Design Tips

6 steps to creating hotel-style luxury at home

6 steps to creating hotel-style luxury at home

There’s something special about spending a night in a luxurious hotel where you wake up refreshed and well rested, every time. We may not be able to travel to our favourite luxe hotels around the world right now, but we can transform our bedrooms into hotel luxury with a few simple tips.

clifftop masterpiece

clifftop masterpiece

Located on a clifftop on Auckland’s North Shore, this large modern family home was designed by Studio John Irving. Kirsten Ford Design was engaged to assist with the interior finishes selections to complement the bold architectural design and the furniture and furnishings to make this a home.

respectful refresh

respectful refresh

A much-loved family bungalow was treated to a fresh lease of life with new a kitchen, as well as a refresh of their furniture and furnishings. Kirsten Ford Design worked with these clients to guide the kitchen finish selections and to update their furnishings, being careful to include much-loved family treasures and adding to them special new pieces.

relaxed luxe

relaxed luxe

Building a new home to our own design was a chance to create a home that not only practically suited the needs of our busy family, but was also stylish and stood apart. After spying a tranquil, Pohutukawa-fringed piece of land in otherwise built-up suburbia, we set to work to make it our own.

7 reasons to use an interior designer

7 reasons to use an interior designer

Our homes are where we spend our time, it’s where we write our story. It’s our goal to help you make your home beautiful, functional, peaceful, and enjoyable - creating the best possible backdrop for your to live your life, infusing value into your home on the way. Working with a professional interior designer may be a big step, but can ultimately deliver a result far beyond what you imagined, infusing value into your home on the way.

bold beach style

bold beach style

When these clients brought their beachfront home it came with sublime views, but a kitchen that definitely needed an update. The blue-tiled benchtop may have featured on the cover of Trends magazine back in the 1990s, but when a major renovation was undertaken to update and reconfigure the home the kitchen received attention first!

staying true

staying true

When this couple considered moving from their family home they built over 15 years, their children responded with a resounding no! So instead they decided to create a new living area and completely remodel their kitchen - and of course, stay in the slice of rural paradise they call their own.

forever family home

forever family home

This forever home was built to perfectly fit the lifestyle of this busy, close-knit family. A modern yet timeless new build that’s easily connected with the outdoors - and perfect for both pool parties and smooth-running family life.

ocean view apartment

ocean view apartment

With sightlines over a tree-filled park, to the ocean and horizon beyond, this apartment lives and breathes it’s surroundings. The near new apartment had an inherited scheme from the developer so Kirsten Ford Design was engaged to create a more personalised home, with a sophisticated coastal feel that avoided all the usual seaside stereotypes.  

♥︎ new york city

♥︎  new york city

I completely fell for New York City.  Yes, I was totally dazzled by its glittering famous skyline, but up close I completely fell in love with its attitude, its people, the never-ending destinations to explore and its incredible cool factor. It’s busy and chaotic, but everywhere you go, you find new ideas, creative energy and an infectious sense of ambition.  You simply cannot help but feel inspire and have fun.  As the song goes: “Now you’re in New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of... these streets will make you feel brand new.” And they really will. So whether you are addicted to all things design or if you just want an adventure like no other, you won’t be disappointed.

wonder walls

wonder walls

Wallpaper has staged a major comeback. And for good reason - nothing matches it’s transformative power! It’s the easiest way to add a huge dash of personality to a room - whether it be with the subtle texture of an elegant grasscloth or a bold statement feature. And best of all it’s a relatively easy and economical way to breathe life into a space. If anything, the revival of wallpaper allows us to be fearless and have a little fun in our homes - adding the style and edge we all deserve.

heirloom inspired

heirloom inspired

Turning a new house into a home was the brief from these clients. Their challenge to us was to create a more contemporary styled home for them, by pairing their amazing collection of antiques and artworks with key new pieces of furniture and furnishings. The clients wanted to ensure their newly built home was a better reflection of their lifestyle and personalities.

style cushions like a pro

style cushions like a pro

Cushions can add personality to a space and be the perfect finishing touch - like beautiful mini artworks in a room.  But mixing different colours, patterns and sizes stylishly is an art in itself! Here are my top 3 tips for styling your cushions like a pro.

milan must-dos

milan must-dos

In all the crowds, rush and sensory-stimulation of Design Week, I think one of the best things one can do is simply to sit outdoors in Milan’s April sun, to have time to contemplate and reflect - while enjoying an aperitivo of course, preferably an Aperol Spritz.

milan - trendsetting & highlights

milan - trendsetting & highlights

Each year, more than three hundred thousand creators, designers, architects, creative geniuses and global media descend on the Italian city of Milan for the city’s annual Design Week, combining the Salone Internazionale del Mobile design exhibition and the Fuorisalone’s events and installations across the city’s different Design Districts.  Lauded as one of the world’s most important design events, it’s the inspiration for the products, people to watch and trends that will be dominating the world of interiors over the coming year.