WINNING OVER THE HARD SPACES
Eighteen years in the interior design industry is a solid foundation for a creative, award-winning business.
Davinia Sutton, with the backbone of a Diploma in Interior Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Spatial Design, has been in the business since the age of 23 and operating ‘Detail by Davinia Sutton’ for the past ten years. Her design practice – based in Merivale – isa high-end bespoke interior architecture business with projects across New Zealand and Australia, specialising in the ‘hard spaces of the home’: kitchens, bathrooms, laundry spaces, dressing rooms, media rooms, and study areas, to name a few.
Davinia has put 68 awards under her belt since 2007; this total includes three on the international stage. Davinia’s experience plays a great significance in her role as key designer and director of a business, now with five staff – and growing still.
Davinia and her team ‘enjoy personally tailoring each and every design to its architectural context, and pushing boundaries to deliver a stunning result’.
“The success of my studio has been achieved through the collective ability of the team to listen to our clients’ needs.”
A busy life for a mum with a young family means the designer has to work on a finely tuned balancing act. “Often I get asked, ‘how do you do it....?’ I have an amazing team based in the studio, that is the backbone of what we do and the achievements we have scooped – this really is a true result of them and collectively their hard work.”
Davinia describes her studio as a family, “one that I really appreciate, and love being a part of. We all share the design journey”. The team recently won big at the NKBA Awards, taking away a staggering 12 wins, including Outstanding Renovation of a Kitchen and 2019 Designer Of The Year. This reinforces the fact that Davinia and her team are on the right track.
President of NKBA, Jared Dinneen describes Davinia as ‘one of the best in the business’ and a ‘complete professional’.
“As an organisation, we talk a lot about how kitchen and bathroom design is a professional service. In order to be the
best, you must learn your craft through education and industry experience. Davinia Sutton is the epitome of professionalism. She understands her clients’ needs and delivers exceptional work, while also being experienced, qualified and a creative genius,” Jared Dinneen says.
Davinia acknowledges some of the key contributors to her amazing results, as the team collaborates with many talented manufacturers and trades in the construction process.
“For each project, there are usually seven to eight different trades involved. Without this talented skill base behind the scenes taking our vision and turning it into reality, we wouldn’t have the finished results that speak for themselves and the accolades we have received. There is a larger team that brings these projects together, which makes all the difference.
“Engaging a designer is an investment, and our role is all about problem-solving. It’s like putting a puzzle together to resolve people’s living environments; taking a design approach to the mental challenge.
“We enjoy working on all factors of the interior architecture – to ensure that the home or building reads and ‘talks’ as one. It’s a critical factor.”
daviniasutton.com