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Young Designer: Khoa Nguyen of Design Poets

February 26, 2014

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Our Young Designer series aims to inspire those who are yet to get their first foot on the ladder in this fiercely competitive industry.

At 27, and with a couple of jobs under his belt, Khoa Nguyen now works for himself at Brisbane-based Design Poets. He also teaches wannabe designers at Queensland College of Art (QCA).

khoa nguyen

While he learned a lot from working for other people, the self-confessed design nerd and young father just had to give being his own boss a go. So far, it hasn’t been as hard as he imagined.

So, when did he know you wanted to be an interior designer? “I was doing my building course and next to us were some students studying interior design. I popped my head in to see what they were learning about it and it appealed to me so much more than cyclone ratings for timber framing. That was the day.”

He has some pretty strong views on the relevance of design qualifications though! “I’ve studied quite a few different things, from building design to interior design to digital illustration at various different places and I am currently contemplating whether to do my Masters in Design. But I tell my students the first day I meet them, that the piece of paper you get when you graduate doesn’t mean anything to any employer. It is 65 percent personality and 35 percent portfolio.”

khoa nguyen 2

When it came to Khoa’s first job, one of his design teachers asked if he was interested in a graduate position and he said why not? He passed a CAD test, got shortlisted and had an interview. “In saying that, there was a lot of work in the industry back then. If it was as quiet as it is now, I may not be doing this interview with you!”

His typical busy day involves running around to meetings, answering emails on the fly (always trying to squeeze in lunch with his family), meeting suppliers and sales reps. “At close of business, I have dinner, play with my daughter, get back to answering emails, doing some design and CAD work, go to bed, stay awake thinking about work… and repeat x 5!

“I am my own boss now, however, I have learnt a lot not only from my previous bosses, but my seniors, my colleagues and my students. You never ever stop learning in this industry or in life. The best part of my job is working for myself. Whilst it is hard to run your own business, it is super rewarding. I once said that running your own business feels like you’ve just had a whole chocolate cake to yourself: satisfying, fulfilling, heart-stopping, tiring and life-changing.”

A frequent struggle is balancing the amount of time and effort he spends obtaining work versus the amount time and effort he spends on the work he already has. Like everyone else in this Young Designer series before him, Khoa says people outside the industry wrongly assume the job isn’t much more than picking curtains and cushions. “What people don’t understand is that our job requires us to have quite an extensive knowledge base about everything there is to do with the built environment, not just interiors. Picking curtains is the last thing we worry about!”

When it comes to graduates getting their first step on the ladder in the interiors industry: “The ladder they’re trying to climb at the moment is too full. Build a spiral staircase and climb that instead. You will get to the same place as everyone else, just differently and in style.”

In five years’ time, Khoa would like to be sharing his chocolate cake with a small team in a warehouse somewhere, perhaps New York. His parents remain his biggest inspiration. “We came here to Australia as refugees 20-odd years ago with nothing, and for my family to be where we are now is a credit to them. From their struggles I’ve learnt that everything I have in life now is a bonus.”

Design Poets

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER YOUNG DESIGNERS: Brendan Guy, Connie Condylios and Lauren Rugless.

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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
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
#weatherforit 🥶 Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit 🥶

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
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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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarKirsty Moren says

    March 2, 2014 at 10:10 pm

    Well done Khoa!

  2. AvatarSharon Kwan says

    March 3, 2014 at 11:46 am

    Be blessed Khoa, you have such a refreshing attitude. You deserve to do well!

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