An interiors expert’s advice on what to keep and what to upgrade when redesigning your home.
James Mitchell, the founder of New Zealand furniture and homeware brand Kayu Studio, has spent years thinking about how people actually inhabit their homes, not just how they imagine they will.
Mitchell’s background designing boutique stays in Indonesia led him to a simple philosophy: a home that lasts is one that’s built for real life, and how it changes over time. Here, he shares what that looks like in practice.
Start with materials that age well
The first question you should ask isn’t about colour or style, it’s about material. Solid timber, stone, linen, rattan: these are the foundations of a home that improves with time rather than deteriorates.
I’ve developed an appreciation for materials that reveal themselves over years of use, having worked closely with artisans and makers across New Zealand and Indonesia.
This could be a solid wood dining table that develops changes in character or a stone benchtop that wears in beautifully. Natural materials tend to age in ways that feel intentional, whereas their cheaper counterparts simply wear out.
There’s a version of saving money that ends up costing more. If you buy something that needs replacing in three years, you haven’t saved anything – so if you invest in the surfaces and pieces you touch and use every day, you can be more flexible elsewhere.
Build from a neutral foundation
Trend-driven colour and shapes are often the first things people want to undo. The solution is a considered palette that gives you room to evolve. The bones of a room should be quiet enough to let everything else breathe. Warm neutrals in paint, flooring, and upholstery create a backdrop that works with pieces added over time.
Equally, a neutral space doesn’t have to feel plain. Texture, timber tones and natural light do a lot of the heavy lifting. This also frees you up to introduce character through objects, textiles and art that can be refreshed without a renovation.
Make furniture work harder
Every piece in a home should earn its place, ideally in more than one way. Storage-integrated furniture (a sideboard that handles both display and organisation, a decorative bench that doubles as extra seating) reduces the need for additional pieces and keeps spaces feeling calm rather than cluttered.
My view is that clutter is often a sign that a home hasn’t been properly thought through – and people often think they need more space, when really they need their space to function better.
When everything has a place, a home can actually be lived in, rather than constantly tidied for guests.
Prioritise the spaces where life actually happens
Not every room deserves equal investment, and trying to do everything at once usually means nothing is done well. My starting point is always the spaces where people naturally gather: the kitchen, the dining area, the main living space. These are the rooms that absorb daily life and the ones where quality and comfort make the most difference.
Within those spaces, it’s worth thinking ahead. A dining table that seats six comfortably today should be able to seat eight or 10 as the family grow and people are invited in. Extra seating, like side stools or a bench that pulls to the table, means the home can flex without a total rethink.
Resist the urge to finish everything at once
This might seem counterintuitive, but leave room. A home filled all at once, even beautifully, tends to feel static. The spaces that endure are the ones that accumulate slowly, like a special piece added when the time is right (or when budget allows), or a wall left deliberately blank until the right thing comes along.
The homes that don’t need redoing aren’t the ones that were done perfectly from the start. They’re the ones built with enough intention that they can grow into themselves.
Kayu Studio celebrates its fifth birthday this year and opens its new showroom in Takapuna on June 5.
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