It’s all about the style
Personal stylist Tracy Ilton was tossing up whether to move out of or redesign her home in Northwood, Christchurch. After consulting Angelique Armstrong, from Armstrong Interiors, she’s delighted they went for a full makeover.
Armstrong, an interior designer, started honing her skills while studying textiles in Wellington before returning to learn about architectural interiors and graduating with a diploma in interior design.
She has been in business for eight years, doing kitchen, bathroom and full-home interior designs.
Angelique Armstrong says: ‘‘The client, Tracy Ilton, is a personal stylist; she’s trendy and upbeat. She works with clients to dress them in a confident style that suits them. She and her husband, Ken, a pilot, had lived in the house for quite some time and were tossing up whether to move or not.
‘‘We ended up doing the whole house. It’s not shown here, but the bathroom is amazing.
‘‘It’s a brick home, probably 2000s, not a character home. They were after a much cleaner, less-cluttered look. They liked the light Scandi feel, but not so much in this room.
This is a music room where they sit and listen to music and have their gin and tonics.
‘‘We wanted it to feel quite different to the rest of the house. There’s a light oak floor running through the rest of the home. In here, we have carpet for the acoustics. They have a really good sound system, and he loves his jazz.
‘‘Because she’s quite minimalist in her colour palette, we brought soft grey and beige colours through in the wallpaper. The drape is a lovely soft voile to create nice filtered light.
‘‘Within the space, they had five little windows, and so we put the french shutters there. It’s giving you some light but also detail over the windows, and it creates symmetry, as we used them throughout the home.
‘‘We didn’t use a lot of their furniture. We took a whole lot out, but we did use that searchlight piece in the corner. We pick out the pieces that are obviously the clients’ favourites. The artwork already belonged to them. So then it’s important to place it well.
‘‘Another piece that I really love is the original drinks trolley; it’s just so cool. So we kept that and reflected that back in with the circular coffee table and the little round tables with the flowers.
‘‘We chose a Kovacs ‘‘Jed’’ lounge suite. It’s great having furniture made within New Zealand. Kovacs has been around for many generations, and with the comfort and the stability of the sofa, you know you’re not buying a Chinese-made piece.
‘‘And because it’s a bespoke piece, you can choose the fabric.
‘‘The wallpaper is a textured linen, Casadeco, a French wallpaper. Similar colours in the drapes, carpet and walls make for a very calming space. You’d almost say it’s a monotone colour palette, so then it’s important to add texture.
‘‘Everything’s very tactical, which creates the feel within the space. The clients absolutely love it. They were easy to work for.
‘‘It was a team effort – all the tradies were great, too. To get a really good finish, you have to work with tradies who are good. We project-manage the lot. It couldn’t have turned out any better.’’
What the clients think
Ilton says she and her husband are ‘‘absolutely thrilled’’ with their home.
‘‘The scope grew quite significantly from where we started because we were so delighted with what they were doing. Initially I had Angelique in just to discuss flooring, drape options and new furniture. It ended up being bathrooms and a full makeover.’’
Ilton says being a stylist herself meant she trusted the process. ‘‘I do what I do and have faith in that, and I had faith in Angelique to do her role. She really understood what our style was and how to bring it together.’’