Most of us start with pictures. Beautiful kitchens, calm living rooms, dreamy bathrooms. The hard bit is turning those saves into a home that feels good every day. Interior designer Shelly Ferguson of SF Studio calls her approach livable luxury, where tiny details make daily life smoother, calmer and more personal.

Designing for people first

Shelly begins with people, not pictures. She calls it “playing detective.” Work hours, morning rush, hobbies, pets, pain points, even the traffic flow through your home all feed into the brief. She has been known to open drawers, chat to the kids and walk through each room to see how it really works. That honesty shapes decisions later and builds trust, which makes the process easier when choices pile up.

Once the brief is clear, she shifts focus to space planning. Floor plans, natural light, traffic flow and scale are analysed before anything else. Shelly maps zones for how you will actually use each room. That could mean adding a games table, a reading perch in the sun, or carving out space in a stud bay for storage or a hidden bar. She also looks for a focal point, whether that’s a view, a fireplace or a crafted feature, and then orients the room around it. Only once flow and proportion are right does she move to finishes.

Finding balance with light and materials

Light, she says, changes everything. New Zealand’s four seasons in a day can make colours feel very different depending on the time or orientation. Warm northern light can push colours into a hotter tone, while south-facing rooms need warmer whites and palettes to avoid feeling cold. Shelly also believes not every space should be fully opened up. A dark, cocooned media room can be just as valuable as a sunlit living zone.

Materials are another key to lasting design. Shelly gravitates to stone, engineered stone, robust paving, timber, metals that develop patina, and performance fabrics that survive pets and kids without losing their feel. The aim is to create interiors that still look good in years to come, not just in photos on day one.

Making daily life easier

Shelly’s idea of luxury also extends to the small, practical details. She builds charging stations into vanities, plans cabinetry interiors for tools and appliances, and makes sure Wi-Fi and outlets are integrated from the start. These aren’t big-ticket items, but they change how smoothly a home works.

The images you save are a great starting point. What Shelly shows is how to take them further, translating inspiration into a brief that reflects your life, then shaping spaces that function beautifully.

Disclaimer: This article is based on a podcast featuring insights from experienced professionals and is intended for general information and inspiration only. While we aim to share valuable guidance, please seek personalised advice from qualified professionals before making decisions about your property, finances, or renovation plans.