Hello, Bondi.

What is your studio's ethos?
M: We design with clarity and intent. We design spaces that feel confident, resolved and a little bit unexpected.

What detail would most people miss - but you’d notice immediately?
P: How a junction is resolved: whether a skirting dies into a wall properly, how tiles meet a threshold, or if a shadow gap is actually consistent all the way through a room.
M: How two materials meet, how a handle feels in your hand, the weight of a door or how a change room curtain opens. Those small, often invisible decisions are usually where the integrity of a space is made. It’s subtle, but what makes a space feel elevated rather than generic. I can’t go to a restaurant without feeling underneath the table to see how it’s constructed!

What did you want someone to feel in the first five seconds of walking in?
P: Warmth first - then a few unexpected moments that make you want to keep moving through the space. We wanted the space to be a little bit edgy, a little bit feminine, and very much a reflection of the brand. There’s enough happening to draw you in and hold your attention, but never so much that it competes - the clothes are always the hero.
M: We want them to feel intrigued yet also at ease. There should be an immediate sense of calm, paired with curiosity.

What’s one decision that made everything else easier?
M: For the design of VRG GRL Bondi Beach, it was locking in the materials palette early. Locking in these finishes helped us with the design direction. Once that language was established, everything else - form, detailing, lighting, furniture - started to align quite naturally. In general life, one decision that made everything else easier was to acknowledge that comparison is the thief of joy - living by your own standards and not comparing yourself to others makes your life so much more enjoyable and easier!

What’s the balance between making something beautiful and making it work?
P: I don’t really separate the two. If it’s working properly, it should be beautiful; and if it’s beautiful but doesn’t function, it’s not resolved.

What’s a space you’ve been in recently that stayed with you?
P: A recent standout would have to be Standing Room Coffee in Carlton. It’s such a warm, inviting space. It’s a really nice mix of timber, stainless steel and beautifully crafted fibreglass joinery. True to its name, there’s no indoor seating, but the perches make it easy to hang around, gather with friends and take in the leafy Carlton surrounds.
M: We are currently converting a large church in Melbourne into a multi-generational home, and the feeling in the main church continues to invade my thoughts! The changing light, even across an afternoon from the stained glass windows, is breathtaking.