Artisanal ApproachSustainable EthicsPricing
There is no single correct aesthetic. There is, however, a discipline behind every interior that works — and it is mostly restraint, sequence and detail.
The Nave is an interior design studio in Christchurch, working on homes throughout New Zealand — new builds, renovations, and rooms that have simply stopped working for the people in them. Fees are set against scope, not guesswork. Below is where most projects begin.
After our first conversation you'll receive a proposal with an estimate specific to your home. All fees are quoted in NZD and exclude GST.
Meet + Greet
Thirty minutes at the studio. Your project, our method, no obligation.
Complimentary
On Site Meeting
Up to two hours including travel in the Canterbury region. 50% deposit confirms the date.
$350
Design Hours thereafter
Interior design, CAD documentation, sourcing, meetings, site visits, quotes and orders.
$120 per hour (quoted in scope)
Full House Finishes
Flooring, tile, tapware, paint, hardware and cabinetry finishes — one coherent scheme. Priced on the size and scope of the property.
from $6000
Kitchens, Bathrooms + Custom Joinery
Detailed specification work. Fees start at:
Kitchen Design
from $3,600
Bathroom + Laundry
from $1,500
Custom Joinery
Quoted
What we can take care of
SCOPE
Take one part or the whole of it. We work alongside you and/ or your architect, builders and trades from the outset, or come into a finished house and put it right.
Renovations
Reworking what you already have, room by room or whole-house.
New Builds
Alongside you, your builder and/ or architect from concept to handover.
Full turn- key
Every decision, order and install held by us. You arrive to a finished house.
Kitchen Design
Fully documented — the most detailed room in the house.
Bathroom Design
Setting out, tile, tapware and lighting resolved together.
Laundry Design
The hardest-working room, planned as carefully as the kitchen.
Custom Joinery
Drawn for your walls and your cabinetmaker, not from a catalogue.
Custom furniture
Pieces made to a room's dimensions when nothing bought will do.
Soft Furnishings
Upholstery, cushions, bedding and rugs — the warmth in a scheme.
Window Treatments
Drapery, blinds and shutters, measured and installed.
Art Buying + Curation
Sourcing, commissioning and hanging a collection worth living with.
Pre- Sale Preparation
Targeted work before a campaign, aimed at return rather than taste.
-
Your goals for the house, and what you'd change first if you could only change one thing.
-
Measurements, structure, light, orientation and the condition of what's there.
-
Mornings, dinners, guests, children, dogs, storage. The routine the room has to carry.
-
The single most useful thing you can tell us. It decides what is achievable, not what is possible.
-
References, past work and materials, until we can name the thing you're after.
-
Initial layout and planning thoughts, offered on the spot. Often the most valuable part.
-
Where the scheme might sit — surfaces, colour, finish, and what your light will do to it.
-
The phases, the order they must happen in, and realistic dates — including lead times.
-
How we'd structure the engagement for your project — hourly, or a flat design fee.
-
A written summary and proposal. If it reads right, we begin; if not, you've lost nothing but an afternoon.
The first two hours
An initial consultation is a working session, not a sales call. We come to you, and we leave with enough to write a proposal. This is what we cover.
THEN
Concept and review → developed design → final design → documentation → quoting and orders → procurement and install → design management on site.
Questions, answered
How do you charge?
Hourly, or a flat design fee for defined scope. Which suits depends on the project; we'll recommend one and explain why.
Yes — provided we know it. A stated budget lets us put money where it shows and find restraint everywhere else.
Can you work to my budget?
How involved will I be?
As involved as you'd like. Nothing is finalised without your approval, and your preferences lead every selection we put forward.
What's your style?
The house's, not ours. What stays constant is the rigour — proportion, light, materials that age well.
Do you help with space planning?
It's where we start. Layout and flow are resolved before anything decorative is discussed.
All of it — furniture, drapery, blinds, wallpaper, art and the last objects on the shelf, sourced to the scheme and the budget.
Furniture, drapes and decor?
Gladly, and with trusted trades of our own. We can oversee the construction phase so the drawings are built as drawn.
Do you work with my builder?
Who manages orders and delivery?
We do. Orders, lead times, deliveries to site and installation, with site visits through the build.
How long will it take?
Scope decides it. We'll give you a considered programme after the initial consultation, lead times included.
Because you'll have seen it. We work in the open, in stages, and approve as we go — no reveals, no surprises.