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Meet and greet: Tracy Grant Lord (scenographer, set and costume designer) and David Lord (newly retired).
The property: Inner-city apartment in Auckland.
For acclaimed scenographer Tracy Grant Lord, moving from a large home to a city apartment was the chance to curate a thoughtful and balanced legacy.
Please tell us about your home.
I have recently moved from my big, old and beautiful rambling home of 25 years, in Hillpark, South Auckland, which I shared with my husband, into a new apartment in the city. The apartment building we live in is in the Waterloo Quadrant area and the connection to the geographical, cultural and historical heart of the city is of enormous value to us both. It is wonderful to be wrapped in the arms of the city.
Please explain your job as a scenographer.
My work can be described as visual storytelling on the stage, which I do for opera, ballet and theatre. The literal meaning of scenography is scene drawing. I design the world in which a story on stage is revealed to an audience, through set, costume and lighting.
What are you currently working on?
This year, I am working on the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s new production of The Nutcracker, touring the country this Christmas 2025, alongside designing costumes for the Finnish National Opera’s production of Morgonstjarnan (The Morning Star), premiering in Helsinki, January 2026. Plus the musical & Juliet touring New Zealand, April 2026. I also have a returning season of Queensland Ballet’s Dangerous Liaisons in Brisbane coming up this October.
How did you approach decorating your apartment?
To be honest, our new home is completely decorated itself. We started with the carpets because we had pieces that we knew we were bringing with us. I made a drawing to scale and placed them where they would naturally go, and they, in turn, defined the areas within the space.
Then the larger pieces of furniture found their place, and one in particular – the counter at the end of our kitchen in Hillpark, which was from an old shop – fitted so perfectly between our new kitchen and dining area, defined by the carpets, we couldn’t quite believe the harmony between the old and new. This spurred us on to embrace the classicism we love inside the contemporary bones of the apartment.
What inspires your personal design choices?
I have always been interested in harmony and balance, whether it is inside a painting, a piece of music or a forest. This is about composition, and it’s how we curate ourselves. To feel comfortable and at ease in a home is paramount.
I’m not necessarily concerned by the politics or fashion of a thing, but I do like to know that there is an integrity within something. It is important that things serve a purpose and are meaningful to me, or my family, or the maker and therefore hold a space inside the “scenic” world of my home. From beautiful fabrics to statues, to collectibles and artwork.
You work from home – can you tell us about your workspace?
My space is the original media room of the apartment and is the ideal room for concentration. It has a lot of books and archives and materials and equipment, but all tucked away in some very nice sets of drawers and cupboards that were certainly not in my last studio.
I inherited a beautiful desk and credenzas from the old house that I adore and happily keep company with them as I work away. There is a newfound concentration in this space that I really value. I am very purposeful when I am in there and know what needs to be achieved on that morning or within that week. I am a planner, so I like this structure, and it has improved my output considerably. No need to look out at the view. A world of views is at my desk.
What do you love most about your home, and what do your favourite moments in your home look like?
I love the promise of things to come in my new home and in my city world. We changed our lifestyle so significantly and with such enormous success for us both personally that I can’t help but feel that there is a lot more ahead.
Favourite moments are waking up and seeing the sunrise over the Waitematā reflected in the mirror glass of the building opposite, and of course, opening the door to friends and family as they join us for a meal in our new world.
What are your tips on how to master decorating an apartment?
Keep what you love and is meaningful around you, and don’t feel there is a right way or a wrong way to do something according to taste or fashion. Stay open to looking for the balance and harmony of things around you, and make sure you are happy with the levels and the quality of the light in your world.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s nationwide tour of The Nutcracker runs from 30 October to 20 December. For more information, visit rnzb.org.nz.
See more images of Tracy Grant Lord’s apartment below
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