Interior designer + Everyday Needs founder Katie Lockhart is steering the sensibility of New Zealand interiors towards a European feel with her design studio Katie Lockhart Studio — a loving nod to her formative years spent in Milan. The Italian spirit exists in her rooms through romance and intimacy: walls painted in palettes reminiscent of classical buildings, and a textural landscape that is often punctuated with an element of surprise, be it wobbly or irreverent. Katie’s touch can be seen in retail spaces, residences, and restaurants throughout New Zealand and beyond. She also contributes editorial to print publications such as World of Interiors and Case da Abitare.
Katie’s own home is private, beginning with a driveway that leads you off a main road and into what feels like a country road, winding through towering native trees and beehive boxes. The doors are all open — Katie is growing irises on her bedroom balcony, and her daughter Grey has decorated the wooden trimming of their vintage Orkney Island chairs with shiny animal stickers. Overall, the space is relaxed and its beauty exists in Katie’s intentions. Nothing seems to be unnecessary and each room has been encouraged to celebrate itself with colored walls and a symphony of textural art pieces, most of which are created by people Katie knows and loves and openly supports, both personally and professionally. This is one of many reasons we’ve always admired Katie — a quiet leader, continuously encouraging local artists and gathering her friends together, happily blurring the lines between work and life.
What textures and colors do you enjoy having around your home? And does this extend into your work, or is your own home/space detached from this?
Most of our house interior is painted in a shade of green that I developed with Drikolor called 'living room green.’ Once we were ready to paint in the living room we removed a wall lamp and saw that the same green color we had made was already underneath the brown paint that was on top. This has happened a couple of times now with our renovations and although it is a little bit spooky it makes us feel reassured that the house was meant for us.
I love earthy textures at home, they feel warm and simple which is how we like to live. In our interior practice we definitely have these principles in mind, and we are always trying to imagine how our client will inhabit the space and how this will make them feel.
I love your collection of art. Did any of the artworks or paintings come into your life in an interesting way?
The hanging mobile is a work by Andrew Barber which I commissioned as a gift for [Katie's partner] Darryl one Christmas. It makes the room so lively. Darryl bought me the Kate Newby quilt hanging in our dining room for a birthday a few years ago, I guess a lot of our collection is made up of gifts between the two of us.
The hanging mobile is a work by Andrew Barber which I commissioned as a gift for [Katie's partner] Darryl one Christmas. It makes the room so lively. Darryl bought me the Kate Newby quilt hanging in our dining room for a birthday a few years ago, I guess a lot of our collection is made up of gifts between the two of us.
I noticed, since the last time I was here, you have moved a few pieces around. Does this re-positioning / refreshing of objects in space happen within your working process too?
Not that often, actually; only if we purchase something new does it tend to mean we revisit the arrangement of our furnishings. A lot of my favorite interiors were not changed from their inception. I love seeing furniture age, I am not keen on everything being new all at the same time.
Not that often, actually; only if we purchase something new does it tend to mean we revisit the arrangement of our furnishings. A lot of my favorite interiors were not changed from their inception. I love seeing furniture age, I am not keen on everything being new all at the same time.
Has there been an item you have found / resurfaced recently that made you happy?
We recently bought a very large antique slit drum which we have admired for a long time but finally plucked up the courage to purchase it. It once guarded the entrance to a village on Ambrym Island in Vanuatu and it now guards an entrance to our home. I love the idea of this additional protection for our family.
We recently bought a very large antique slit drum which we have admired for a long time but finally plucked up the courage to purchase it. It once guarded the entrance to a village on Ambrym Island in Vanuatu and it now guards an entrance to our home. I love the idea of this additional protection for our family.
Who was/were the last person/s you cooked for and what did you make?
One of my closest friends had her birthday at ours the other night and we had a lovely gathering, playing tennis in the twilight. It was a simple dinner of roast chicken, lentils, new baby potatoes, and salad from the garden.
One of my closest friends had her birthday at ours the other night and we had a lovely gathering, playing tennis in the twilight. It was a simple dinner of roast chicken, lentils, new baby potatoes, and salad from the garden.
What are your feelings associated with home?
I knew as soon as we walked into our now living room for the first time that this would be our home. At the time it seemed impossible that we would be able to buy this property but the elderly lady selling it chose us as we were the only family who put in an offer — the other offers were from developers who had no desire to keep the house. It has been a huge project for us to restore the house and the gardens but I feel like the energy that we put into both it gives back to us tenfold. I feel so grateful to have been chosen for our home.
I knew as soon as we walked into our now living room for the first time that this would be our home. At the time it seemed impossible that we would be able to buy this property but the elderly lady selling it chose us as we were the only family who put in an offer — the other offers were from developers who had no desire to keep the house. It has been a huge project for us to restore the house and the gardens but I feel like the energy that we put into both it gives back to us tenfold. I feel so grateful to have been chosen for our home.
Have there been any reoccurring themes coming up in your conversations with friends /colleagues recently?
There is a lot of conversation between our friends about taking more control of our lives, following our own paths rather than just wandering down the ones in front of us.