Carol Hobson’s passion for Interiors lead her on a twenty-year journey that started with storing staging furniture in a friend’s garage; to becoming one of the largest, most established and most successful Home Staging and Interior Design companies in New Zealand.
“My team often teases me because I use the word ‘journey’ a lot; but I don’t mind, because I believe the Amazing Interiors journey is both a special one and a shared one. We wouldn’t be what we are today without my incredible staff. I also value the strong relationships we have with those who work closely with us, ensuring our clients achieve the beautiful, successful interiors they deserve. “ Carols approach to building long standing relationships and showing those how much she values them reflects well in business. “When people are appreciated, we all tend to be happier in what we do, become more loyal; while performance is heightened. One of my favourite sayings by Dale Carnegie is one I live off, “People rarely succeed unless they are having fun doing it…” I encourage a vibrant fun culture at work, we are like a big family really. Everyone truly cares about each other and are always there to help each other out when in need. It’s a divine atmosphere to be in, there is so much laughter. Work really is our happy place. My team are everything to me.”
 

Home Stage with Amazing Results: Transform Your Home with Our Expert Services

 
Carol’s trusted, long-standing relationships with clients, agents and developers set them apart from other Home Staging companies, while decades of collective experience bring a wealth of expertise in interior design and decoration.
 
Internationally recognised first-place winners in home staging, Amazing interiors also have a wide knowledge of Auckland’s real estate market and a deep understanding of what motivates buyers. While the “A-Team” as Carol calls them hold multiple awards in visual merchandising, styling, botanical design and entrepreneurship, we keep a constant finger on the pulse of the latest trends, enabling us to approach each job with professionalism and to achieve an exceptional outcome. Among the most experienced and talented in the industry, the team love going to work every day - and it shows in the work they produce. Every day we collaborate to create beautiful spaces and help homeowners and real estate agents achieve the prices they dream of, and buyers to find the homes they love.
 
Amazing Interior’s also have a ‘playground of design’ retail showroom, which is located on Auckland’s bustling main street of Howick Village. It also serves as the hub for interior design. The moment you walk through the doors of the retail showroom, you will discover a display of exquisite, luxurious interiors. Browse to your hearts content, we have an extensive range of exquisite decor, furniture, soft furnishings, window treatments and accessories. Friendly designers are on hand to offer you in-depth, on-the-spot advice, or if your project is large, you can book an in-home interior design consultation.
 
With many tiers to the service, we offer decorating advice and sourcing, interior and exterior colour consultations, and we are well known for our window treatment design. We love getting to know our clients and guiding you to uncover the vision for your home - and we want you to have fun in the process! So come and spend time with us in our playground of design – the place where exquisite interior design concepts take shape! 

Business Strategies
Amazing Interiors’ diverse business model hosts branches that build off each other. For example, they stage furniture for homes on sale, sell staged furniture, and interior design the buyers’ newly purchased homes. When the warehouse needs a clear-out to cater for new season décor and furnishings, they hold large scale clearance sales.
 
After customers purchase their ex-staged furniture, they can then revamp their new items by visiting the retail showroom for a reupholstery consultation. Working with a plethora of the latest fabrics in the showroom, and to bring life into a new forever piece, the interior designers take into consideration lifestyle, durability, and the elements already in your space.
Alternatively, at their chalk paint bar, Amazing Interiors can simply advise how to refurbish your furniture piece in a multitude of colours and finishes. Or bring your furniture project along to one of their chalk paint workshops, where you are expertly guided as you paint up a storm and take your finished masterpiece home.
 
Fostering a lively and positive work environment while identifying and developing the strengths of her Amazing Interiors team has lead to success in performance, loyalty and longevity of staff.
 

Carols Vision

Since moving to Howick from South Africa in 1986, Carol’s career began, opening the iconic interiors shop, Biggie Best. Carol’s passion for interiors evolved over the years, pioneering as a market leader, selling her store, and founding Amazing interiors in 2003, where she beautifully staged homes for sale. Carol could see an undiscovered niche for a design and staging consultancy. This started out of her garage and quickly grew to 3 large warehouses full of bespoke design pieces. 
 
This was the start of a very successful business.
 
Now alongside home staging, Amazing Interiors have a retail showroom; a hub for Interior Design services and window furnishings, showcasing an extensive range of exquisite decor, furniture, soft furnishings, window treatments and accessories. Amazing Interiors are also proud stocklists of New Zealand’s premium chalk paint, a craft furniture paint range made by The Artisan Company; as well as running a variety of interior focused workshops.
 
Carol is passionate about every aspect of her business, and her real love is working with clients, curtain furnishings and Interior decorating. Carol’s trend forecasting and selective buying has kept Amazing Interiors forefront in the everchanging fashion industry with beautiful sought-after quality items.
 
Amazing Interiors were extremely proud to have won the world-renowned International Property Awards, with the category prize of Asia Pacific.

Challenges the Home Staging Industry Faces in the Marketplace

Due to higher mortgage interest rates, a cost of living crisis, and an increase in building material and labour costs, the real estate market has significantly slowed down. Reduced sale activity means properties are on the market for longer, and more homes are available for buyers to choose from. As with last year, it is a sellers’ market no more. People hesitate to put their homes on the market during this crisis. Which means less homes requiring staging services.
As usual, Carol Hobson embraced opportunity in the face of adversity.
 
With homeowners increasingly opting to stay in their existing homes rather than selling up, Amazing interiors have capitalised on this and pushed the interior design services. Angling on transforming their existing home into one they dream of.
 

Improving Performance Despite the Market

Regardless of the challenge of the pandemic, Carol’s bold approach and knack for business growth confidently embraced opportunity. Many businesses had to close, leaving available fantastic property to rent. When the perfect space became available, she moved the home staging base from Ben Lomond Drive, Pakuranga Heights, to a high-profile warehouse in Auckland’s Ōtāhuhu. This impressive new warehouse and staging showroom serves as the hub for home staging. Carol invested a significant amount in signwriting the large building, which receives a high volume of daily traffic from passing cars.
 
The same went for the showroom, in the middle of the pandemic in uncertain times, Carol made the decision to move her retail base and took on huge retail real estate in the main strip of Auckland’s bustling Howick.
 
Her actions paid off, as the high exposure locations allow Amazing Interiors to stay in the forefront of their minds, and additional foot traffic has brought in many new customers. Not only has this resulted in more home staging and interior design jobs, but it has also dramatically increased her sales. Carol’s bold move has proven to be a great success and has enabled her business to grow and thrive during uncertain times.
 

Amazing Interior’s Key to Success: Strategies that Grew the Business

Carol's strategic approach to selecting business locations has proven to be effective in ensuring the success of the company. By carefully choosing properties with high exposure, she has positioned the business sites in a way that maximizes visibility and attracts customers. As a result, the company has been able to thrive and achieve its goals.
Fostering a lively and positive work environment while identifying and developing the strengths of her Amazing Interiors team has lead to success in performance, loyalty and longevity of staff.
Lastly, and one of the most important, when it comes to hardship in business, it can be easy to focus on the negative aspects. But instead of allowing stress to paralyze you, why not use it as an opportunity to get creative and find solutions? Stressful situations can be an opportunity to think outside of the box and come up with innovative solutions to complex problems.
 
The key is to take a step back and look at the situation objectively. Focus on the potential benefits that the situation can bring, rather than on the potential pitfalls. For example, if you're facing a tight deadline, look at it as an opportunity to hone your time management skills and bring out the best in yourself and your team.
 
When it comes to problem solving in stressful situations, it's important to consider all angles. Instead of rushing to a solution, take the time to research and analyse the issue. Look at it from different perspectives. This will help you to come up with a more effective solution that takes into account everyone's needs.
 
Finally, stress doesn't have to be negative. With the right attitude and approach, it can be an opportunity to grow, innovate, and find creative solutions. So, the next time you find yourself in a stressful business situation, take a deep breath, and start looking for the potential opportunities that can come out of it.
 

Lessons Learnt Along the Way

 Carol found success in an uncertain market by understanding the needs of her customers. She provided a variety of services that built off each other which made her business stand out. “A strength we had over the Covid pandemic, was that our company could diversify. Having multiple sources of income can help ensure that you will always have a customer base no matter what the economy looks like. This way you can always be sure to find clients who need your expertise.”
 
Networking is a gateway to partnerships, referrals, business advice, inspiration, and talent. Carol has been a long-standing partner with numerous local networking communities which have proven to provide a valued support system. As an entrepreneur, Carol heavily encourages the importance to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who can offer insight into both their successes and failures. “If you are able to build a network of trusted individuals, you can observe their successes to learn from their experiences.”
 
Carol and Amazing Interior’s success story is a testament to the power of resilience, creativity, and hard work infused with fun. She was able to capitalize on a situation that seemed unfavourable and build something that would benefit her customers and her business. Her success story is a reminder to us all to never give up, to look for opportunities in the face of adversity, and to always strive to provide a service which is beneficial to her clients.