Kristina registered as an Architect (BArch, Auckland University), and qualified as an Interior Designer (DipInt Design, Sydney) – based in Auckland, New Zealand. For 35+ years, I have designed and built wonderful spaces for people to live in and call home. During this time, I have found a new approach to achieving ongoing love and joy from any home improvement project: knowing before starting any design process exactly who you are, what you deeply love and hold dear to you, and documenting and communicating these truths.

Kristina registered as an Architect (BArch, Auckland University), and qualified as an Interior Designer (DipInt Design, Sydney) – based in Auckland, New Zealand. For 35+ years, I have designed and built wonderful spaces for people to live in and call home. During this time, I have found a new approach to achieving ongoing love and joy from any home improvement project: knowing before starting any design process exactly who you are, what you deeply love and hold dear to you, and documenting and communicating these truths.

Homeowner or long-term renter planning a significant home project, values professional expertise but wants to be an active participant, excited about design but feels overwhelmed by choices, willing to invest time in preparation to get better results, values organisation and structured approaches and open to learning and self-discovery.
Wants to feel confident about their design decisions, seek validation and recognition for their choices, value aesthetics and functionality, appreciate the importance of planning, is ready to move beyond Pinterest boards to more structured planning and is interested in understanding the 'why' behind design choices.
Experiences decision fatigue when faced with too many choices struggles to articulate their design preferences clearly, feels anxious about making expensive mistakes, wants to be taken seriously by design professionals, has difficulty translating inspiration into actionable plans and is overwhelmed by the complexity of design projects.
The planning phase of their design journey, likely 3-6 months before needing to engage with design professionals, may be in the early stages of budgeting and research and could be preparing for various project sizes: Full home build, Major renovation, Room Refresh or a Multiple-room update.
Responds well to structured guidance, appreciates clear, step-by-step processes, enjoys visual learning alongside written instruction, values regular feedback and validation and is open to collaborative approaches.
Understand the value of professional guidance, are willing to invest in preparation to save money long-term, value education and professional development and see design as an important investment in their quality of life.
Actively seeks design inspiration, takes initiative in research and planning, shows commitment to the preparation process, values both the journey and the outcome and is open to professional guidance while wanting to maintain some control.