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You don’t need a design background to create an award-winning interiors firm, prove Wrightson Stewart

May 5, 2014

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While most interior designers start off interning, for Steven Stewart, his first design job was opening up his own firm. A psychologist by trade, he had always had a strong desire to be involved in the design world and with a skillset honed in early childhood, he had a natural eye when it came to creating interior solutions.

ian and steven
Steven and Ian

Enlisting the help of partner and interior designer Ian Wrightson, they opened up their boutique design firm Wrightson Stewart in 2001. Since then, they’ve gone on to win the 2013 Australian Interior Design Awards’ Best of State Award for Residential Design in Queensland, as well as being a 2013 Designer of the Year finalist at the IDEA awards.

Working in both residential and commercial design, Steven sees their residential work and its ability to fit into existing architecture, as their true standout skill. “As we are not architects we don’t change anything that’s load bearing,” says Steven. “Occasionally we might move a wall here or there or do custom joinery but I think we have a real knack of working within the space. It’s understanding that correlation between the exterior and interior and then connecting that to the client and their needs.”

Teneriffe Warehouse Apartment
Teneriffe Warehouse Apartment

It is that idea of realising a client’s brief that has always pushed Steven to work harder. He sees designer and client communication as the key to success and can mark that as a pivotal feature in all of his favourite projects.

“I’ve got three favourite projects and the reason they were all so successful was because there was a great trust between us and the client,” explains Steven. “We had a very open line of communication to allow for them to question what we were presenting, which on the flip side meant we could defend it. That relationship of trust allowed us to realise the majority of our dreams for the concepts. The outcomes for all instances were fantastic.”

Teneriffe Warehouse Apartment
Teneriffe Warehouse Apartment

Queensland based, the firm has many exciting projects in the pipeline, including three homes, a couple of cafes, a gymnasium and even a bingo hall! “The bingo hall is amazing,” says Steven. “We have a client who wants to try and bring bingo back and give it the cool factor. We are taking this enormous space, almost reminiscent of a school hall, and turning it into this retro bingo hall. A place where people can feel they’re part of something that has history, but also with a modern edge to the design.”

With a very versatile clientele, no Wrightson Stewart project looks the same, with the team taking great care to understand exactly who they are working for and what aesthetic would best suit the environment and the architecture. The end result? An elegant but casual response to the space, that hones in on the Queensland location.

“Our work has a modernist aesthetic to it but I think it’s very relatable to a Queensland market,” explains Steven. “It really does have that pared back feel, a casual elegance with classic materials that work really well indoors and outdoors.”

Kangaroo Point Apartment
Kangaroo Point Apartment

Thirteen years on, Wrightson Stewart have no plans to slow down, with the original team of two now expanded to eight. For Steven, his personal dream is to do the interior design of a boutique hotel, so for now, he’s keeping his ear to the ground.

For more information.

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Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps 🤕

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (🤪) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a 🍷

Funny how we go into super organised mama mode in times like these. Grabbed dinosaurs, textas and scrapbook on the way out in case we had a long wait!
Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

#interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop
#creatingbeautifulspaces #homestylingdesign
#designbywomen #homestylingtips #sydneycreatives
#homestylingsydney #interiorstyling #interiordesignsydney
#everydaydesign #interiortrends #renovationinspiration
#homedesigninspo #lovemyhome #stylingdetails
#loveinteriors #homeimprovements #interiordesignaustralia
#dreamhomeinspiration #homemakeover #personaldesign
#interiordesignaus #creatingbeautifulspaces
#creativehomes #housestyling #sydneyhomes
#interiorinspiration #myhomedesign
I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new @madeinaustshow in Sydney this August.

🦘🐨Forget every tacky association you ever had about touristy Australian made and prepare to see a showcase of the best of home, lifestyle, fashion and beauty made right here. If the pandemic has made you appreciate buying local even more, this is for you.

It's the first business to business trade event connecting retailers with Australian made products to champion our local makers🙏

Apply to exhibit or find out more at their website, via their bio, now!

Are YOU buying more Australian made post covid?

#madeinaustralia #australianmade #aussiemade #aussiedesign
Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
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About Olivia Shead

When she's not writing for Interiors Addict, Olivia is now a TV and radio news producer. She's a journalism graduate of UTS Sydney.

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