Suite longevity
KIWIS are leaning towards New Zealand-made more than ever and that pleases Inhabit Designstore owner Helen McKenzie no end.
‘‘People are wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, they want things that are going to last and are going to have a low-carbon footprint — far more people care about that than in the past, and that’s exciting to see.’’
Inhabit prides itself on quality-made, bespoke New Zealand furniture, 80 per cent of it exclusively in the form of sofas, sofa beds, occasional chairs, ottomans, tables, chairs, book cases, entertainment units and book shelves.
‘‘We do make great furniture here in New Zealand, Inhabit has sold New Zealand-made furniture for 37 years, and the benefit of that is longevity.’’
When it comes to longevity, McKenzie gives an example of a New Plymouth couple who recently had their sofa reupholstered.
‘‘The sofa had great sentimental appeal, it was the first piece of furniture they had bought after they got married, and they bought it from us about a year after we first started [in 1979].
‘‘They carted it on their trailer all the way to our factory in Levin to be reupholstered, they chose a new fabric to replace one of our very oldest fabrics and it gave that sofa a new lease on life.
‘‘It was like a brand new sofa, and proof that quality, New Zealand made furniture really does last.’’
Having sold New Zealand-made furniture for decades, McKenzie never tires of excited customers who step in store to choose their new piece.
‘‘You can get your sofa made absolutely for you, you can choose your own fabric. If the sofa doesn’t quite fit you, we’ll make it to your specifications, we can change the arms, those types of things.’’
McKenzie speaks of one family who loved a corner sofa but the configuration wasn’t going to fit their space.
‘‘They loved the style and the comfort, all it needed was a completely different configuration to suit their space, which we did, and they were happy.’’
Before choosing a piece of furniture, McKenzie’s advice is to think about how many people use the room it is destined for, and how big the room is.
‘‘We recommend people who are uncertain of their space go home and make a newspaper template of the size of the sofa so they can come up with the perfect size.
‘‘It’s surprising the number of people who forget they have a door that opens a particular way, or who might have to jump over a corner of the sofa to get to the kitchen.’’
In all of Inhabit’s 37 years, McKenzie has not seen what she describes as a ‘‘potato’’, and any potential design nightmares have been avoided by the above process.
Once size is settled on, it comes down to comfort and style.
‘‘Immediate visual appeal obviously has a bearing, but we encourage people to sit how they’d normally sit on our sofas in-store, and use them as they use them to determine what they like best.
‘‘Some people like firm seats, some soft, with some couples where one is taller than the other we try cushions behind their back or make the actual sofa shallower in the seat . . .’’
Budget comes into effect, particularly when choosing from the huge array of fabrics.
And contrary to popular belief, the more money spent on a fabric doesn’t necessarily mean it is harder wearing, says McKenzie.
The huge selection of lower-priced fabrics designed for commercial spaces are of good quality, hard wearing, easy care and attractive, ideal for young families and are available in a variety of colours and textures.
Choosing that perfect fabric could be an overwhelming process, but not at Inhabit where McKenzie says people very quickly narrow it down.
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