myself in the most
marvellous position of being able to
expand that interest with a trip that
involves meeting (as part of a small
group) some of the world’s foremost
international design icons.
I’m penning this from London where, in
a few hours, this whole design adventure
starts in earnest.
But why bother? Why travel so far when
you could just buy a book, watch a
YouTube video or listen to a podcast?
And that’s true, but the opportunity to
get up-close and personal to the actual
design process was simply too tempting
and I’ve found myself making the 30-
hour door-to-door journey (on my own)
to add to my knowledge.
Maybe in another life I might have
worked in the design industry rather
than property, but there’s significant
crossover which I enjoy.
The English design perspective/style is a
busy one.
There’s a riot of colour, pattern and
texture at times and it’s fair to say it’s not
for everyone, but the principles behind
good design transfer across multiple
countries and circumstances.
One of those principles can be summed
up by Kit Kemp, whose hotels I’ve had
the pleasure of staying in.
She writes that “the best rooms never
want us to leave” and she’s right.
Whether you’re selling or buying or
simply living in them, it’s rooms with
this ethos that provide emotional
connections and those very same urges
can go on to create the competition
that many real estate professionals see
played out in auction rooms.
So where do we start?
Firstly, light. Everything looks better with
good lighting, be it people, property or
objects.
In residential sales there’s an old adage
that if you turn one light on, turn them
all on, and the selling process is always
helped significantly in homes where
natural light abounds. Whether I’m
staging a property or involved in selling
one I try to capitalize on its ability to
appear light and airy, and knowing that
this is a primary consideration from a
design perspective makes perfect sense.
Next, colour. I’ve got to take care here.
I have a high tolerance for colour – in
fact, it’s more a love of colour, lots of it
– and although I admire the structure
and restraint of monochromatic colour
schemes it’s not something I’ve ever
wanted.
Regardless of whether you favour
colour or not, it’s fair to say if you are
choosing colours for a property with the
specific purpose of selling (go gently!) or
planning to experiment, get advice.
Personalization. If it’s your home, enjoy
filling it or conversely restricting it to
what you love. Not what someone else
tells you to do. For me, that always
includes groupings of the same items.
Books, pictures, flowers and art have
been with me since my first flat, back
when I was nursing, through every home
that I have had since.
These familiar objects ground me, as do
items that we’ve collected as a family.
I know we are all being encouraged to
get rid of surplus ‘stuff’ but one man’s
– or should I say woman’s – stuff is
another’s treasure.
So, there you are, finishing with the word
treasure feels perfect as I will treasure
both this opportunity and this chance
to learn new ways of approaching the
wonderful world of interiors.
Stay warm, autumn is here!
Lynette McFadden
Harcourts gold Business Owner
027 432 0447
lynette.mcfadden@harcourtsgold.co.nz
24TH APRIL 2024
FROM 4PM
GOLD AUCTION ROOM,
471 PAPANUI ROAD
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