How did Sabah Design come about?
I’m a big fan of being authentic & transparent in all that I do- in both my personal and my work life, so todays post is a little different / comes from a more personal ‘deep and meaningful’ type place... I like to think I hold strong values when it comes to my work in particular and how I choose to operate, so I thought I’d share how I got to where I am now! (WARNING- you might wanna make a cuppa first… she’s a bit of a read!)
After working many jobs across various different creative industries over the years (former stage performer, photographer, travel writer and graphic designer over here!) I genuinely feel like with Interior Design I have finally found my calling.
I say ‘finally’, but in reality I think it’s always been ‘The One’! As a kid, I would change my room around more often than I’d change my socks, and that didn’t stop at home. I would often go to work with my mum during summer holidays and rearrange her clients rooms too… Adults just loved me.
Since re-training in 2018, I have had every opportunity to become a full-spec Interior Designer, covering all bases from exterior colours to kitchen design (and am still qualified to provide these services if I wanted to!), but ultimately picking the paint colours for someone’s roof just doesn’t excite me, and I would much rather spend my time making less money, but working on projects that I am super passionate about, because ultimately this ends up benefitting everyone!
It’s important when choosing to work with a designer that you really get on with each other and can find common ground; a mutual respect. It needs to be that you can easily approach them with any questions and that the person you find has a real love and care for what they do in order to get you the best results possible.
I’ve been lucky enough to work with a range of clients over the years and from this experience, know exactly who I want to work with and under what conditions. That’s why I choose to focus my energy on small spaces and the people that live and work in them.
Some call it limiting. I call it ownership.
Since moving to a small one-bed apartment myself (after owning a 4 bedroom home previously), I have lived through the experience of downsizing, am familiar with the quirks of living in an apartment block (both positive and negative!) and care genuinely for my fellow small-space neighbours.
In the UK where I’m from originally, flatting isn’t really a ‘thing’ outside of the big cities, yet in New Zealand it’s the norm. It’s been an interesting one to get my head around personally, but it’s also given me a great appreciation for the rental market too, and how the good design and decoration of your personal space in a home can improve a temporary situation just as well as any owned one.
I love how every small space comes with its own different puzzle to solve and that these seeming limitations can be easily overcome with a little ‘kiwi ingenuity’ and creative thinking.
(I battle with Imposter Syndrome on the reg, so this one’s a tough’un), but I actually love that I may not always have the answers off-the-bat, but how the reward of that lightbulb moment when I figure it out satisfies me just that much more.
I love that the different challenges each new brief brings forces me to keep learning all the time. Always adapting. Always growing. Always trying new things.
I am super grateful for the clients that encourage this organic process and are here for all parts of the journey, however many speedbumps may be encountered. Building a creative space that works well is a true and collaborative labour of love & like with most things in life, may not always come easily, but that’s what makes it all so worth it.