'You have to feel a connection': The rise and rise of interior personal shoppers

Interior stylists have become our new best friend in the pandemic.

With many of us spending more time at home, the desire to lift our interiors game became a natural calling. They’ve become the voice of reason for taking decor risks, the calm before and after the storm when negotiating a revamp with a partner, and helping curate our homes one personal shopping list at a time.

So what’s it like to have an interior personal shopper who guides you through a home reinvention?

According to celebrity stylist Nicole Rosenberg, it can be a wonderful moment in your life.

“I develop great relationships with my clients, we become friends during the home styling journey which can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months and stay connected long after it,” says Rosenberg, who has worked on homes for Lana Wilkinson, Erin Holland and Zoe Foster-Blake.

Where women once splurged on occasion wear and fashion pieces pre-COVID-19, they’re now dedicating their dollars to home interior thanks to the biggest party (a small one at that) happening in our own home.

Stylists have also become the confidante women are craving right now. 

“We can’t travel and what women can’t spend on holidays, they’re spending on art, new furniture and the interiors industry is booming,” Rosenberg says.

According to interior stylist Aimee Tarulli of Archer Interiors, it’s all about getting to know your client to find the signature piece missing in the home. Whether it’s art, sculpture or furniture, it all comes down to working out what makes them tick.

“The most beautiful interiors should reflect their personality,” Tarulli says.

“There is no point in buying pieces to fill a space for the sake of it.”

“You have to feel a connection with it and it has to represent the client’s lifestyle. That’s when you get a special room,” Tarulli says. 

Home interior styling takes a leaf from fashion’s hype-filled catwalks too – it’s all about effortless chic, timeless appeal with a hint of quirk and wow factor. But the key to doing it right comes down to knowing what to source, what to splurge on and what can take a backseat.

Melbourne-based interior stylist Simone Haag has spent 14 years sourcing the best in fine furniture, art and found objects to steer her home interiors into something that feels familiar and luxuriously unique at the same time.

“It’s all about matchmaking my ideas and what I find on my journey and finding a home for it,” Haag says.

“Home styling also comes down to not putting too much emphasis on one piece, it’s about the whole creative story.”

And you’re doing it wrong when you put all your decorating eggs in the one basket.

“It’s like going to David Jones and blowing your cash on a fabulous Camilla and Marc dress and not leaving a budget for great shoes and earrings,” Haag says. “Home styling works the same way – you don’t want to sell yourself short that you can’t fulfil all the needs to tell the story.”

For Rosenberg, often all it takes is a chair.

“A special out-there chair that will push the boundary with colour, shape and cost is what I always tell my clients,” she says.

“Chairs create impact and punch in the room and become a focal point too. If you want to spend money, do it with this one chair.”

Whether it’s statement wallpaper, sourcing vintage pieces from places like Chapel Street Bazaar or Googling mid-century furniture and upholstering it for an added European advantage, Rosenberg is always on the hunt for distinctive pieces to keep homes as original as possible.

“Clients love you being their personal shopper because often they don’t have the courage to do it alone,” Rosenberg says. “ It’s always fun to get someone else involved in the process too to make the risk-taking feel a lot easier.”