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Dana Tomic Hughes, the designer behind the yellowtrace blog

September 26, 2011

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Interior designer and blogger Dana Tomic Hughes takes a holistic approach to design with a style which is eclectic and โ€œhigh on personalityโ€.

Dana was Associate Director of Interiors at Bates Smart before going out on her own with her company yellowtrace in 2008, later starting the successful blog of the same name.

โ€œDuring my time at Bates Smart I was responsible for some of the most wonderful projects varying in scale and complexity โ€“ from quirky advertising agencies and residential interiors, to one of the biggest and most prestigious fitouts in the country for Sydneyโ€™s largest law firm,โ€ she says. In June this year, Dana decided it was time to take the plunge and focus on yellowtrace full-time. โ€œWith my strong conceptual design focus, relentless desire to push boundaries and challenge the conventional, I was keen to share my passion for design and conceptual thinking with both clients and collaborators. yellowtrace allows me to do this on a more personal level with my clients, which is how I really like to work.โ€

Dana says: โ€œMy design philosophy is based on a holistic approach, which translates brands, ideas and my clientsโ€™ personalities, into places. Each project begins with a strong concept, which becomes an anchor for all ideas during the design process.โ€ She collaborates with a network of freelancers to assemble the best team for any job.

So, whatโ€™s in the name?ย โ€Yellowtraceย is a soft tone transparent sketch paper used by architects and designers for concept drawings and sketches. I go through kilometres of yellowtrace when starting any project โ€“ it is where most of my ideas and concepts are born before they are developed into final designs and built forms. I thought this was a really nice link between my design process and a name for a design practice and a design blog.โ€

The blog started at the beginning of last year. โ€œAs a designer, Iโ€™ve always been a bit of a visual junky,โ€ says Dana. โ€œAs most designers are, I am a highly visual person who is really inspired by beautiful imagery. I started collecting images of interior spaces and interior products many years ago as I discovered that they really helped me with my design process. They are also a fantastic way to communicate my ideas to clients.

โ€œAt first I had a small number of images I used to turn to regularly, but very quickly I realised that I needed a broader point of reference, as any good designer draws inspiration from anything and everything. My constant search for inspiration and images grew my library of information and I got hungrier and hungrier the more I uncovered. So you see I needed an online space where I could catalogue and share all of this research.โ€

Danaโ€™s also interested in how other designers approach their work and she felt there werenโ€™t enough local blogs and forums written by designers that focused on both Australian and international talent. โ€œDesign can be a solitary activity, although its success relies heavily on healthy critique, discussion, and input of others,โ€ she says. โ€œIโ€™ve often felt that designers, architects and creative people donโ€™t always share what they are doing, and we can also be very critical of each otherโ€™s work. I wanted to create a space where great work can be celebrated and where other designers could gain invaluable insight into the processes of their peers through regular interviews. At the same time, Iโ€™m keen to educate readers about the importance of well thought out and inspiring design, and also make good design accessible to not just design professionals, but also the general public โ€“ all with a healthy dose of humour.โ€

Dana describes her personal interior style as eclectic and high in personality. โ€œOur home is comfortable, unpretentious and inviting with a real of mix pieces from different eras โ€“ vintage to modern, designer to junk, achieving an overall sense of unique character and carefully considered balance.

โ€œOur apartment is a constant work in progress and it very much responds to the way Husband and I live, who we are as individuals and as a couple. White walls, high ornate ceilings, well designed furniture, pure and clean forms allow us to layer in bold patterns and collected objects which add an element of fun and personality, and evoke memories of travel and the everyday.โ€

ย 

In part 2 tomorrow, more on the success of the blog, the best and worst bits of being an interior designer, who Dana admires and what makes a good designer.

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Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping ALL the character!

What a great example this is by @huntingforgeorge 

See all the details, and the laundry, on the blog now, via link in bio.
The patient has very much bounced back! Letterbox The patient has very much bounced back!

Letterbox kinder egg deliveries from a friend, dressing changes without a flinch and refusing to nap despite all the bribes (check the face on him in pic 3!).

Thanks for all your care and messages/comments for this tired and shaken up mama! Now very relieved and grateful ๐Ÿ™
Before & after It's not just the award winning de Before & after

It's not just the award winning designer houses that get us excited here. It's also the beloved family homes which are renovated and extended to make them fit for purpose so people can continue to live where they love ๐Ÿค—

@inspiredspacesaus helped her clients with teenage kids transform this house in Sydney's Hills District inside and out, making it their forever home. 

Due to the nature of the block they could only extend sideways and then gave it street appeal with render, new windows and doors.

See inside on the blog now, via link in bio. It was completely overhauled!
Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps ๐Ÿค•

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 (๐Ÿคช) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a ๐Ÿท

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!

UPDATE: thanks for all the love! Charlie is so well this morning after a big sleep!
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
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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.

๐Ÿฆ˜๐ŸจForget 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 makers๐Ÿ™

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! ๐Ÿ’ง 

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!๐Ÿค—

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 ๐Ÿฅด) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon ๐Ÿ˜†

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too ๐Ÿ˜‰

#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!

โœ”๏ธ I'm English ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008๐Ÿ˜† 

โœ”๏ธ 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. ๐Ÿ› 

โœ”๏ธ 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!) ๐Ÿ““ 

โœ”๏ธ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London ๐Ÿš” 

โœ”๏ธ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 ๐Ÿ˜

โœ”๏ธ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK โค๏ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง 

โœ”๏ธ At school, my favourite subject was French ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท and I was head girl ๐Ÿค“๐Ÿค“

โœ”๏ธ I'm addicted to โ˜•๏ธ , long hot baths and๐Ÿ’„ (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

โœ”๏ธ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message ๐Ÿ˜

โœ”๏ธ My favourite cuisine is Japanese ๐Ÿฃ ๐Ÿœ and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

โœ”๏ธ 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...

โœ”๏ธ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or๐Ÿท 

โœ”๏ธ Cheesy as it sounds, ๐Ÿ’โ€โ™€๏ธbeing a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life ๐Ÿง’๐Ÿ‘ฆ

โœ”๏ธ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view ๐Ÿ“– 

โœ”๏ธ 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!

โœ”๏ธ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker ๐Ÿ˜ฏ ๐Ÿ…ฟ๏ธ

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better ๐Ÿ˜˜

๐Ÿ“ธ @vanlowvanlow
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Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

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About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

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Comments

  1. AvatarKeith Dennis says

    February 25, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    Can you tell me where I could find out further information about the sofa pictured in the article in the Financial Review insert Life and Leisure last weekend.

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