The Canberra interior design company making waves in the capital and beyond

I was at Dairy Road in Fyshwick early last week when one of the windows stopped me in my tracks. A delicate bed of dried flowers led my eye into the salon, where soft female figures seemed to dance behind timber-framed mirrors and sumptuous leather chairs.

It was Studio Mae, and little did I know that, just a week later, I’d be face-to-face (or rather, screen-to-screen) with Lauren Sharman, one-half of Studio & You, the firm behind this spectacular design.

As it turns out, it wasn’t my first experience with Studio & You’s work. I’d already penned a story for Allhomes on Commonplace, the dreamy workspace in Narrabundah with its signature pink tonal palette and a myriad of textures.

While Commonspace and Studio Mae are some of Sharman and co-founder and fellow director Alanna Kochel’s more public-facing designs, their residential projects are equally impressive.

“We’ve got two projects that we’ve worked on with Future Building entered in the Master Builders Awards and the Housing Industry Awards this year,” Sharman says.

“They were two custom knockdown rebuilds that required a lot of detailing and onsite attendance with the builder and client.

“Creating someone’s home is pretty special because you spend a lot of time there and it’s so personal. You really do get to know that family, and handing that over and seeing them enjoy the space is a really proud moment for us.”

Since opening the firm in 2017, Sharman says she’s seen a shift towards a desire for bolder design choices in Canberra homes.

“I think Canberra previously has had a reputation of being quite conservative in design when we compare it to Melbourne or Sydney. But in the last four or five years, we’ve seen a progression in that,” she says.

“We’ve seen a real push for colour and texture. People want something different rather than following their neighbour or sister or whoever has renovated before them.

“It’s nice to see that progression and hopefully, it continues to happen in Canberra.”

Studio & You are leading the charge in that progression, from their beautiful commercial spaces to their residential projects which mix timeless design with striking features, such as a powder room painted a terracotta hue from walls to ceiling.

“The client really embraced that suggestion, and it’s still the space that people talk about when they reference the house, which certainly wasn’t the intention but it shows that people gravitate towards something different that stands out,” Sharman says.

As a local firm, Sharman and Kochel are quick to embrace local suppliers and creators when designing for Canberra homes.

“We like to think people in Canberra support local designers and, in turn, us using local suppliers where we can is really important,” she says.

The team is continuing to work on a range of commercial and residential designs, along with its first local hospitality project.

Of the latter, Sharman says she “can’t say too much, but it’s a restaurant that we hope to see start to come to life either late this year or early next year”.

“We’ve worked on hospitality projects in Wagga, but this will be our first here in Canberra, which we’re pretty proud of,” she adds.