Interior designer Sonia Simpfendorfer can get frustrated with popular depictions of her profession:“Design is not decoration,it’s spatial work.”Adrian Lander
8.30am:I prefer to start the day with my team,as I often have days when I bounce from meeting to meeting. If I don’t talk to people first up it can be hard to connect,so today I start with a WIP. I tend to finish my weeks with a whole team catch-up.
Then,it’s studio time with my small (but powerful) team of designers. We do some thinking and talking about current projects. Design is everywhere,and curiosity and great observational skills are essential for a designer.
Today we are looking at the internal reconfiguration of a family house that needs to work much better for a family of six,keeping within the current building footprint. We talk about how to optimise the interior space,functionally first,but also aesthetically.
10.30am:I think on paper,so I do some hand sketching of thoughts,plans and elevations on Yellowtrace paper[a lightweight tracing paper] to explore and solve a design problem. I’m a “fat black Pentel,felt tip pen and soft Prismacolour coloured pencil” kind of designer.
Hand drawing is so fast and satisfying,and you have a pile of yellow trace experiments as a result,not a CAD[computer-aided design] file.
Next is a quick check-in with the team to see who else is attending the meeting being held by the Design Institute of Australia later this week. The institute is the industry’s governing body,and the meeting is part of the fight to have recognition and a national registration process in place for interior designers.
There are so many assumptions about our profession. If you watch television shows,the term interior design is used for everything. Design is not decoration,it’s spatial work – the foundation of a space – not just the top layer.
11.30am:I jump in the car to head to meet a builder on site and check some joinery and lighting that is being installed. Often our projects are complex residential renovations,frequently in heritage buildings,so builders who are excellent problem solvers and good communicators are the key to a great result.
I don’t think people realise how much hard-core problem-solving there is in interior design,and how much technical knowledge and skill goes into it. I think that is the most satisfying part of the job. You have to make things work well and look beautiful,and then you have to make it look easy and effortless. It’s like being a ballet dancer.
As I drive I listen to a podcast. I’m infinitely curious,so today is an episode from the Huberman Lab podcast – I find it incredibly soothing.
1pm:Lunch is back at Nexus around the big yellow table in our sunny tearoom. Often,our lunch breaks involve the team solving a crossword together. It’s so nice. Nobody has to do it,but if I don’t,I feel a bit twitchy. The most exciting thing is when someone who hasn’t contributed a word gets their first one.
4pm:A WhatsApp check-in with my US-based clients regarding the progress of a new house they are building on an island in the Hamptons,designed by NY architect Toshiko Mori. This is the third NY-US project for us with this particular client,it’s a delight!
5.30pm:The benefit of being a parent is that you actually have to leave the studio. I love my job,but other things are important too. Before I leave,I have a chat with my co-owners about our plans to get out of the office together soon,just to break bread.
We’re always looking for opportunities to do something creative with the entire team too,like visiting the Triennial at NGV or going to Sydney for Design Week.
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