Your home, designed to support the life you're building.
Kitchen, bathroom, and interior designer based in Hawke's Bay.
Data shows how a well-designed home changes how you feel in the morning, how smoothly the evening runs, how present you are for the people that matter.
As women, we know this, we’re often just not sure where to start, and it feels like a lot.
That's why we exist: to create spaces that are both functional and beautiful, so you can stop managing the chaos and start living the way you always intended.
KITCHEN DESIGN —
BATHROOM DESIGN —
WARDROBE DESIGN —
LIVING ROOM JOINERY DESIGN —
LAUNDRY DESIGN —
SPATIAL PLANNING —
KITCHEN DESIGN — BATHROOM DESIGN — WARDROBE DESIGN — LIVING ROOM JOINERY DESIGN — LAUNDRY DESIGN — SPATIAL PLANNING —
Designed for you + built for real life.
At its core, Fresh by Design Interiors strives to provide the women we work with well‑designed kitchens, bathrooms, and rooms that support the busy lives they’re leading — spaces that feel grounding and genuinely like home, instead of bland or overwhelming.
Our goal is to always leave our clients with cosmic amounts of the three C’s: clarity, confidence, and calm, from the first conversation through every day they spend in their home.
500 +
Spaces designed to lower the mental load and make your day-to-day easier.
11 +
Years protecting clients from expensive mid-build mistakes.
19+
Five-star reviews from couples and families who finally have a home that works.
4
National awards for spaces that are practical and beautiful.
Meet Nichole
Nichole’s a design magician who sees what others can’t, providing solutions others can’t see that save clients time, money, and leave them with a home that matches their investment.
She takes hard‑to‑run, tricky, “where do I even start?” homes and shows you the potential behind them, then gives you clear steps so you feel confident, clear, and in control.
Our difference is undeniable.
Traditional interior design is letting women down.
CURRENT REALITY
It’s our belief that the reason most women feel overwhelmed at home comes down to this: there’s a lack of storage, so tidying up feels like an uphill battle with nowhere for things to go. And to amplify that, the aesthetics of the home lack personality and don’t feel like you — so you’re living in a space that feels cluttered, out of control, and not like a reflection of who you are.
THE GAP
Traditional interior design splits your home in two. Interior decorators and designers focus on how it looks, while cabinet makers and joiners focus on building the storage and cabinetry — but neither option marries the two together, leaving you underwhelmed by a home that doesn’t match the investment you’ve made.
THE FRESH BY DESIGN INTERIORS WAY
When you choose Fresh by Design Interiors, you’re getting the complete path from idea to buildable reality. Clear concepts, functional layouts, budget‑aligned choices, and detailed plans so your dream home doesn’t stay a dream, it gets built.
Our process is designed to be clear from the start.
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First call — 20 minutes
This call is to answer your questions and see if we’re the right match without any pressure.
This is a phone or video conversation. You’ll get an approximate price for the work involved, and clear next steps, so you can move forward in the right direction.
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Deep‑dive session.
If we’re a good fit and you accept the proposal, we book a longer deep‑dive session.
We go space by space, talk about what’s working and what you want to change, and I start looking at your plans to diagnose the real problems. This is where I get a feel for your personality, how you want the space to look and feel, and what we’re really trying to achieve.
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Concept floor plans.
Next, I create 1–3 different floor plan options for each space.
These concepts are about optimising the space you have (especially with new‑build homes getting smaller), creating proper storage, and setting up a design that will let the aesthetics shine.
For every layout, you’ll get a 3D visual so you can actually see what it will look like, and together we decide which direction to take — sometimes it’s one option, sometimes a mix of two.
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Feasibility check.
We then send the concept plans to the relevant subtrades — plumbers, electricians, tilers, and more — to make sure what we’re proposing is possible in practice. Bigger items like joinery and benchtops are priced as well, so we can check that we’re staying within the budget we’ve set.
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Technical documentation.
Once we’re happy with the direction, I prepare final plans and technical documentation.
Every subtrade gets exactly what they need: lighting plans, cabinetry design, mechanical requirements, dimensioned drawings — the full picture so there’s no confusion on site.
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Materials and colour selections.
We then choose alongside you, a Pinterest board, and a clear design direction, the final materials, fittings, and finishes that suit the budget, the space, and your goals.
Think colour palettes, mood boards, pulling samples, and putting it all together.
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Handover and Ongoing Support.
Everything is handed over to your builder or joiner, with ongoing support from me so you’re not left to bridge the gap between the plans and the finished home on your own.
Real homes.
Real changes.
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Kitchen Renovation
NAPIER HILL
A true, original mid-century kitchen that was designed for the 1960’s housewife lifestyle which didn’t suit this busy family of four who wanted to spend their evenings together, gathering as a family with both parents in the kitchen.
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Extensive Rebuild
NAPIER HILL
An outdated Art Deco kitchen that lacked bench space, storage and flow, leaving the cook isolated from their guests with no real space to gather. The finishes were bland and didn’t reflect the couple’s personality or love of entertaining.
In collaboration with (and photography by) Tones & Co.
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New Build
HERALD ISLAND
Before
They were building their dream forever home and had a clear vision for the aesthetics, but were lost on how to achieve the level of functionality they needed for a family of five. They knew this was their forever home and wanted to get it right from the start.In collaboration with Tones & Co.
Design is about 10% of your spend. It protects the other 90%.
What nobody tells you is you’re being charged by someone else to help you design your space regardless; whether you pay a builder, plumber, and/or an electrician to make it up as they go.
When you design first with the right person, you make the big decisions up front, get accurate quotes, and can compare multiple prices for the same, clearly‑defined scope. That doesn’t just save money — it saves stress, headaches, and the risk of discovering expensive mistakes only once you’re already paying for them.
Let's clear the overwhelm before we start.
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This is why we never expect you to visualise your kitchen from a 2D plan and a tiny tile sample.
You will see exact, photo-real 3D renders of your space before you commit to a single finish. We lock the layout first, then we layer the design, meaning the risk of a very expensive "I thought it would look different" is almost completely removed.
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When you get quotes without a locked design, builders have to guess your finishes—which means every quote is actually for a different kitchen.
By working with us first, you hand your trades a complete, builder-ready specification document. Because there is no guessing on site, the quotes you receive are accurate, comparable, and final.
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No. Right now, you are probably spending your evenings scrolling Pinterest, feeling overwhelmed by 400 different opinions.
We take over the mental load. We map the zones, solve the storage problems, and present you with clear, guided decisions in the exact right order. You get to enjoy the fun parts of the process without project-managing the chaos.
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Your design fee is not an extra cost—it is the insurance that protects the rest of your budget.
The most expensive mistakes happen when decisions are made out of order, or when trades have to improvise on site. We engineer the space so it actually works, and provide the technical documentation that keeps your build on time and out of the redo pile.
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A standard builder’s allowance usually covers the bare minimum: basic cupboards that do not account for how you actually cook or live.
When a joiner does "free" design, the cost is hidden in the build, and their job is manufacturing, not solving your morning routine. We engineer the joinery-first systems that actually lower your mental load, and hand your builder a locked specification so that allowance doesn't suddenly double.
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Ideally, before the slab is poured. If you wait until the builder asks you to pick your kitchen colours, it is already too late to fix a broken layout.
We start by analyzing your architectural plans to catch the hidden friction points, ensuring the walls, windows, and plumbing are in the exact right place from day one.
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Absolutely not. We actually need to see the reality of your daily life—the appliances taking up all the bench space, the corner cupboards that don't work, and the school bags dumped on the island.
You don't have a tidying problem; you have a layout problem. This is a completely judgment-free space, and our goal is to design the systems that fix it.
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You do not have to choose between a pretty space and a practical one.
We do not design fragile show homes; we design camera-ready spaces that are kid-proof and guest-ready. By creating dedicated zones for the school-run scramble and using durable, future-proof finishes, your home will look incredible while actually surviving your family's daily routines.
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Yes. We take the decision fatigue entirely off your plate. You do not need to know the technical answers, the right order to pick things, or how to explain your style to a tradesperson.
We guide you through plain-English options, make expert recommendations based on your habits, and give you the confidence to simply say "yes".
I know this feels like a lot at the start.
I’ve been through it myself, and I’ve helped hundreds of clients through it too. Now more than ever, we’re conscious of where our money is going and want every investment to pay off — design included.
If this is something you’ve been thinking about for a while and you’re not sure where to start, or even if you need a designer, let’s have a chat. It’s a free, 20‑minute, no‑pressure call, and together we’ll work out what your next step should be.