80 | T T Kim Bowden Genevieve Corbett, the founder of Queenstown interior design and staging studio, Wilde & Stone, has an unusual measure of success: if a client’s finished home looks like her work, she has got it wrong. “I don’t want people to walk into a home and say, ‘Oh, this is Wilde & Stone’,” she says. “There’s often hints or nods to our style here and there, but ultimately it must reflect the client.” Genevieve completed a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design in Melbourne before returning to New Zealand in 2020. She started taking on home staging, spotting a gap in the market, and the business organically grew from there. She did everything herself in the early years, before growing the business to a team of four. For design projects, everything starts with the client, while staging is different. There, Wilde & Stone has a stronger identity of its own. The best staging feedback, Genevieve says, is when a homeowner sees the finished property and has second thoughts about selling, with comments such as: “I wish we’d done this while we’re living here, and I’m not sure I even want to sell the house anymore.” Genevieve describes the Wilde & Stone aesthetic as “very warm, layered and timeless”. “It’s high-end without the glitz.” Queenstown shapes that look, she says, although she avoids the “copy and paste, cookie cutter” design approach. “It doesn’t have to be schist and timber everywhere. It can be just bringing the colours Wilde & Stone from the outside in and playing with texture and warmth, and ensuring the view is actually the main focus of the spaces.” The team works with a range of local and offshore clients. “Often, they can be busy homeowners, who are time poor and struggle with the sheer number of decisions involved in building their own home; other times we meet people who struggle to visualise spaces for themselves, or are even unaware of their own personal style,” she says. High-end designs with Queenstown aesthetic Wilde & Stone works with a range of local and offshore clients. INTERIOR DESIGN “What they all have in common is that they’re looking for someone to help them manage their project, encourage confidence in decision making and ensure the end product is both personalised and cohesive.” With a large share of her clients based overseas, the team’s presence on the ground matters. They undertake regular site visits and catch problems early. Two recent projects illustrate the range of design capabilities. A new build near Arrowtown for a client based in Singapore came with a “diet industrial” brief. The client was “unafraid to be different” and open to being pushed outside his comfort zone, which Genevieve says is her favourite way to work. The second was a renovation – always harder than a new build, she says. The extension included three bathrooms, a walk-in wardrobe, a media room, and a shared office and yoga space – his desk, her mat. As Genevieve puts it: “She doesn’t want to be practising yoga and looking at his computer. We designed a space with pocket doors that completely opened up, so it reads as a full office. Then when they are closed, it appears as a seamless wall with integrated joinery to store all of her yoga equipment.” The key, Genevieve says, was “thinking outside of the box and identifying all of the constraints first” and considering how a room would be used, by whom and at different times of the day. “It was so satisfying,” she says. “It felt like this extension was always part of the house.” So how does she know when she has got it right? “You can see it on their faces. People absolutely light up when they see something that they love, and often we hear, ‘That looks just like me’.” Looking forward, Genevieve wants to continue taking on projects like these and eventually branch into hospitality design, while strengthening the systems and staffing behind the business. Her interest in design goes back further than her formal training. As a young girl, she was constantly rearranging the furniture in her bedroom and admired well-designed interior space. “I’ve always been very visually driven, so it was a natural path,” she says. CONTACT US TO DISCUSS YOUR DREAM HOME www.fixationbuilders.co.nz info@ xationbuilders.co.nz | 021 810 044 Proud to support Wilde & Stone Blinds Screens Awnings Shutters Curtains Book your FREE in-home consult call Linton on 022 157 2180 Showroom 3 Frederick St Wānaka Delivering quality products & service
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