That old adage of ‘the plumber’s tap always drips’ was also true of our design studio before it had a makeover. For just over 9 years we had lived with a fit out that we inherited when we took over the lease. For many years it served its purpose by providing a space for a multitude of samples and product brochures to live. As time marched on, both our designers and our clients were beginning to feel a little uninspired by the fit out and a little overwhelmed by the amount of samples on display. It was time for a renovation rescue, and what better place to put our biophilic design knowledge into practice than our own studio!

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Studio (main view)

The relocation of our open shelving brochure library provided us with the perfect opportunity to add some inspiration by way of signage portraying our motto, “be bold, be brave”. In keeping with this motto, we decided to wholeheartedly embrace the sentiment and go LARGE! We also collated our extensive range of fabric samples on this wall for ease of access and to take opportunity to inspire and encourage our clients. We often receive feedback that finishing touches such as window treatments and furnishings are the final icing on the cake that makes a house a home, and what better way than to have such elements on display for all to see.

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Studio (reverse view)

Minimising visual clutter and separating our studio islands for ease of running multiple clients concurrently was the primary brief for this area. Once that was sorted it was time to put our creative hats back on which we did with an unusual and fun creation in the form of an popsicle-style, upholstered divider between our studio space and additional tall storage. Never ones to miss an opportunity, we also added just a few more plants in, with wall mounted pots snaking their way across the painted heritage brick wall. Because really, who can ever have too many plants! For a long time, our wall fixed benchtop was a place where samples were placed and there they remained. A decision was made that the new joinery should have a lower splashback height so it could be purposefully left open for display with open shelving and a quirky, colourful feature wallpaper. Some additional overhead storage was included in the re-design to help keep samples tucked away.

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The New Library

For a long time, our wall fixed benchtop was a place where samples were placed and there they remained. A decision was made that the new joinery should have a lower splashback height so it could be purposefully left open for display with open shelving and a quirky, colourful feature wallpaper. Some additional overhead storage was included in the re-design to help keep samples and library items tucked away.

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Kitchen

Whilst our kitchen was functioning well, we felt that it needed a freshen up to bring it into line with the rest of the renovation. Working to a small budget, a decision was made to use a couple of small design tricks to create a large impact. New tiles were installed over the top of the old ones for a pop of colour to tie in with our branding along with an unusual contrasting grout colour. In addition, we sourced some ‘peel and stick’ wallpaper that was applied to the door faces of our existing overhead cupboards. A good example to clients that clever design decisions don’t have to cost the earth.