In Her Shoes: Amy from de Court Design

WHAT IS DE COURT DESIGN?

I started de Court Design several years ago, after studying interior design once starting a family. As the business starting growing I (quite easily!) convinced my sister Jess to come on board and we’ve never looked back. We are an Auckland-based interior design studio. We specialise in residential projects and love nothing more than transforming a client’s home into a space they desperately love to wake up to each day. 

talking business

When setting out on your current path in business, what was the vision you had for the future and how is this different (or the same) to your reality today?

We set out to create a business that would work around our family life, allowing us to work around our kids sleep and school hours and we have definitely achieved just that. In reality we find ourselves often sending emails, invoices or doing mood boards late at night once kids have gone to bed. But it genuinely doesn’t feel like a chore when the boss is yourself.

talking health

Name two of your favourite ‘feel-good’ activities that help to maintain your wellbeing – one that’s virtuous and one that’s a vice (or a guilty pleasure) – and tell us what you love about them.

I’m a recent F45 convert and after dropping the kids off in the morning, I love nothing more than getting to a session and sweating it out. This is my ‘me’ time and stress relief all rolled into one and I find it quite simply makes my brain work better.

My guilty pleasure would have to be enjoying an aperol spritz (or three) with my girlfriends at our local neighbourhood bar, soaking up some late afternoon sun. The old age saying a problem shared is a problem halved definitely rings true for me - my girlfriends truly are keepers.

talking home

How do you approach the styling of your home to make it truly ‘yours’ and how do you like to spend your time there?

I’m all about ‘soft minimalism’ – favouring designer pieces that stand the test of time but yet are still very family friendly. As much as I would love my house to look perfect all day every day, the reality is there is always tons of LEGO, racing cars and dolls everywhere! My home is my happy place, my sanctuary for me and my two kids Sofia and George. I love a good cuddle on the couch with my kids, but have strict rules – mainly around where they’re not aloud to eat and leave sticky fingers!

talking women

What do you think some of the big issues women are facing today and what change would you like to see happen before International Women’s Day 2021?

For women, the juggle between having a career and raising kids. Women still need more flexibility in terms of not just maternity leave, but also flexible hours in the working week, using technology to its advantage in terms of working not necessarily from the ‘traditional office’. We should be able to have the careers we want and raise our kids how we feel best and not feel like one has to be sacrificed for the other.