Having my own interior design studio was always my dream. From humble beginnings working from home, juggling being a busy mother of three with creating beautiful designs for my clients, having a studio on Queen Street with Marylou Sobel Interior Design over the door really is something special; I don’t take it for granted.
Why Woollahra
When I first came to live in Sydney (some 37 years ago now), I originally lived in Woollahra. I instantly fell in love with the quaint feeling of Queen Street: the boutique shops, the tree-lined streets, the architecture and terraced houses. It reminds me of a village high street, a setting that has always been much more appealing to me than a large shopping mall or complex.
When it was time to move out of my studio at home into our first commercial premises, we knew we wanted to be in the ‘design hub’ (think Darlinghurst, Rushcutters Bay, Surry Hills and Woollahra). And just like that, something came up on Queen Street… It was a no-brainer. Our studio is in a high-traffic area; always people walking by, and always busy with road traffic too (can be a little noisy at certain times of the day with the door open!). It just felt like the right place to be.
Designing the msid studio
The space has worked very well for us. Divided into three rooms; the front space is the office where you will find our interior designers sitting at their desks, the middle is the meeting room, design and sample room, and the back is home to a small kitchen, (with a coffee machine) bathroom and storage. Not forgetting my favourite perk, the convenience of having my own car space.
Flooring
We added new flooring throughout the studio, using sisal in the two front spaces. Sisal is a very durable flooring option as the natural fibres are incredibly tough and strong while providing a natural sophistication, they are also anti-allergy. Throughout the areas at the back, we used timber veneer flooring which is much more practical for our kitchen/bathroom space.
Speaking of the kitchen space
The kitchen space once just consisted of a single (ugly) sink hanging on the wall, that we removed straight away! We developed the whole kitchen area from scratch, ensuring we had a space that was enjoyable to make coffee, tea and prepare meals.
Decorating
Despite completely renovating our new studio, as the building is originally Victorian we kept the gorgeous pressed metal ceilings with a beautiful lace work Art Deco style. We added task lighting to the ceilings, wallpaper to one wall in the front office, and the rest was painted to keep the space feeling light (as well as adding new lighting throughout). We are now adding a linen-backed wall covering to our meeting room.
Furnishing the studio
In the front office space of the studio, we added practical bespoke joinery to accompany the white desks and (very comfortable) desk chairs. If you visit you may notice an iron bench placed here, a bespoke design created for the MSID studio. In the meeting room you will find a French Armoire filled with samples, and a marble-topped table with six beautiful chairs placed around it. You’ll usually find us standing around that very table comparing samples, fabrics, colours, finishes…
And finally…our window space
The window to the studio is such a sweet little area; at around 2m by 800cm although it may seem small it is actually quite a fun and very effective space. We change what is featured in the window every few weeks; whether that be new furniture, lighting, or even carpet, catching the eye of passersby or for when our clients come to visit. If you happen to pass by at Christmas you’re in for a treat as all of the businesses on Queen Street compete annually for the trophy of best window display.
Daily design inspiration
If you visit our studio, you may notice that above each of our designers’ desks you will find a pinboard filled with elements that trigger creativity. Whether this be colours, fabric samples or imagery, we use this space to continually help us to be inspired when working on our current projects. We find this space so beneficial that it is something that we often will also add to a study space or children’s bedrooms when we are designing.
The msid studio culture
From working solo at home for a number of years, I now have the pleasure of working with a very talented team of ladies in the studio. The team tell me that they love the culture that we have here and I have to agree; everyone is friendly and supportive of each other. Each day there will be moments of chatting and laughing, balanced with hours of seriousness as we get stuck into our work. We all love interior design and are passionate about what we do, doing it together as a team is where we create magic.
Somehow we all seemed to have fallen into a rhythm of wearing very similar styled clothes and colours… and without a doubt, you will always walk into a strong smell of coffee and fragrant candle in the studio. I’m the studio’s resident barista now after taking a couple of courses thanks to my second love after interior design, coffee.
We hope to meet you in the studio one day. If you would like to work with Marylou Sobel Interior Design you can call the studio on (02) 9360 5881 or contact us online. We look forward to hearing from you.
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