Residential interior design · Newcastle and Sydney
We design whole homes, kitchens and joinery for families in Newcastle and Sydney. One designer from first measure to last cushion, fixed fees by stage and trade pricing passed straight on to you.
Since 2011 164 homes finished Most by referral
The studio
Good rooms come from a few honest materials, used with care and put together in the right order. We start with how you live: who cooks, where the school bags land, which chair gets the afternoon sun. Then we choose the materials, draw every joinery detail and stay on site until the last handle's on.
We're a studio of six, and we take on around fourteen homes a year. The designer who measures your house is the one who hangs the art.
2011
the year Ainsley opened the studio in Cooks Hill
164
homes finished across the Hunter and Sydney
14
projects a year, so nobody gets a junior
38
joiners, stonemasons and makers we trust
What we do
Most clients come to us for one of these and stay for all three. Each can stand on its own, with its own fee and its own end point. Whichever it is, we test every sample on site, because stone looks different on a west-facing bench at four in the afternoon.
01
New builds, renovations and the house you've just bought and can't quite make sense of. We plan the layout, specify every surface, fitting and light, then work alongside your builder so the design survives construction.
Usually 9 to 14 months
02
The rooms that work hardest and cost the most to get wrong. We draw every cabinet, drawer and shadow line to the millimetre, and our joiners build from our drawings, not from their standard range.
Usually 16 to 22 weeks
03
For homes that are built but don't feel finished. We source from Australian makers and trade suppliers, have upholstery made to measure and style the whole house in a single install day.
Usually 10 to 14 weeks
How we choose
Before we draw a single elevation, we build a board of real samples and look at it in your light, at your windows. You'll hold every piece. Most palettes settle at eight materials. Any more and a house starts arguing with itself.
Palette 08 Merewether family home, 2025
Fees and process
You'll know what each stage costs before it starts, and you can stop at the end of any of them. We charge for design, never a percentage of what you spend.
01
A two-hour visit, a measured survey and a written brief you sign off before anything else happens.
$1,450
Credited to your concept fee
02
Layouts, your material palette, the lighting approach and a costed budget range for the build and furnishing.
from $18,000
Full home. A single room or kitchen from $6,500
03
Joinery drawings, finishes schedules and every selection made, ready for your builder to price properly.
from $14,500
Full home, including joinery
04
We order, track and check every item, and walk the site with your builder every week of construction.
from $9,800
Or $2,400 a month on longer builds
05
Furniture delivered and placed, art hung, beds made. You walk into a finished house, not a pile of boxes.
from $3,600
One install day for most homes
Trade pricing, passed on. You pay our trade price on furniture, lighting and finishes, usually 15 to 30% below retail. We don't add a margin, and every discount shows on your invoice.
A typical four-bedroom home, all five stages: $48,000 to $65,000 in design fees. All fees include GST.
The people
Six of us across Cooks Hill and Paddington. Here are the four you'll meet most, plus two drafters who make sure every drawing goes out right.
Founder and principal designer
Degree in interior architecture
Eight years with a Sydney residential practice before opening the studio in 2011. Still leads the concept stage on every home we take on.
Senior designer, Sydney
Diploma of interior design
Runs our Sydney homes, from the lower North Shore to the Inner West. Writes the finishes schedules builders actually read.
Kitchen and joinery designer
Qualified cabinetmaker
Eleven years at the bench before he crossed to design. Draws every kitchen we do and visits the workshop before anything's cut.
Procurement and projects
Trade buying since 2014
Tracks around 900 line items on a typical home, and knows which ones are still on a boat.
Recent work
A kitchen that turned its back on the garden. We swung it round, drew a curved island in fluted oak, ran one slab of Verde marble from benchtop to ceiling line and hid the pantry behind full-height joinery.
Sydney2025Kitchens and joinery
A family of five, a new build and a builder's standard specification. We reworked every room before the frame went up: lime plaster, oak joinery and washed linen throughout.
Newcastle2025Full-home interior
We'd lived out of boxes for a year. They had us finished in a weekend, and it felt like it had always been ours.
Sarah, Merewether
Callum's drawings were so clear our builder came in under his own quote. That's never happened to us before.
James, Hunters Hill
Every fee was agreed before the stage started. Not one surprise, start to finish.
Priya, New Lambton
FAQs
Something we haven't covered? Call 0491 570 737 and you'll speak to a designer, usually the same day.
Whole homes, kitchens and substantial renovations, usually with a combined build and furnishing budget of $250,000 or more. For a single room, we offer a concept and styling package from $6,500.
Either. About half our clients already have a builder, and we're happy to work with them. If you don't, we'll introduce two or three we've worked with for years in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie or Sydney.
The concept takes six to eight weeks. A full renovation with joinery usually runs nine to fourteen months from first measure to install day, and the build sets most of that pace.
We buy furniture, lighting and finishes at trade price, and that's the price you pay. We don't add a margin. It usually saves 15 to 30% on retail, which often covers a good part of our fee.
Often for a kitchen, rarely for a full renovation. We'll plan the staging with your builder and tell you honestly when it's time to pack a bag.
Regularly across Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, the Hunter Valley and the Central Coast. For a whole home further afield, we're happy to talk. Travel is charged at cost and agreed up front.
Plans if you have them, a few photos of rooms you love and an honest number for your budget. We'll bring the tape measure and a box of samples.
Start a project
Tell us about your home and what you'd like to change. Ainsley or Tess will call within two business days to talk it through and book a brief and measure visit.
Still choosing a builder or waiting on council? That's a good time to call. The earlier we're involved, the fewer decisions get made twice.