Sep 22, 2022 City Life
While some people do really well with looking at a blank room, closing their eyes and imagining just what to do with it, I’ve always struggled. It’s gotten even worse, lately, because of the sheer amount of information overload on social media, and the picture-perfect, cookie-cutter styled living and dining rooms that come across my Instagram feed: white couches with sausage dogs laid across the end of them, beautiful fluffy rugs underneath sleek nested tables, bouclé ottomans with hefty coffee table books stacked on them. It’s never-ending. How do you wade through all that noise?
Sometimes the easiest solution is to find one place that aligns with your ethos, so you can start building a more vivid picture in your mind. Better still if they have a physical store, to allow you to touch and feel – tactility is an essential factor when it comes to picking furniture, because a lack of practicality will become very obvious when it’s something you have to live with day in and day out.
Happily, you can do that at Hunter Home in Wairau Park, Sylvia Park or Westgate, concept stores showcasing 60 settings with different looks and feels which allow you to sit, run your hand over the leather or high-quality fabrics, and give you ideas for what could go together that you never imagined would look good. I’d recommend you do that, but if you want somewhere to start, you could consider my personal faves.
My absolute favourite piece in the Spring lookbook is the Rubens 3-seater sofa in Legacy Green, a colour that’s somehow both classic and vibrant, and a statement I know could anchor a room, and work with what I’ve already got – modern and stylish, but with a timelessness that means it’ll stick around for awhile and I won’t get sick of it. My top tip when picking investment furniture (and it is an investment, since the craftsman- ship ensures it’ll last), particularly couches (which is what you usually want to be complimented on, and can make or break a living room), is to make sure it can adapt to several different aesthetics depending on the styling, because what you’re into will shift, ebb and flow depend- ing on trends and what life stage you’re in.
I know this sofa, in the colour that it’s in, works with what I’m into now: an eclectic mix of mid-century modern-inspired decor – large, lush plants, swing arm floor lamps, a generous use of bright, clashing colours – and could work with whatever style I get into in the future, whether that’s something darker and moodier or more neutral and Scandinavian. Really, it’s the styling that can change the feel of the room. But, right now, I could see it beside my huge monstera, one branch hanging just over the couch’s arm, and sitting pretty alongside my teak coffee table.
I’m also into the Arco Extension Dining Table, which is in this light, energetic American White Ash: a solid, dependable number. In my opinion, the dining table is perhaps the most important piece of furniture in the house. As someone who likes to cook and entertain, but has a fairly small kitchen, the option to extend is a perfect solution, but most importantly, it looks good both ways. The neutrality and classicness of the lines also means it’ll work great with my colourful, extensive collection of ceramics and Crown Lynn plates.
I think that a good furniture collection inspires creativity and play, that makes you excited to see it amongst all the knick-knacks and things you already own. Hunter Home does that. The use of colour and variety of styles, defy that sense of genericness I mentioned at the very beginning of this piece – with a little help from their in-house free design service, it would be easy to start to see how different pieces could work in your own personal space and with your own personal sense of aesthetics. Obviously what you’d do with the Arco dining table might be different to me (you could tend towards, for example, the more traditional white plates), but isn’t that the fun of it all?
Find Hunter Home nationwide, and at the following Auckland locations: Wairau Park, Westgate and Sylvia Park Lifestyle Centre. And for a limited time, buy anything at one of their Auckland stores and get a free Metro subscription!
