Trinity Interior Design: combining stunning design with seamless collaboration

It takes a village to design and build a stunning home. 

Each project requires expertise from a plethora of industries and professionals: engineers, architects, builders, interior designers and others must all align on the overarching concept, all while keeping the client’s brief at the top of mind. 

This means collaboration and clear communication between these stakeholders is an essential element when it comes to delivering results. This kind of collaboration is one of the cornerstones of Nicole McKenzie’s interior design studio, Trinity Interior Design – and it’s evident when looking at the results of her team’s projects.

To find out more, ArchiPro spoke to three different professionals who have worked closely with Nicole and the Trinity Interior Design team on projects throughout New Zealand – here’s what they had to say about their experience working with the Auckland-based studio.

Jason Bailey: We’ve been working with Trinity Interior Design for at least 15 years now, on many different jobs – and in that time we’ve cultivated a very good working relationship. Trinity’s business model – being a team of interior designers rather than just a solo practitioner – is beneficial for us in a number of ways.

We usually speak with Nicole fairly early on in each project, where we discuss which of her crew is the most suitable for each specific assignment. Their team is also a well-oiled machine at this point: they’re very good at meeting deadlines, working with programmes, and dealing with the considerable amount of administration work that comes their way.

All of this gives us the confidence that they will always deliver on their projects – regardless of the scale or the timeframe.

For us, good collaboration is essential. Nicole is a great communicator, and we both have similar approaches and philosophies towards design. It’s a very comfortable and established team culture – one of the reasons I like working with Nicole and her team is that we benefit mutually from each other: we let them do what they do best, and they let us do our thing as well.

Trinity is a very professional and efficient team. One of Trinity's other big strengths is their ability to work with the client and respect what they’re trying to achieve, rather than trying to influence them to go in a different direction. Of course, some people like to be challenged, and some people don’t – it’s all about responding to each particular client and doing what’s best for them.

Having the Trinity team on board is always satisfying because we work so well together. Their input complements our business, and vice versa, which is what you want to achieve when working with other creatives.

Julian Guthrie: We’ve worked with Trinity Interior Design on two separate occasions now: one for an alteration, and another for a new build, both in Auckland for internationally-based clients. Throughout both projects, it was very collaborative, which is the way we love to work. Both our teams were kept apprised across the board on what was going on; it was never a case of ‘we’ll do the architecture, and then you’ll do the interior’ – we worked together, and we really valued that extra experience and material knowledge that they brought to the table.

Trinity are very respectful of both the architect and the client’s input. They would put together a collection of suggestions of materials, colours, finishes, furniture pieces and the like, and submit it to us for feedback. Once we’re happy, it goes to the client – this way, we ensure all parties involved are satisfied.

As an architect, I really appreciate that approach, because we are all treated as working as a ‘team of teams’, rather than separate teams working independently of each other.

The highlight of working with Trinity is definitely their professionalism and their stellar communication. The way they present their ideas and feedback is very well organised and clear, and they make sure that their work is complementary to the work that we do, and this delivers the best results for our clients.

Ben Lewis: As a construction company, the best kinds of collaborations with other disciplines are the ones that make our jobs easier and smoother. When there’s an interior designer involved, it takes the pressure off between the builder and the client – we can go directly to the interior designer with any questions or concerns rather than continually questioning the client.

We first partnered with Trinity with a villa renovation in Freeman’s Bay, a project that is still ongoing. We’ve worked side by side with them on everything in the interior, from the fittings to the finishes. Throughout the whole process, we got along really well with the Trinity team; so much so that I asked them to work with me on another project in Karaka. 

I love their design philosophy, and Nicole’s approach to working with clients, and above all her calmness throughout a process that can become chaotic at times. The team is great at communicating, planning and scheduling – their plans are detailed and easy to understand, which is great for both us and our subcontractors.

It’s always nice to recommend someone to clients, knowing that they will have a good experience. 

Learn more about Trinity Interior Design and its recent projects.