The Studio

Get to know your designer, Nichole

You should not have to choose between a home that works and a home that looks beautiful.

But too often, that is exactly what happens.

Work with someone focused primarily on the look—such as an interior designer or decorator—and you can end up with a beautiful space that is frustrating to live in every single day.

Or work with someone focused only on function—such as a cabinetmaker or builder—and you may get a space that can technically be built, but without the design knowledge or guidance to make it feel cohesive, personal or visually resolved.

Either way, you have invested in your home. Either way, you can be left thinking, “I wish I had done this differently.”

Fresh by Design Interiors exists to end that compromise.

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"I don't do "normal" interior design, because colours and materials alone can't change how a space works. If it could, you would just paint the walls, or cabinetry, and call it a day.”

— Nichole Davis

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Beautiful materials and colours cannot fix a bad floor plan.

The right tile will not give you more bench space. A gorgeous cabinet colour will not stop two people bumping into each other. And no organiser can solve a kitchen with nowhere to put things.

That’s why, unlike most designers, we don’t start with a mood board.

Nichole Davis outside the studio.

DESIGNER & SELF DIAGNOSED HOMEBODY

My dream day is a life filled with the people and things I love, not constant busyness and stress. I love slow, intentional days at home: reading in a sunny spot, baking in a kitchen where everything is easy to find, and hosting friends without it feeling like a production.

My happy place online is Pinterest. I can lose hours there gathering ideas for myself and my clients, and I leave feeling full of possibility.

At my core, I'm observant, creative, and grounded. And I hold my own home to the same standard I design to: it has to support the life I live in it.

Awards

  • Hawke's Bay Kitchen Design Recognition

  • Hawke's Bay Bathroom Design Recognition

  • DKNBA Silver Bathroom Design NZ Wide

  • Best Kitchen Hawkes Bay

Press

Qualifications

  • Kitchen and Bathroom Design

  • Interior Design and Decorating

7 things I know to be true

  1. You don't have to choose between beauty and function.

  2. Design should make everyday life easier.

  3. Your environment directly affects your mood and your mental load.

  4. Homes are busy, lived-in places, not showrooms.

  5. Storage and flow are foundational, not nice-to-haves.

  6. Decisions made in the right order save money, stress, and mistakes.

  7. When your home reflects who you are, it becomes a support system instead of another job.

And that’s why I do what I do.