Michelle Halford may have dreamed up the interior for her new home with the help of her own design blog, but she has brought her ideas to life on solid ground.
Dreams don’t always become a reality in everyday life. But through the power of visualisation – and, subsequently, her own design blog – Michelle Halford turned hers into plans. House plans.
Stepping into the home in Auckland’s Meadowbank, which she shares with husband Dean Grimmond and their two young sons, Roman (7) and Marlow (4), you’re struck by the light, bright, Scandinavian vibe. This is no accident. Says Michelle: “The architect did an amazing job designing the home to suit the site and surroundings. The pitched roof, high ceilings and large windows all work to maximise the space and make the best use of the light.”
But Michelle had a fair bit to do with the aesthetic herself. Leaving the technical side of the process to boutique building company Property Partners left time to fine-tune the design. It also allowed Michelle to start scheming interior ideas – which led to the conception of her now world-renowned blog, The Design Chaser.
Prior to having children, Michelle worked for a magazine publisher, but now working on the blog allows her to feed her passion for design while juggling the busy schedule that comes with being a mother to two young boys.
Geographic barriers are diminished online, and Michelle’s strong Scandinavian aesthetic is testament to this. Ask her a question about what’s hot right now in European design, and she reels off a long list without hesitation.
And what better way to walk your talk than on the very floors you will spend your days treading. “I was determined to bring this look to life in our own home, and dedicated a lot of time to planning, research, sourcing products, and creating moodboards,” Michelle says. “It also helped that Dean trusted me with the decision-making. You accumulate so much stuff with kids and, like me, he loved the idea of living in a more pared-back and minimalistic home.”
