Design Anatomy

Studio Isaza: The Art of Elevating Style & Colour of a Queenslander

• Bree Banfield and Lauren Li • Season 3 • Episode 4

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What happens when you lift a 100-year-old Queenslander, drench a kitchen in deep olive, and build a business around family, community and place? We invited Jana from Studio Isaza to share the gutsy choices behind her coastal move, flood-resilient renovation, and colour-rich design language that feels joyful, lived-in and deeply personal.

We start with the sea change: swapping Melbourne’s buzz for a sleepy pocket north of Byron, where trees loom large, streets stay slow, and a raised timber home gathers light and breeze. Jana explains the surprisingly lo-fi mechanics of house lifting, why it transformed ventilation and under-house living, and how a modest extension became a Scandinavian-barn-meets-Queenslander blend. Then we step inside the now-iconic green kitchen—why ceiling-to-skirting colour calms lofty volumes, how tonal drenching draws the eye to a treetop outlook, and the moment of panic that vanished once the primer white disappeared.

The conversation moves through client-led colour strategy, the art of selling bold ideas, and the power of dustier, desaturated tones to make primaries feel grown-up. We dig into playful details—scalloped edges, buttery yellow mosaics, burgundy ranges—that add wit without noise. Jana’s second-career path from psychology and film to interiors offers grounded advice on starting small, using Instagram to find peers, and leveraging self-employment for flexibility rather than fewer hours. Along the way, we trade rituals that actually help—ocean swims, quick walks, shameless dance breaks—and share unexpected inspiration sources from cinema sets to fashion palettes and local nature.

Check out Studio Isaza here & her insta: @studioisaza

If you’re craving a push toward braver colour, planning a heritage renovation, or wondering how to pivot into interiors with kids in tow, this one’s a warm, practical guide. 

Listen, share with a design-curious friend, and tell us: what colour would you dare to drench? And if you loved the chat, hit follow, leave a review, and join us next week for more design anatomy in real life.

Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment. 

Bookings now open -  Book now

Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down pricing & fees for 2026! You'll learn: 

  • What has worked for Lauren over the past year
  • What hasn’t worked, and what she has changed
  • The exact fee structure Lauren now uses across all projects

For more info see below

The Pricing Shift: How I Structure My Fees in 2026.

Meet Jarna Of Studio Isaza

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to Design Anatomy, the interior design podcast hosted by friends and fellow designers me, Lauren Lee.

SPEAKER_00

And me, Bree Banfield, with some amazing guest appearances along the way. We're here to break down everything from current trends to timeless style.

SPEAKER_01

With a shared passion for joyful, colour filled and lived-in spaces, we're excited to share our insights and inspiration with you. And today we have a very cool and talented designer joining us. It's Jarna of Studio Izaza. Welcome to the Design Anatomy Podcast, Jana.

SPEAKER_03

Thanks for having me, guys.

SPEAKER_00

I'm so trying to say that five times fast.

SPEAKER_01

Studio Isaza. Studio Isaza.

SPEAKER_04

No.

SPEAKER_01

I was trying to think about when I first met you, Jana, and I I think it was when we had our studio on Winchapel Street, and we were doing these workshops every so often. Yeah, and I met you there, and I was just like, oh, this designer she's so cool. Like I think you had just maybe shot one of your projects. Um, I can't even remember what the workshop was about. Was it a SketchUp one? SketchUp, I think. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, oh, she's cool. And it's just so nice to see like your career, just like, oh, it well, I was gonna say explode, but it's been like a beautiful gradual growth. Like I was kind of saying, Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But yeah, I mean, I when I think about that, that was a good few years ago. But yeah, um, so it's like so nice to just like you know see where you're at and what's changed and everything. What about you, Brie? Have you met Jana before?

SPEAKER_00

Well, well, I don't think we've met in person before I'm familiar with your work, your beautiful work, but yeah, not this is the first time we're meeting, but not in really.

SPEAKER_03

I guess I left Melbourne like you were obviously there when you were over six years ago. My son, yeah, yeah. We went six months prior to COVID hitting is when we moved. Are you serious?

SPEAKER_00

I can't believe it was that long ago. Oh my god. So you had a premonition went out the Malpo Man, I just got really lucky.

Leaving Melbourne For A Slower Coast Life

SPEAKER_03

Um, but yeah, it's been a minute. We've been up here for a while now. Yeah. So what led to that change, that move? Um, I grew up in the country, so I have a I'm a bit of a nature worshipper. And I guess when I became a mum, the stuff about the city that I loved doing was harder, it felt much harder to achieve. And we were on like one income, and you know, like, and I so I found myself looking to get us out into nature all the time, and I would get quite crazy about it. I was just like always trying to go on this bushwalk. And and anyway, we came up here. Me and my best friend, we do baby moons together instead of with our partners, we go together because we know it's our window before one of us is breastfeeding and you know, like get that friendship holiday in quick. So we came up here and I was pregnant with my now nearly 10-year-old. And I just fell in love with it, like I loved it so much. And even though I hadn't grown up living next to the ocean, I'm just a real water baby. And um, my husband was working for a big American company remotely prior to everyone going remote. So he said to me one day, We I I came back and said, I love it. We have to go as a family, let's go and check it out. And then after coming up a few times, he'd said, I think maybe we could do a bit of a sabbatical and go and actually like test it out. Well, he would work remotely and would just go for a few months. So we came up and did a three-month test run at the beginning of 2019 and just fell in love with it.

SPEAKER_01

Where exactly?

SPEAKER_03

Oh, around. So we're like 15 minutes north of Byron. So we're in a little suburb called South Golden Beach. Um, just past Brunswick Heads.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, it's really quiet.

SPEAKER_03

It's like it's like ocean canal and then kind of like six streets by six streets. Like there's not much problem. There's a little hall and a cafe and a playground, and that's kind of it. Um, and I had been quizzing locals. I'm like, if you were me and you were moving up, where would you go? Like I'd never even heard of South Golden before. I don't think it's talked about a lot in terms of, you know, in comparison to like Brunswick Heads or Byron. Um, but we came and just fell in love with it because it's just so sleepy and it feels a bit like a returning to home in essence of my kind of country upbringing, but with a lot more conveniences than what I had. And yeah, yeah, we just best of both worlds by the sound of it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, never looked back.

Finding Home In South Golden Beach

SPEAKER_00

Oh yeah. I mean, I miss Melbourne a lot. Did you have that? So I grew up in the country. Um, but I didn't really appreciate it when I was younger until I was older and realized like what a great experience it was being able to be. Well, mostly I think when you're a teenager, you look for trouble. Well, I did. Did you find I think it's such a great oh all the time? No, I it found you. Yeah, so I think that can be that can be tricky, but like as a child, like it's such a it's such a beautiful, I don't know, space to be in. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Did you did you find that you always appreciated it or I mean I think I valued my upbringing a lot and I loved I swam we had a river running through our farm, so I swam all year round and and so it allowed that for me to fully indulge that, even when it was freezing and you'd get a massive headache, you know, like I'd still swim. But I was an only child until I was 17. So I found it a bit isolating, and so I watched my boys like so, you know, we we live in the burbs in essence, but it it there's kind of there's so many trees and not like a proper gutter. It's really rambling here, and that's what I love about it. It feels there's so many potholes, everyone has to drive slowly, people all know each other, and so I feel like you get that kind of country pace, but then they can get on their pushbike and and ride to the shops and ride to a mate's house and ride to the beach. So I feel like it's a nice blend. And I felt like I think if I'd moved from Melbourne into a like a really regional area where I didn't have access to like the cinema and art exhibitions, and I think I would have really struggled, but I felt like you get a lot of similar things, but um, you know, you also get a really slow pace, and we're only we're under two hours to Bruzi too, you know. So and the Gold Coast is like an hour, like well, the top end of Gold Coast is like an hour away. So yeah, we've got a lot of access to things, but it just gives as a family, it just gives that really slow lifestyle, which I think we really appreciate. Yeah, a lot.

SPEAKER_01

And can you tell us about your home? Because I feel like I've sort of watched you this kind of whole journey of your home, what you've done. And and I think it's just in this current edition of the Design Files magazine, or was it the previous one? The one before, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um, so it was it's quite cool just like see your your stories on Instagram and everything. And tell us like how did you find the house and what have you done to it? Oh my gosh, so much.

Queenslander Charm And Limitations

SPEAKER_03

What haven't you done to it? So much to it. Yeah, freaking. I like I grew up in a weatherboard farmhouse. So I think you know, these old timber homes are a real love language for me. Um, unfortunately, I'm a bit addicted to them. Um, and when we were up here on this three months kind of working sabbatical, we found this three-bedroom little Queenslander. Um, and it's tucked into the trees. And we just, well, I in particular was like, oh my God, I love it. And I knew that it was pretty impractical in in the long run, in terms of like, it's fine for our family of four, but I'm a Kiwi Nick's, I'm a Kiwi Colombian, Nick's English. So we have family come and they stay, right? And that when you're hosting, it gets a bit difficult. So we knew ultimately we would have to do work on it, but we really fell for it. It's just got, I mean, it's nearly a hundred years old. Wow. We found a racing when we were renovating the bathroom, we found a um uh newspaper slip, and I think it was like 1927. It was like a jockey article. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. So it's got all those classic kind of Queenslander breeze, breezeways above the doors. It's single skin um in timber interior. So it means, you know, you can't, if you drill through, you drill drill through your wall. So it's pretty impractical in terms of you really have to be strategic where you put up a wall hook, you know. Oh my god. Um it's a very indoor-outdoor experience.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

Lifting The House And Extending

SPEAKER_03

The fixed time we just blanked on it and just literally drilled through the wall the first time and we're like, oh, okay. No wall hooks there. Um, it's just got a lot of charm and yeah, it just lacked a bit of practicality. So we had planned um to do an extension and then this wild flood hit the region, and we thought, oh my gosh, we have to, you know, we have to also lift the house because there's no point in doing all this work um if then we could potentially flood later on again, you know. Wow, that's no joke, is that no? So so we then quickly added lifting the house to our DA. So in essence, we've lifted the house and done an extension out the back, and we did a small side extension, which is the office that I'm sitting in and a pantry, and below it is a shed. Yeah. So we kind of it's almost like if a Scandinavian barn and a Queenslander were a lovers. That's what we've ended up with.

SPEAKER_01

What a beautiful child you have. Um so when you say you lifted the house, how high up did you lift it? Yeah, that's my first question, too.

SPEAKER_03

So we were already a half story high, and then we've gone to a full story high. So I think we're like two eight to the finished floor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Gosh, because I think that's that's quite difficult to do, or because it sounds like I just lifted the house. Like, how hard is that, like engineering-wise, too.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, it's a big job. It's a big job. I mean, the actual lifting of itself is pretty lo-fi. Like they lit, they do it with they do it with like what looks like carjacks, like they're literally junk, junk, jump, junk. And they've got kind of, I think there was like nine, six or nine carjacks, and as they go up, they just slot like a gender block Jenga block one under the other till they get to a certain point, and then they can slide their steel structural beams in place. So the house lifting itself is is really quick. It's only like a two-day process, but you have to re-stump, do all your earthworks. So it's it is actually a really big job.

SPEAKER_00

I guess it's kind of similar to re-stumping, but just much higher. Because you still have to, you know, they use a similar thing, right? Like, you know, they've got to put the little jacks under and hold the house, but you're obviously doing it to another level. Yeah, that's crazy. I just thought about that before lifting. It's massive. Yeah, it's massive.

SPEAKER_03

But there's so many benefits that have come from us lifting the house. Like there's because we have a lot of big trees near the house, you know, it was quite dark. So there's more ventilation, there's more light. Now there's an entire kind of footprint of a house that's covered underneath. So when it is our rainy season, which is our summer season, the kids still have a spot that they can play handball and ping pong and skateboard, and you know, that's cute. Yeah, so there's there's been a lot of benefits for it, but it was an absolutely massive undertaking. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I think I remember seeing that on your Instagram, and I just imagine you must have just been holding your breath for two days. Like, oh, so scary.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, something like a story.

SPEAKER_03

People tell you terrible stories, you know, and so you're just like waiting. But so worth it though. But yeah, so basically our house stayed like the bedrooms and our sunroom stayed as is, and then kind of everything else has been reconfigured with not it. The extension we did wasn't massive. The house is still small, like our house was only 12 meters by nine originally, and I think it's like 16 by nine plus I guess our office, but it's not a big house, even with our extension. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So is the extension, you know, the rooms that we've seen maybe on on the design files, like the the kitchen and the living dining? Is that the extension? Oh, beautiful. Yeah, can can you tell us a bit about like and the pantry? Oh yeah, cool. Yeah. Um, I just feel like it's that absolutely beautiful, deep green. How did you how did you come to decide on it's I mean, it seems like it's natural decision, but it's still quite a bold decision. How did you land on on on the c how do you work with colour and how do you know how did you lean into that?

SPEAKER_03

Um, I guess I grew up in a household where there were no white walls. So you know, I had colour imprinted on me from a really early age.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

Light, Ventilation And Under-House Living

SPEAKER_03

And I guess it just lights me up. I mean, like, don't get me wrong, I love white, I love black, you know, I can wear black with every Melbourneite out there. And but I just I think colour really for me is really joyful. Um, and I guess, you know, like I chose that colour, I don't even know. Probably honestly like six years ago, and just got lucky that it kind of seemed to end up being a bit popular um to do a color drenching kind of experience. But I guess back then I was just trying to think about how we wanted to feel in the home. And because the ceilings are really tall, they're four or five at the apex of the um brick ceiling at the back. Uh, I knew that I didn't want it to feel really cavernous. So even though the floor, the footprint is small, the height makes it feel really um generous. And the whole back is glass looking out into the tree canopy. So for me, it was kind of a decision about how do I draw the eye outside? This is I'm hinging my design on these big glass doors at the back. How do I draw the eye outside, but make us feel cozy in that space? Um, and and I think I didn't I didn't want to have you know too high a contrast, so that's why we went with a tonal green ceiling as well. So it just wraps us in that green. Um and yeah, it's just really cozy. And actually, I feel like ends up being a quite a great neutral backdrop, yeah, despite being timberline like an olive, olive green.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. It's beautiful. Well, green is a true neutral, it's the only true neutral. People don't think of it like that until. And I think sometimes when people sort of do a color in that way, you realize it sort of fades away and your focus is exact like exactly what you said. It's like drawing you to look outside and it just becomes a backdrop for living. Like it doesn't have to be this dramatic thing where you kind of like, oh my god, I'm like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, I'm I'm not gonna lie, I did slightly shit myself when we were cutting in from the primer white. I had a moment where I wavered because being it's scary sometimes going bold with color, you know. Like I can totally understand how my clients at times feel really apprehensive about it because when I was watching them cut in around that primer white, oh my God, that contrast was so stuck. And I was like, I knew there were, I knew I'd make a mistake somewhere along the line. This is it. I've really screwed up, you know. And my husband actually was like, no, no, no, it's gonna be amazing. Hold the cost.

SPEAKER_01

I believe in you.

SPEAKER_00

That's beautiful. No, we're not, we're not backing out now. We've bought all the paint.

The Deep Green, Colour-Drenched Kitchen

SPEAKER_03

But the minute the white disappeared when there was no nothing, no high contrast against it, and it was just paired with beautiful timber tones, it looked totally magic. But you know, for a hot minute there, I was sweating it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But everything worth doing is a bit scary, don't you think? Yeah. Like if you're not a little bit scared, even as a designer, and and you know, we all kind of know our stuff, sometimes it's good to just push that little bit further. And I mean, obviously, we're not saying to the client that we're worried about it, but like we might be just a little bit worried until we pull it off. I think it's kind of healthy to have that.

SPEAKER_03

I agree. I also think if I couldn't push myself, how would I ever expect? Yeah, that's so true. You know, like I I knew that my home would end up being an an influence on my clients, and so I just knew it was my opportunity to like really lean into it. And I I thought it would be quite divisive, but I feel like it's one of the things that people have resonated with the most.

SPEAKER_01

Definitely, it's so gorgeous. Um, so do you think that working around where you are, around that Byron area, working with clients, has that changed your design aesthetic in any way?

SPEAKER_03

Or yeah, I think so. I mean, you I we're always influenced by the architecture and our location and the client, right? And so I guess there's a lot of kind of more, well, I mean, Melbourne is filled with incredible heritage homes, but I guess there's a lot of like timber homes up here that have got that real kind of warm cottagey feel to it. And, you know, that that comes through in my designs. And I'm always, I guess the client and their tastes, and then the architecture and the the location are the my three biggest influences when it comes to designing. But I also think there's a bit of a you know, an unfussy, relaxed energy up here that tends to flow into my work. There's a bit like no shoes, no bras, no worries kind of vibes going on.

SPEAKER_00

So you need that on your business card. Coming up with all these great ideas for tattoos, that's not a good one.

SPEAKER_03

Um, but I, you know, I think inevitably that influences my projects. Um, and I think that suits me because again, it's just my personality that to kind of have that relaxed, cozy feeling. So it works to my advantage. But I was a little scared moving from Melbourne at the time. Byron White was really rattan, and White rendered everything. And I was a bit scared about, you know, that not my work not translating in that way. But luckily it's kind of diversified a lot more now.

SPEAKER_01

It has. And I think your work, it has like a sense of um joy and whimsy. And I'm thinking about, you know, some of the joinery details that you've done, like a gorgeous, like scalloped edge on a edge of a kitchen um cupboard, and some really um like beautiful lighting. It's just not like the cookie cutter that you see everywhere, but it's really it just it makes sense to the what was it, no bra. That's all I got out of that. No-bra lifestyle. Yeah. But there's there's still a level of sophistication that you're you're bringing into it. So it's it's really cool. Oh, thank you. Yeah, and I guess like when you're looking at using colour for clients, like how do you sort of um keep that sort of level of sophistication, but with that relaxed vibe, like, or how how do you even approach colour with clients? Do you um draw on what pieces they have, or how do you even start?

Designing For Place And Relaxed Living

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I guess like every designer, right? We are kind of interrogating is maybe not the right word, but we're investigating. Sometimes it comes pretty close. Yeah, yeah. I guess it depends on how like how relaxed and open the client is as well. Sometimes it takes a little longer to like, you know, really weave that info out of them. But I guess I'm always looking to get to know the client's tastes. And I mean, you you step into their homes and you get an indicator really quickly. Um, um, and also their wardrobe is always an indicator too. But I guess it's kind of weaving out their like hobbies, their tastes, like what their passions are. Like I just did a uh sweet little timber shack in um Broken Head. And that client was really into mid-century furniture and music and photography. And and so, you know, that that really informed my kind of palette direction. So I guess I'm always just trying to get to know the client, and really they are my jumping off point. I mean, I love colour, so I'm always looking to and and we have colours that we love that we haven't used in a project before, so we might be like, you know, angling.

SPEAKER_00

But I love color things.

SPEAKER_01

Can't wait to use this somewhere. Yeah, like what kind of colours are you sort of wanting to use?

SPEAKER_03

Well, I I mean, in that Misty Creek project you were just referring to with the scalloped pantry, like burgundy. I was obsessing about I've always loved burgundy, but I was obsessing about it. So to get that burgundy cooker into that kitchen, I was just like happy days. That was a real win.

SPEAKER_00

Was that something you had to kind of convince them on, or were they like love it straight away?

SPEAKER_03

This client in particular, she was so down for colour, like she was actually had like a design and fashion background and and then is owns a farm and so she was looking to bring some sparkle and like energy into the farmhouse you know and and I guess the downside of where we are is that we are a bit of a bubble so it's also nice to try to bring some different influences and you know like bring a bit of jazz home which is what she was wanting. So she was the perfect client like if anything it was kind of meeting of my semi-minimalist tones and her maximalist sensibilities and we kind of came together and and and that was our happy medium place. But she was the first client I feel like who really was just up for very playful details. So it was it was a really fun project to work on in that way. Yeah.

Client-Led Colour And Playful Details

SPEAKER_01

I love the details like the lighting the the handles like it's probably yeah as you said Bar and Bay it does conjure that real whitewashed white rattan but this it's just got richness and it's got something a bit different. It's like oh where are those handles from there you don't see them every day like and the lighting as well it's just so beautiful.

SPEAKER_03

Oh Lana Lourne's lighting was just such a beautiful it was just such a dream. Yeah I think I know that I feel like there was a lot of really fun beautiful details that kind of came together to make it it's quite a neutral it's still a white room it's an it's a natural white room but I I guess I was looking to layer in a lot of warm details and things that still also referenced its history like a Zilege tile you know it's a historical it's I mean it's a Moroccan tile but it's a historical product and and and you know marble and the timber joinery all of that fit into that kind of farmhouse vernacular but I guess you can the way you can combine it can make it feel a little bit more contemporary or a little fresher or so yeah I think I was aiming to just really bring that warmth and interest and yeah you know we had a pink marble bench top it's beautiful. Yeah which yeah it was pretty fun without it feeling too twee. It doesn't no can you take us back to I guess perhaps when I sort of first met you like what how did you get into interior design so I uh studied psychology in university I listened to your podcast with Anushka and was laughing to myself about it because I was like oh my gosh there's so many of us. Wake up did you I don't think I did that yeah it's so interesting yeah and I was wondering actually if there's like I think there's probably a big correlation for people who are interested in kind of like unpacking the human condition and then it and then designing interiors that support the human condition. But yeah I have like a long history in the arts I've worked in film and TV makeup artistry um and I was at Madman entertainment the Madman family and you know had my firstborn child and actually got made redundant along with a lot of other people at the time and just had a moment of oh shit what do I do now and was looking at I guess practical pathways forward. So I was looking at like digital media and like communications because that were really I guess big industries and I knew that film and TV wouldn't support a part-time working mum and that was the the primary agenda for our family was to not have two full-time working parents and that's a real luxury you know that's a real luxury to even be able to entertain that thought um but actually a friend from my mother's group when I was you know talking to my mum friends about what I was going to do she said to me but what do you want to be doing in 20 years time? And I was just like actually if I'm honest with myself I'd love to be doing interior design. And and so that was kind of my jumping off point. And I guess I felt like my career was suffering from becoming a mum whilst I was watching my partner's career you know carry on that beautiful trajectory. And so as a family we decided to support me studying without um without a huge tremendous pressure at the end you know that was like let's just lean into this you know like do something that you're passionate about and we'll see where it goes.

SPEAKER_01

That's beautiful.

Psychology To Interiors: A Career Pivot

SPEAKER_03

Luckily I started to work kind of as I was studying through friends of friends. And so it just kind of kept going from there. But yeah I think you know when I talked to my mum about it she was like oh yeah when you were eight you were like obsessed with like getting a tanned leather sofa and you were always playing house and you know like you were what I was watching my family renovate our farmhouse and like restore all the furniture and I mean I've been obsessed with grand designs for my whole life basically it feels like and right the concept of creating a home for me I always I from when I was really young I could just always remember you know just that desire to have my own space that I could really put my stamp on and yeah I guess when I really stopped trying to be super practical about it and started to actually think about my passion yeah interior design was there.

SPEAKER_01

So yeah it's cool a bit of a winding road but I think it's um you know I I speak to a lot of second career interior designers like within the work I do with the design society and it's just the familiar story. It's like I've had this career I had a child that career no longer supported that I needed to find something else and and and almost what you're saying as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah and I actually look back I realize interior design's always been there but I feel like sometimes it takes a bit of courage to go you know what I'm gonna go for it and support like you were like it's amazing to have a partner who is able to sort of recognize that like we need to also be happy in what you do because work is such a big part of our life and if you and it's hard to find that sometimes and work out what it is. So you do have to take a bit of a chance like you said with no expectation let's just see what happens because you could have got to the end of it or halfway through studies and gone actually this isn't for me but it's not right.

SPEAKER_03

Sometimes that's what we have to do to find where we're supposed to be right yeah and I actually found that even so I started studying when I had a three year old and a six month old baby and a husband who traveled overseas and domestically a lot. So I was doing a lot of eating cold leftover scrambled eggs you know like it was that vibe but I actually found that the minute I started studying and had something creative for myself I just felt happier. So I was over I was stretched more but I just found myself again in the sense that I just needed my brain to work in that different way and I needed to feed my creative urges and yeah I mean I I know I think Nick probably needs some support now trying to figure out what he really loves to do too. So you know I am I'm really grateful that he he supported me and I think you know I I think if I'd done too big a picture I never would have made that jump. I think I think the minute because I can get kind of per paralysis around making those big decisions. And I think it's kind of like if you put one foot in front of the other and don't go too big picture. And again everyone's circumstances are completely different. I mean we were already on one income for quite a while with me being with the kids and so it wasn't like a real stretch for me to study for a bit and and stay in that bit more humble circumstances. But I know again that's a real privilege to even be able to entertain that thought. But I think for me it was just about not going too big picture because otherwise I would have been really frozen at in making that decision. And I just kind of on a whim was like okay I'm gonna make a design Instagram handle just to like start engaging with the design community because I'm at home with two little kids.

Studying With Young Kids And Starting Up

SPEAKER_01

I'm not in an office situation like I'm not out at all these events like how am I gonna start to engage with people and that was the way that I yeah just to you know I don't know have some visibility start creating a sense of peership and I'm so grateful for Instagram in that way because it has been the thing and it still is now you know like being up here I'm still connected with a lot of my Melbourne community and and definitely you know like makers and yeah yeah well I think um you know if you're listening Studio is Zaza it's I-S-A-Z-A but your Instagram is so gorgeous um but it was interesting um what you're saying because I I was talking to another designer who is kind of where I was before just before I sort of started having babies and she was like you know she's set up she's got a gorgeous website she's really got a great aesthetic she's got the skills behind her she's worked for others and now she's like I'm gonna go for it but I'm really scared once I have babies is my business going to sit on the shelf and just get dusty I'm like no like I feel like when I had my first I had one project that was sort of the start of my business and it was just enough to take me out of that baby bubble for a little bit and feel creative and do something that was about I guess for me and my client and then I had my second and I had another project and it was just enough to keep me feeling like a human during that time when you're just like in this wild busy time because my my girls are 17 months apart. So we were in this big baby bubble for ages. And it just gives you enough and I think you know if you're going back to study I I liked the way that you were talking about that in it was almost letting go of the outcome. It's just like I'm just gonna do this now and one step one foot in front of the other like you've just got to start somewhere don't think oh my God what about in three years time just like just make one small step today. I mean going back to study is not really a small step but you know just complete one assignment next complete another assignment like yeah just kind of keep it don't worry about your clients just yet yeah yeah and I feel like the universe or whatever will give you just an enough or sometimes it's just like a little bit too much but it's like you can do it like you can handle it and you know the kids and stuff like it's it's kind of wild but it's find out whether you're in the right space.

SPEAKER_00

And it's I think the whole thing with like and maybe why a lot of women make that change when they've gone on maternity leave is they may have been in a job that was just a job and then they have time to think about it a little bit more maybe when they're away from that and they're not in the grind of like well this is my job and I kind of have to do it every day. So you have a little bit of space to be able to go I can go back to that but is that what I actually want to do and I think that's when we start to maybe think about it and there's an opportunity there because you are not working. So if you're gonna study it's kind of the same you know like maybe you've sort of seen that maybe it's possible because I think that we can get very caught up in like you said to Lauren oh but what if when this happens I don't know it's things kind of tend to work out you if you really want something and it's the right thing I don't know that the pathway sort of shows itself to you. I don't know that's very woo woo but I do believe that sort of happens.

SPEAKER_03

I do too and I think you're dedicated to things that light you up right you're a bit more willing to like give give your all absolutely and let's be honest being self-employed is not like an easy solution. You know but I do think it allows flexibility that's what it allows.

SPEAKER_00

It doesn't allow less work it's more work but it like allows flexibility we can work at different times and we can go and drop the kids off and then go back to work after dinner or whatever it is where maybe you just don't have that flexibility when you when you're not in charge of your own hours and I think as a parent particularly with younger kids it definitely gives you that um yeah which is important I guess.

Flexibility, Family And Self-Employment

SPEAKER_03

Yeah I think I've been able to show up a bit in a way I wouldn't you know yeah like I think it yeah it's allowed us to well as a family it was kind of like okay well Nick has to do his nine to five and he has a boss kind of you know that there's a level of I mean I have accountability to my clients but I guess I'm able to be the flexible one often and so it just allows a bit of balance. It doesn't mean my life feels balanced but I guess as a family I know it allows that balance and I think that that that's really great. And I think that's probably why we do see a lot of second career you know people reinventing themselves and again maybe leaning into that creative pathway that they might not have um moved into. I mean growing up no one ever talked about interior design it just was literally not a on our kind of landscape and and so I think you know yeah like you said like having a little bit of space even though you've got potentially kids all over you've got literally no space but I guess you are you know you you can dream a little bit and and try to lean into what you actually love. And I think yeah I think it that was really great. I'm so grateful yeah to have had that kind of opportunity.

SPEAKER_01

And the support of a partner you know I I'm so grateful for for my husband Phil you know I I'll I'll be like oh Phil like what should we do? You know the thing with running your own business like you have to be the one to decide you don't have a boss to say next task is this like you have to be the one so you know Phil's really supportive in whatever thing I want to do next like hey do you want to go to Paris and Milan and do a design tour you know Phil's like that sounds good. All right well you'd have to be with the kids for two and a half idea love Phil I know yeah so so it makes a big difference and I think you know I don't take that for granted as well because not everybody has a partner or just the support and it's not just like financial support. I mean I I sort of have more the emotional support and the the yeah go team backing but I don't have his financial support because he's in the business so it's sort of how you can get that support we're all in. Yeah yeah um so um what would you say to someone if they're listening to this and thinking oh God what what should I do? Like I what would you say if they're thinking of a career pivot?

Advice For Second-Career Designers

SPEAKER_03

I mean you don't necessarily have to go all in either you can you know like you can start to test the waters or maybe reduce your like depending on what your financial situation is but you know like maybe you start to like look at helping friends or friends of friends, family friends do a little project and start to get your, you know, like feelers in there. I think you're not looking too big picture because I I do think that that can get really scary. I mean ultimately you want to know that this is where you want to go but I guess you need a minute to figure that out like you can't it's kind of like otherwise we're randomly picking careers and going I'm gonna be that and then we have actually no idea really what what's fully involved. So I think I think just starting slowly and I mean studying and starting slowly and I think not looking too big picture is really helpful. But I also think it's just like trying to figure out stay in your own lane like I think we're really in we're so overwhelmed by um it's like sensory overload you know the visual world that we live in and we can look at what everybody else is doing. I mean I suffer from this so much and think why am I not why you know and it's it you just constantly having to kind of hold yourself accountable and stay in your own lane and whilst it feels hard to do I think ultimately it becomes a thing that sets you apart you know like if you can stay true to yourself and it might not be that your aesthetic is the the hot thing at the time but I think that authentic vision really holds you in good stead ultimately um yeah so I would also say that stay in your own lane if you can manage it.

SPEAKER_01

Don't be too influenced you know thank you so much it's great advice yeah um you mentioned before that word balance and I I bristled so um do you have any like you know rituals or daily things or anything that can help you feel a little bit more evened out without using that word balance.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah um I think like moving my body always helps a lot you know like I think have whether if I can get in the ocean like I will definitely be trying to have a walk and a swim if I can spinner right you were saying about the river. Yeah now you've just got a different place to swim. Psychologically it's like a total switch for me. If I can get in get my head under the water like it is a real game changer and and and it has been a total salve for me when when my you know life has felt quite tumultuous. It's like getting into the water and moving my body I guess I've really maybe being here and also the slow pace with COVID I really witnessed that kind of mind-body connection I feel like it really became very apparent at that time so we had a lot of time to think and we had a lot of anxiety and I feel like that was the first time that I really started to witness like oh shit if I actually can move my body you know it really helps where I'm at helps anxiety helps overwhelm. So for me I think yeah like having a walk having a swim moving my body is really important um trying to start the day with that even if it's a short one and again like getting having a break you know like those big computer days I just have to get up we do a blocky we go and walk around the block you know move our bodies look at the look at a distant eye line you know yeah I feel like I've just been staring at this screen and it's so simple isn't it just to go for a walk.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah I mean I have a dance break.

Rituals, Movement And Creative Rest

SPEAKER_03

Oh of course you do I love that yeah that's so cool I love that it could be as daggy as you know all today in the shower it was sweet Caroline you know like you can belt that one out yeah I'm gonna have to send you have you listened to Tyler the creator's like sugar on my tongue like that is a good immediate song right like part help but helping yeah yeah I also think creative rest is really important like I think the blessing of having the kids off school I guess is as having to you know step back into that parenting role or irrelevant of if you've got kids if every our industry shuts down for a certain amount of time which is great. And I find that that creative rest really helps because there's things that I will have designed our whole thing in that time. And it's just been ruminating there. And then I find that when I come back I've got this creative energy and I'm ready to go whereas you know like at times it's a real slog and you've got to just show up and but like if you can have some creative rest I think that that is really helpful because sometimes it's like getting blood out of a stone right you're under a deadline you've just got to do it. But if we allow some space I think that's when interesting things happen and yeah for me that's become really important.

SPEAKER_01

I always feel like I'm looking forward to the break so I can be more creative because I feel like in the day to day it's an avalanche of emails it's just admin it's just stuff and it's just the time to actually just like go okay well I'm not looking at I'm not looking at any of that stuff. And I can like look at my books that I've bought this year or look at you know as I said the design files magazine like intentionally sit down and go through. I'm really looking forward to doing that. Yeah because it's just uh it's a lot you know running the business it's more I wish I had more time to do that creative stuff.

SPEAKER_00

Do you what's your go-to for inspiration, Jana? And like what what is it that you're sort of loving at the moment?

SPEAKER_03

Well I mean I'm not gonna lie Instagram is always like a huge source of inspiration. I mean again I love books and magazines too like I need to get the flak book I mean I love everything they do so I can't wait to get myself a copy and and I've like the design files mag I think is really wonderful. It's got such a broad range of projects and I feel like instead of it just being this very unachievable super glossy multi million dollar you know like all of us can draw inspiration and take things home and I think that that's really really wonderful. Um cinema is always and like you know shows and cinema is always an inspiration. Like I'm Nick's always getting annoyed at me because I'll be like, oh my god, did you see those tiles and that door detail and da da da you know like he's just like what the home alone house that sofa and oh my gosh we just watched that last night.

SPEAKER_00

Like an oh hang on what was this? So you're sort of yeah you know you're taking it in and getting distracted by sets and um interiors and fashion for me as well. And so I sometimes I would need to rewatch again. Yeah much overload it was taking photos I love teaching for colour combos.

SPEAKER_03

Yes yeah you know yeah like I think you know I I do often look to fashion inspiration for like interesting colour combinations. I think it's really great that can very much lean into in our in our interiors and yeah I think it's and and nature also I mean we live in such an abundant area and it's we're often I'm often marveling at like little colour combinations that I might be like oh man that really works together. And I would never have thought about it.

SPEAKER_00

What's your your current colour obsession?

Sources Of Inspiration And Colour Combos

SPEAKER_03

I really love really dusty sludgy tones with like a pop of neon or a primary colour. I've been obsessing about that for quite a while. Actually I just saw in um Kylie Jenner's how she did you see the bunk room with the red ladder I was like yes girl that's exactly what I'm talking about. Like I love those pairings. I think um I remember Tali Ross having really dusty kind of mustard wall with like a neon yellow plinth and I was like damn that is super sexy. So for me that's really dynamic and interesting and I think those those kind of unexpected pairings feel really cool. I also always love like mint and red. I just always love that combination.

SPEAKER_00

I love that water watermelon red with mint like you know that's more pinky red. Yep. Yeah yeah yeah kind of delicious what about you Brie uh um right now I mean I I kind of come back to this quite a bit but I love I love yellows like from mustard to like more sort of chartreuse and I kind of love those tonal combinations of that yeah with like a hit of like a purple or a plum which is kind of actually kind of traditional if you go back and look but can be so modern. So I I'm kind of loving that at the moment.

SPEAKER_03

So I don't know I'll find a way to yeah yeah I'm with you I love a chartreuse and a mustard so good. Oh my tell us let's all do the colours.

SPEAKER_01

Well when you said yellow um and I was looking through your Instagram Jana you've done like this kitchen with a buttery yellow glass mosaic splashback. And it's so beautiful and I guess I'm curious to know like when you propose that to the client because yellow people can kind of go oh my god are you crazy it's very divisive.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah a yellow splashback that sounds wild but it looks so beautiful screamed oh it's gorgeous how do you I was so excited to get that over the line how do you how do you match me in my head like oh very poker face oh yes I'm glad you like that yeah yeah inside just like screaming I mean that client because he loved mid-century furniture and mid-century design like he was really into primary colours so he like I didn't have to hold back with him um but I also didn't want to kind of I find primary colours in I mean look that any I I think there's no rules right like colour you can nail it whatever it is there's always an application that's going to work for it but I guess for me I try to desaturate it maybe have a dustier tone and I think you know like again linking more to that buttery yellow as opposed to like really primary yellow I felt like it just would feel softer in the space instead of kind of like totally dominating it. And and here's a full timber home and we were doing all spotted gum joinery and I knew that that pairing of of the timber and the yellow would work really well when we put a um sweet little kind of powder blue jardin light on the wall and yeah it just like that was a really fun one. That was a really fun one but I didn't really need to convince him much he was just up for it which was so great.

SPEAKER_01

Well I think it's like as you say if you can talk it to the client about it in their language and say mid-century you love that and here's this and they're like oh she's actually hearing what I'm saying she's listening and I understand it now like but if you maybe come out of nowhere and say so we're doing a a yellow splashback they're like what for no reason at all yeah yeah you have to have a nice story and I can imagine what you've sort of been saying a lot of your design decisions they're just they're client led or their architecture site specific you know it it there's a there's a reason it's not like I like yellow so we're gonna do yellow like yeah well color's so sub subjective right like what lights me up or like won't light you up potentially and so the client has to be the person to like lead that like obviously my influence is there and and again maybe the selections that I make based on their tastes but like you know I have another client who like yellow for them is their most loathed colour.

Selling Bold Colour To Clients

SPEAKER_03

So like obviously I'm not gonna go to them with yellow like it's not I also think it's really interesting. I think that's what's fun about colour trends is that you know the you you see things change and what I feel like at one point yellow and purple were probably my least favorite colours and then it's like I actually just think there's just so many tones and shades that are like so beautiful and we just see that change and as we get introduced to you know all these beautiful tones I feel like it really shifts our kind of taste. Never say never yeah I think I think yeah a hundred percent and but also it just has to work for you like it's so subjective and what like might feel totally chaotic to me might feel like not quite enough for them. Like I just think it's you know I think it's more about enabling the client to have confidence to lean into their decision making and to lean into their own taste. Again especially because we are really um overwhelmed with the imagery that we see and I think for a very long time it was like white interiors and grey sofas and so it's like feels really scary. I don't think I think things have changed substantially but you know for a while there it was like really what is a formula to get people to step out. Yeah. And I think you know the good thing is now there's so many incredibly sophisticated very colourful interiors out there.

SPEAKER_00

So we've kind of got a wealth of inspiration examples and inspiration that weren't really actually as also as accessible. I think if you didn't read magazines you wouldn't see anything else. Whereas now even if you're on social media you're gonna see something. And I think people are just a bit more in tune and aware that their interiors are actually important and they shouldn't just be very neutral and like just a backdrop to your life. They're actually part of your life and they can actually make you feel so good when they're great, you know so there's definitely more awareness around that.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah I think it's also if you're on a budget colour is literally your best friend.

SPEAKER_02

Totally I think in a white interior your furniture better be beautiful honey because if it's all white and it just looks cheap.

SPEAKER_00

So you need to very true white can be either a super luxurious colour or a very cheap colour. Yeah. And it's all to do with how you use it and what the texture is and what the material is and people can think that I'm just gonna do all white and it's just gonna be so beautiful and luxe. And then they end up with a really cheap looking space.

Trends, Authenticity And Budget Luxury

SPEAKER_03

Yeah easy to get that wrong and cold totally whereas I think you know you can take relatively inexpensive furniture and have this incredible backdrop of colour and everything just feels so much more luxurious and vibrant and interesting and sexy. And I just think yeah why wouldn't you I think we've been sold a bit of a farce you know I think so too yeah we are on a mission to change it all of us yes together I think we should start some sort of movement a protest against the Pantone colour I just saw a little clip on your Instagram where you were talking about it potentially being like a marketing move and I was like oh that makes a lot of sense that really does I mean there's definitely been years where it hasn't hit with me but I was like it feels very interesting and tone deaf so yeah yeah it's a little bit like it's the it's the difference between going oh I don't really love that colour to this just feels a bit off like a difference right massively don't get us started on that yeah I know we could we could just go off we could go off but um Shana can you tell us what's next for you what are you sort of looking forward to creatively and what are you working on? Um a non-professional thing I'm actually doing a clay class at the moment I'm doing a clay workshop with an amazing teacher and that has just been so fun to to do something for myself with no monetary goal no brief client yeah someone that has a hobby we often are like that yeah and just using my hands and exploring I mean it still gives me those like classic like grief moments where I basically go from being like where am I going to like oh my god I hate it I have to smash it to like ooh that's actually really great you know like it's a it's still that full creative cycle but I'm I'm I've been really really enjoying that so I I'm hoping I can manage to continue on we will see um and then I'm still just kind of working on beautiful historic homes and that's like it's my love language. I mean I'm I'm up for a new build anybody out there I'm I'm down but like I've got to say I do love character and and history and yeah so um yeah still we're in that zone which is really fun and and some clients that are really embracing colour and I've got one client who said no white walls so she's a not bad she's a super fun one to work awesome yeah love her yeah oh that's great Shanna I love it oh um when are we going to catch up next I don't know are you coming for Melbourne Design Week oh yeah well I was I that was so fun I was gonna say creatively filling up my cup Melbourne Design Week was really a big one because I live in a bubble so it's nice it's so nice to get back and Melbourne's just got such an incredible design scene yes for sure I mean this client the no white wall she's actually a Victoria client so hopefully I will come down probably yeah another drink on some rooftop in the city somewhere yes we did that a few months ago yeah it was fun yeah yeah well thank you so much Jana this was so fun good to see you as well thanks so much for having me guys yes you too Bree no worries bye bye we've got the utmost respect for the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation they're the OG custodians of this unceded land and its waters where we set up shop, create and call home and come to you from this podcast today.

SPEAKER_01

A big shout out to all of the amazing elders who have walked before us those leading the way in the present and the emerging leaders who will carry the torch into the future. We're just lucky to be on this journey together.