Top Australian Interior Designers

Interviews, Tips and Advice from Australia's top Interior Designers. A recent feature for Australian Open Colleges Featuring:

Greg Natale, Bespoke Design - Brendan Wong, High End Residential - Darren Palmer, The Block - Justin Bishop, Traditional & Enduring - Sian Macphearson, Est Magazine Editor - Jen Bishop, Interior Design Publishing - Andrew Loader, Residential and Boutique

Justin Bishop is passionate about timeless, traditional style design. Throughout his design career he has worked in a variety of creative fields, developing a passion for the creative process; and always demonstrating an absolute sense of style.

Justin founded his interior design company over ten years ago and has designed a number of versatile projects throughout the country, from the most elegant urban residences to casual weekend retreats and innovative commercial interiors.

As an interior designer he is known for his classically sophisticated interiors, which blend old and new harmoniously. His work has appeared in many leading magazines and interior publications including Belle, Country Style, the Melbourne Age and the Grand Designs magazine. Australian House & Garden recently listed him as one of the 'best of the best' interior specialists in the country.

1 What's the secret to running a successful interior design company?

I think the core of running a successful business is a belief in your product and a passion for what you do. I live and breathe classic style and design, it's ingrained in me. I genuinely enjoy assisting my clients and I'm always excited about working on new properties with them. Of course, a good business head is also a must but primarily in design, it's so important to love what you do.

2 What is the Australian industry like? How is it unique?

I suppose we have our own niche. Of course, we are influenced by overseas trends and styles, both current and past, but there is definitely a fresh, Australian pared-back and slightly rustic style that is truly our own. We have more and more access to international products but we are also fortunate to have a growing supply of brilliant designers and manufacturers right here on our doorstep.

3 What's required to work on heritage design projects?

Working on heritage projects requires a sympathetic and controlled approach to design. It's not an avenue to be too clever and creative, rather it's about showing restraint, being true to a particular design style and executing a coherent, well thought out scheme. I love working on heritage projects as my personal style leans towards a more traditional aesthetic.

4 What are the biggest challenges you face in your daily work and how do you overcome them?

Organisation! As a creative type, this is not my strongest point. It's SO important to be organised when making decisions and passing on information. The slightest mistake can have an enormous impact on the outcome of a project. I make lists and I cross check everything; I force myself to be diligent with my diary and I make sure that I have covered everything on a daily basis.

5 What advice would you offer students looking to build their portfolio?

Get out there and start designing! Offer your services to friends and family. As well as a good education, experience is so important. Record what you do. Photograph your work, whether it's at design stage or completion. You can edit your portfolio at any stage but initially, it's important to create a large body of work. You will gain experience and start to develop your own personal design style.

Embracing the Dark side

While I am known for my penchant for 'white' interiors, I have recently been gravitating toward a darker colour palette in my work.

There is something decadently luxurious about a dark interior scheme; deep natural tones in charcoal, black, chocolate, and tobacco, teamed with deep oak joinery and other timber interior details.

It's a slightly more masculine look, that suggests the feeling of an old school gentlemans office or library.  There are leather bound books, cut glass whiskey decanters and a collection of timber walking sticks.

As the following images suggest, using darker elements in a traditional scheme will not look dated or overly fussy; what we see, in fact, is a slightky contemporary edge.

By using a clever mix of beautiful fabrics, natural timbers, sophisticated colour schemes, and perfect accessories the look can be stunning, elegant, and utterly timeless.

The French Chateau Dolls House

As promised, in a blog a few months ago, I have completed the first design in a new series of architectural miniatures. The French Chateau. Many years ago, as some of you will remember, I produced a range of handcrafted Architectural Miniatures, decorative Dolls Houses and collectable objet d'art. I am excited to announce, I have decided to recreate a selection of the original range. Hand crafted and hand painted, in the style of the original designs, these one off pieces will be available online… See our online store for more details.

Encaustic tiles

Encaustic cement tiles have been around for centuries and I have been coveting them for years.

As a child, I remember my parents designing a patterned mosaic for our front hall. The result was beautiful. It is an image that has remained with me and I'm delighted to be reinventing it in a current project.

Cement tiles are decorative, colorful tiles used primarily as floor coverings. Floors or walls covered with these tiles are noted for their multi-color patterns, durability and sophisticated look. These tiles are widely used in Latin America and Europe. Their popularity spread to the US, primarily in California and Florida through the 1930s and 40s.

The tiles' colorful patterns, durability and versatility have been attracting the attention of architects and designers for large commercial projects such as restaurants and hotels. I have seen them used to great effect during my recent travels through South East Asia. 

Bali favourites: Balquisse Living

I was mesmorised when I set foot in the new Balquisse Living showroom.

It opened on November 1st, and is a 1.300m2 warehouse full of amazing furniture, antiques and curios. It presents four brands of the Balquisse Living Group under one roof, Hishem Furniture, Shahinaz Collection, Aisha Antiques and ZB Design

The showroom features exquisite curios and antiques, soft furnishing from Shahinaz collection, furniture from Hishem, and magnificent lights from VBL Lighting, it is the quintessence of The Balquisse Living style. The showroom features several room settings which are very industrial, "boudoir" chic!

Balquisse has developed a strong brand, supplying its product to many of the new vintage venues in Bali and around the world. 

Opulence is one of thier keywords and vintage is their motto.

Balquisse Living

Sunset Rd 18A

Kuta, Bali

Bali favourites: The Bistrot

Another new favourite on Seminyak's Eat Street (Jalan Laksmana) is "The Bistrot". This glamorous cafe has a sublime, retro feel to it. In the words of the owners" the restaurant is reminiscent of a chic Orient Express railway dining carriage" and this is so true...

"Discreetly situated behind a beautiful temple but roadside on the very popular ‘Eat Street’ of the Seminyak area of southern Bali, this restaurant and bar has been conceptualised and lovingly put together by the formidable Moroccan and Belgian team of Zohra and Blaise. An impressive wooden and natural hewn stone air-conditioned yet high ceilinged open space, guests immediately feel welcomed upon entering and reminded of a New York loft/factory space with a distinct industrial feel.

The interior furnishings are warm and accommodating, and pay homage to many antiques and artifacts sourced from around the Indonesian archipelago, most being from the couple’s personal collection. The upstairs bar, provides a space that Hemingway would be proud of, and the spacious restaurant area reminiscent of the chic Orient Express railway dining carriage."

The Bistrot

Jalan Kayu Aya 117

Seminyak

Styles of interior design # 3

Eclectic Interior Design

Eclectic interior design is the ultimate ‘combinations’ of interior design styles – it is also absolutely your best opportunity to make your very own, absolutely personal, unique personality stamp
As it applies to the world of design, eclecticism is a blend of furnishing styles from a mixture of sources and time periods. An eclectic room should feature pieces with commonalities to create harmony within the design. It is a planned, deliberate design. A shared theme or component should tie everything together.

The color schemes used can be diverse, but as a general rule, neutral colors are important both as a backdrop and for large furniture pieces. Perfect colors for this style include white, cream, gray, black, brown, taupe and putty. Contrast is an important element for colors, and materials in eclectic style interior design.

Other eclectic elements include:
Collections and sets of similar pieces
‘One of a kind’ items
Global pieces from around the world
Contrast in color or finish
Traditional and modern elements together
Rough fabrics mixed with elegant textiles
Worn surfaces combined with refined surfaces
When combining various furniture pieces, assemble complementary items based on their shapes, fabrics, or finish. A curvy, French sofa can be paired with a modern chaise lounge when the materials have some commonalities – perhaps coordinating fabrics are used on each piece. An eclectic room's fabrics should harmonize with each other. Combining different finishes can also increase the feel of eclecticism in a room. For example, gray walls accentuate a silver statue, which contrasts nicely in front of an antique tapestry. The idea is to mix and match furnishings by their finishes and textures while keeping an eye on their relationship to each other in the overall room design. The main thing is a controlled contrast of diverse elements. 

Sydney favourites QT Designer Hotel and Gowings Bar & Grill

This week, while on a three day styling project in Sydney, I revisited one of my favourite city locations. A place I had dropped into frequently when I lived there many years ago... Gowings department store in George Street.

I had known it as a Sydney landmark, a menswear institution for hundreds of thousands of men and their families who had been flocking through its doors since the stores opening in 1912. It was the place to buy menswear clothing essentials, iconic Australian brands such as Bonds and RM Williams (I bought my first pair of RM boots there when I was 21) Australian soldiers were clothed there during the war years. There was even a barber shop where a 'short back and sides' cut was the order of the day. 

Sadly, in January 2006, after three years of successive losses, Gowings closed it's doors for the last time, taking with it generations of memories for Sydney shoppers. 

In recent years, however, the Gowings building has been transformed. The Design Hotel group has opened QT DesIgn Hotel Sydney - and I was fortunate to stay there on my stay this week. 

An article in The Australian newspaper by Christine Mcabb explains it all...

"The scene is set by a streamlined art deco sign above bustling Market Street where dapper porters, sporting berets and jeans, wait on the pavement.

This is hotel as theatre. Staff have been cast not recruited, and all front of house personnel, from the bowtie-clad concierge to the red wigged “Directors of Chaos” visit hair and make up each morning before clocking on.

And “uniforms” are courtesy costume designer Janet Hine (the woman behind Dame Edna’s final frock).

The hotel’s 200 guestrooms occupy the building above the State Theatre and the old Gowings department store linked through the first floor lobby. Entrance is via the glittering former State Theatre shopping arcade where even the lifts get in on the act, kitted out with LED digital art (a feature throughout the hotel) and adjusting muzak according to the number of passengers on board (solo travellers might be serenaded with ‘Are you Lonesome tonight?’).

Local designers Nic Graham and Shelley Indyk have teamed up to deliver playful, stylish but eminently comfortable interiors that incorporate many of the buildings original features (a century old urinal in the men’s loo for example) and take into account the specific idiosyncrasies of each individually styled guest room.

The low ceilinged lobby is scattered with bespoke furniture and dominated by an installation of vintage luggage. The guest lounge is dotted with large velvet ottomans and the wall lined with artfully stuffed cabinets of curiosities (in fact the hotel shop selling all sorts of stylish objets d’art).

Each design-focused guestroom is different (in the Gowings building the original department store floor boards have been retained), decorated in rich reds, oranges, yellows and white, but all share certain features: an incredibly comfy ‘Gel’ bed, cleverly curated ‘artefacts’, quirky bedside lamps (in the guise of top or bowler hats, book binders or vases), an excellent mini bar (stocked with healthy snacks), Nespresso machine and a welcoming martini tray.

Where to eat
Under director Robert Marchetti and executive chef Paul Easson (ex Mebourne’s Rockpool Bar & Grill), food will be a feature at QT. On the ground floor the Parlour Lane Roasters café morphs into a wine bar after dark. Upstairs, the all-day dining Gowings Bar & Grill is the antithesis of your usual hotel eatery, a buffet free zone (in the mornings bar staff front to mix smoothies) featuring a huge open kitchen fitted with wood fired ovens and an impressive glass fronted seafood room where a giant yellow fin tuna (delivered weekly) hangs to be cut as needed. Room service is equally innovative, served in a bento style box for easy, in-bed dining."

Living minimally

While I am known for creating rich, layered textural interiors, I try to use restraint with certain design elements. Colour, for example.  A richly layered room can be sublime if a sense of order, and control is applied by using a simple monochromatic colour scheme. Similarly, a harmonious result can be achieved in an interior when, a commonality is observed between collections of objects, using style, texture or tone.

The extreme of this aesthetic, of course, is minimalist design and there is a true art to creating the perfect minimal, yet warm and visually interesting interior. It takes skill to create a flawless balance between what is not enough and what is way too much, aka, clutter. We often use the term “less is more” in design, but it isn’t necessarily about going cheap on your furnishings and accessories, it is about attaining better design through simplicity. It is about how you can get the most impact through careful editing and restraint. The less is more theory is more about how the eye visualizes a space, which is all a personal preference.

Most people forget when designing a space to add personality through texture, color, materials and patterns when attempting to add less to a space, which ultimately gives the room an unfinished appearance. It is also about harmonizing and creating a perfect balance of leaving certain spaces in a room void of furnishings and accessories. The key to creating the perfect minimal room is to create a serene and uncluttered atmosphere, not cold and sterile. Be sure to let objects have some breathing room so they are more appreciated. There is an art to creating spaces that do not have excess, but rather exude warmth and attractiveness.

Wolfgang Behnken, the creative director of Young & Rubican, has recently renovated his appartment in Hamburg, using a mix of historical pieces, a perfect off white and authentic timber tones. We love the result.

Dishoom East London

With its faded elegance and street food inspired cuisine, I absolutely ADORE East London’s latest eatery - Dishoom

The interior and exteriors of Dishoom are exciting, inviting, romantic and eclectic, featuring a clever mix of lighting, sepia family photographs, an array of oyster lamps and bentwood furniture… and a superbly monochromatic colour scheme! The Indian cafe style food is apparently very good but it’s the Art Deco styling that captures me the most. The restaurant is spacious, and the Bombay/Deco interiors are cleverly placed throughout a deliberately unfinished backdrop.

Antiquities, textured glass, and a dominant marble bar all make up the speak-easy charm of Dishoom. Designed by Russell Sage Studio, the designers behind Zetter Town House, The Hospital Club and St. Paul’s Cathedral, it is an imaginative and desirable space.

DISHOOM SHOREDITCH

7 Boundary Street, East London

Photography, Sim Canetty-Clarke

Carrara

We have recently specified a porcelain Carrara tile for a clients five bathrooms.

Authentic Carrara marble is quarried in the Italian province of Carrara. It is a gorgeous stone used to make tiles, tabletops and countertops in homes around the world. 

Carrara marble, like other marbles is porous. Because of its light color it is more likely to show stains than other marbles and stones. It also needs regular care in order to maintain its beautiful surface. In addition, cleaning Carrara and other types of marble must be done properly with a pH-balanced stone cleaner. 

We love the look, but is the maintenance worth it? The obvious solution is to opt for a faux Carrara porcelain tile. The options here are endless and the quality is supurb thanks to recent advancements in technical manufacturing.

A faux marble is an intelligent choice. 

The look is stunning. Carrara is timeless and elegant. It transcends period style and can work effortlessly in a modern or traditional scheme. 

Airstream

In 1931, Airstream began with Wally Byam’s dream: to build a travel trailer that would move like a stream of air, be light enough to be towed by a car and create first-class accommodations anywhere.

When it comes to Airstream trailers, I am totally smitten. I dream of the day that I own one myself. It could be a second home, an office or vehicle for luxury travel. It would be custom designed, new or old with a classic, refurbished interior and a gleaming, metallic shell. The shinier, the better. 

Dreaming of your own polished aluminum quarters? Here are some classic midcentury examples that have been inventively restored and put to use as hotel rooms, guest houses, home offices, and in a few cases travel vehicles.

Above: A 1952 model renovated by a yacht interior designer functions as a hotel room at The Hotel Daniel in Vienna.

Above: One of many restored Airstreams seen on Vintage Seekers via Design Sponge.

Above: Landscape architect Andreas Stavropoulos transformed a 1959 Airstream trailer into a fully functioning office.

Above: The accommodations at Atlantic Byron Bay resort include this fully equipped Airstream imported from America.

Above: In Albany, California, just north of Berkeley, is Flowerland nursery with a trailer coffee shop featured on Gardenista.

Above: Vancouver's Le Marché St. George café and grocery crew often picnic and camp out of their 1969 Airstream Land Yacht.

Above: A 1965 Airstream Safari recast by Area 63 Productions and interior designer Caroline Brandesfor rent on her property in Big Sur, California.