'We’ve got enough furniture for 120 houses'

In the 1990s, home-staging wasn’t a thing in New Zealand. Along came Dinah Malyon and everything changed. Nowadays displaying furniture and accessories to show off a home is part of marketing it. Dinah, 63, has taken a step back and daughter Philly Lyus, 38, runs the company, DMI Homestagers.

How do you get along? Fight like cat and dog or nice and harmonious?

Dinah: We get along pretty well. I think there’s a mutual respect and I’m grateful to Philly for coming to work here because she’s always got my back, which is a big thing for me. And it’s enabled me to have a life, which I haven’t had. I’ve worked solidly for 24 years.

Where did you grow up?

Dinah: I was born in Hawke’s Bay but lived in Auckland most of my life. Lived in a beautiful big home in Ngaphui Rd, Remuera. My mother never worked a day in her life. My mother’s name was Phillipa but she was called Billie. And my father’s name was Rowley.

What was your biggest aspiration as a child?

Dinah: I think independence, probably. I always wanted to have a business of my own. I think I make things happen. I think that probably comes from my father. He was a networker. He was the president of the Auckland Club and very respected in Auckland.

Were you a good child?

Dinah: No. I was quite rebellious.

What was your naughtiest moment?

Dinah: The party when my mother went away. A friend told me the Mongrel Mob were coming, so I rang my uncle, who was the master at St Kents, and he came and stood at the gate — because my father wasn’t there either — and ushered all the boys away. Mother never knew.

Where did your love of design come from?

Dinah: I got married and moved to the South Island and probably a lot of my inspiration came from then. Resene’s first shop was just down the road from where we lived. That’s when everyone in Christchurch started painting their rooms Mexican red. That was huge because people in Auckland weren’t using those colours. I made all of my own curtains and I painted my rooms. That was probably the start of me thinking I had a bit of flair. That was the late ‘70s.

How did you transition into interior design?

Dinah: Originally, I had clothing shops. When I got out I ended up buying and selling property with my partner, so I was setting up houses with our own furniture. When our relationship disintegrated I rang a friend who was in real estate and said, ‘what do you think about this idea’, and she said, ‘oh no, it will never work’.

Did she eat her words?

Dinah: She rang me back and said ‘I’ve got this guy…’ I ended up taking my furniture out of storage and putting it in his house. Within about six weeks I was borrowing furniture. I had no money. I borrowed $10,000 from the bank for my car and I just built it up. Put my neck on the line and worked for years.

How much stuff do you have now?

Dinah: We’ve probably got around $6m worth of furniture. We’ve got enough furniture to furnish about 120 houses at any one time.

Have you got enough now?

Philly: She’s one of those people they need to do a TV show on. She just keeps on going and boxes still arrive here all the time. I’m like, what have you been buying now? She just can’t help herself, she’s just a total hoarder.

Philly, what was life like growing up?

Philly: Busy. All our houses were beautifully presented. Even when she was in the rag trade she had that natural flair. We used to move quite a lot because she was always on the go. She’s a mover and a shaker. Just never really settles. Always wants to push forward — buy, sell and renovate. That’s how she’s always been.

How many homes did you move around as a kid?

Philly: Hmm. Probably about 15 to 20. I really enjoyed it, but funnily enough I’ve been in our family home for six years and there’s no way I want to move anywhere.

Did you inherit or learn your design nous?

Philly: It’s hard to know. I remember as a kid always changing my room around. I always cared how my personal space looked. I can pick up an interior design job and be able to zone in on what will suit the home. That’s the staging training, probably what Mum taught me.

Are you proud of your mum?

Philly: Every day I’m proud of her. I love that I can carry on her legacy. It’s an amazing one because ultimately what we’re doing is helping people with their homes.

Do you have any spare time?

Philly: I’m a mother of three, so that’s pretty much my life. My husband’s a real estate agent, so spare time is pretty much running the kids’ activities.