Q&A with Mid South Canterbury interior designer Stacey Anderson 2017

How did you end up in interiors?

I’ve always been intrigued by interior spaces; the way every element in a building contributes to your experience inside it fascinates me: the lighting, materials, colours, furniture, shapes, negative space, acoustics, temperature – everything! Having the ability to manipulate all of these elements to influence the way people feel in a space is really liberating and a huge challenge.


What do you say to those who think they don’t need someone to tell them how to decorate?

If they have that level of confidence they already sound like my kind of client! My business model has been designed to facilitate the individual style and requirements of each client. Decorating isn’t a facet of interior design that I offer, because it goes against what I believe in. Instead, I focus on the interior architectural elements such as the spatial layout, kitchen, bathrooms, utility areas, cabinetry, bespoke furniture, lighting and selecting all of the fittings and finishes to create the right canvas to enhance my clients’ personal style and furnishings.

Well-considered lighting can be transformative


What do you wish your clients knew about interior design?

It’s as much about how a space feels as how it looks. This can be easy to lose sight of when you are drrawing on inspiration from magazine pages and online photos. These are great tools but sometimes won’t translate to the feeling you want in your home.


What’s your interior style?

Pared-back and simple, with great importance placed on beautifully executed details and an abundance of natural light. My design style is a real celebration of natural and authentic materials that age gracefully and bring their own sense of life to a home. Ultimately though, things need to function and be robust enough to handle real family life.


Can you share one of your design secrets?

Invest the time at the beginning of your project to create a moodboard.  I do this now for every client. This will give a visual direction for your project, and be something to revert back to when you feel like you’re getting off-track.


If money was no object, what would you include in every job?

I would triple every client’s lighting budget. A well-designed lighting plan is the final layer of an interior. It is the opportunity to really enhance the design details we work so hard to create. Every room in a home needs to be able to multifunction – a bathroom for example needs to be able to transform from bright and functional to calm and tranquil; lighting is the best tool for creating such diverse settings.


What’s the next big thing interiors-wise?

If we look at lifestyle trends in general, interior styles will always follow suit to facilitate these movements. The use of natural/raw/organic products will continue to prevail, with more and more importance placed on sustainability and environmental impact. Details- wise, we are seeing a lot more exposure of working parts so I think we will see more development and choice in these details.

Create a moodboard  to give you a visual direction for your interiors

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