According to Dinah Malyon the key to successful interior is using pieces that work together to create a story. We step inside her home to see how she does it
Inside expert homestager Dinah Malyon’s Newmarket home
If you’ve recently admired the chic homestaging in a house that’s up for sale, then chances are it’s been styled by Dinah Malyon or one of her team. The powerhouse behind Auckland-based dmi Homestagers has been creating glamorous interiors to suit a broad range of clients for more than 18 years – long before homestaging became de rigueur.
Naturally then, Malyon’s own sense of style is well-honed and her Newmarket house, which she shares with partner Stewart Watson, is the perfect mix of elegance and comfort. However, it is not without personality. “Using components that work together to create a story is the key to successful interiors,” she says.
Her business, which also includes interior design and project management, is hugely successful, due in part to Malyon’s ability to understand what her clients need and customise the offering accordingly, and to her fabulous collection of furniture, furnishings and accessories amassed over more than 20 years and stored in her large Parnell warehouse.
With a home on Waiheke Island, Malyon needed an urban base and she liked the location, character and view of this three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse. “I renovated the whole house – lighting, bathrooms, kitchen, flooring and the outdoors,” she says. Getting the lighting right in any space is tricky and her choices, which vary in style and size from room to room, are carefully curated and add a contemporary edge. Pendants are a favourite and she has hung them at different heights and, as with the three in one of the bathrooms, in groups for added interest.
By sticking to a neutral base and adding pops of colour through artworks, fabrics and furniture, along with a mix of textures including marble and sisal, she has created a bolthole that “makes us happy to come home to”.
Words by: Naomi Larkin. Photography by: Rebekah Robinson.
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