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Hot off The Block: Easy Luxury

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You’ll best know Darren Palmer as a judge from the TV series The Block. But besides being a judge he’s also one very talented interior designer. His recently launched book Easy Luxury  is overloaded with information that anyone can get their hands on. Revealing every trade secret, and every bit of knowledge you’d ever need in order to redesign your home yourself, nothing has been left out; he’s shared every his entire wealth of knowledge with you all.

An interior designer herself, Sarah Nolen chats with Darren about his new book, Easy Luxury, and discovers some styling secrets herself.

Sarah: There’s continuity between all of the projects in your book. You have a really beautiful style; one of sophistication and also warmth. How did you evolve this style to make it your signature look?

Darren: It evolves all of the time. The thing is, at the beginning of your career you start doing things out of necessity; you do jobs that you have to do because you have to earn money. It flicks and changes to meet clients and their agendas, and what they think is best. You’re not so confident so you don’t have authority and you don’t tell them this is absolute right way to go. You’re much more open to being swayed and are less confident and less sure of yourself. So I think at the very beginning you’re just doing what you have to do to keep your head above water.

As for me, I used to worry that somebody else might be able to do a better job than me. And then I got to a point where I realised if somebody is hiring me, I’m the best person because they’ve sought me out. There’s a difference when that happens. Because sometimes people just want a designer and they have no idea what you do.  But once people really start to know what you do and that you deliver consistent results and that confidence comes then all you need to do it do the things that you know will work. And then I just trust my instincts and know that what I think is right, is right.

Sarah: You talk about architectural interest in a home…“If you’re standing in your home, I’m sure you won’t necessarily realise you are suffering from lack of architectural interest.”

I’m sure you’ve come across clients that despite the great ideas and new way of living you’re showing them could be achieved, that they still simply cannot see past their immediate surroundings of their home to be able envision the further potential.  What do you do with this type of client?

Darren: I don’t have this problem anymore. My clients know that there’s something wrong. And they know that I’ll know better than them. But at the beginning and even now you still need to earn the trust of someone. You need to show evidence-based design solutions. If it’s just a hypothesis or just an opinion it can be rebutted. But if you go to someone and say, ‘look this is the problem, this is the evidence of the problem and this is what the solution will look and feel like, and does this solution look better than your solution in your mind?’, they will generally trust you.

People do have idea of what they think a solution is but that’s why they hire people like you or I because we don’t think the way they do. We see things in another way and will almost always find a solution that they would have never thought of.

Sarah: One of the biggest misconceptions that I personally continue to hear is that if you have dark floors or dark walls it will enclose the space. I think if done correctly it can have quite the opposite effect.

You go on to explain that instead we now have the opportunity to create something sensual and moody. And my favourite quote in the book is “Let’s just play it safe and do something that won’t offend. Well, that’s a good safe response and will garner you a good safe result. Amazing results, wow factor and true luxury appeal do not sit within the safe spectrum”.

In your experience what sells better at the time of a home resale—sensual & moody or an all-white colour scheme?

Darren:  There’s a reason why all project homes have an all-white colour scheme. I’ve just done a development in Melbourne and there is a lot of white in that. Because there is no particular client in mind so you can’t read somebody’s personality and deliver what’s right for them. That’s why project homes and developments play the safe card because you can’t predict the market so you need to be broader.

This is definitely not the case if you’re doing your own home and I think it is pure madness if you do your home with the view that in five years you’re going to sell it and you’re worried about what that person is going to want. You’ll never know what they’re going to want, there’s no point compromising on your personal experience in your home just because someone might pay an extra $10,000.

That said when doing your place you need to think about the things that will sell. That means looking at styles that are appropriate to the style of home you’re in and the existing architecture and period of your home. Doing things that are moderate and consistent with what people are responding to in the market. That’s really important and that doesn’t mean that everything has to be white and sterile. That would hopefully work against you; people fall in love with houses that have character in them. They don’t fall in love with places that are sterile and cold.

Sarah: A good example would be what we see on The Block. You never see all white. It’s all about textures, and layering, using moody colours to create emotions and attachment. And obviously they sell every time. 

Darren:  We bang on about that too and the reason why is because The Block is an auction show and if you have one person at an auction who has made a critical decision based on numbers then your auction result will be the most moderate version that they could possibly manage. If, however you have three emotionally involved buyers who definitely want to own that house as their home, then you have a fight on your hands.

You’ll have a heated auction where people get emotionally invested and their heart takes over, that’s when they spend more money than they should. Which is what you want as a seller.

Sarah: The megastore Ikea is just about to make its way into Canberra. With what seems like the whole of Australia’s manufacturing industry being sold offshore and a push to save Australian made goods, what advice would you give to those who don’t have an unlimited bank account and who are debating between the option of a flat pack kitchen verses custom made?

Darren:  I would say absolutely do it if it’s within your budget. You can do really interesting things with flat packs if you combine it with elements of customisation. Look firstly at the design of your kitchen in terms of modules so that you work with the flat pack system.

Work with your standard 600mm or 900mm cabinets and drawers. Work with standard overhead cupboards, you can then look at things to customise and make it a little bit more perfect for your space. For example, I did this kitchen in a really beautiful apartment recently and I used a kitchen company to do the majority of it. It used all of the standard sizes that you can purchase from a kitchen retailer.

But then I got my joiner to customise one cabinet which was a particular depth, width and finish. That plus the handles that I sourced online and a really beautiful benchtop made the kitchen look like a million dollars. But we saved money using a standardised system which is really clever for people who need to achieve something on a budget.

Sarah: What is your attitude when you take on a new interior project for a client—do you have a dollar amount calculating in your head or do you put that aside? Is your attitude the same for someone who only has $50,000 to spend to that of someone who has $500,000 to spend?

Darren:  Because I am so time poor now, I don’t and can’t take on the $50,000 jobs. What I need to do now is spend my time in the things that have the biggest impact on my work and on my finances. As you get to play with a little more budget you get to do some more interesting things in terms of finishes and inclusions. That’s where I’m at now but it hasn’t always been like that. I have had all sorts of different projects on varying budget levels. From one lounge room design, styling something for sale or doing a couple of bathrooms. And when I approach them I always approach them exactly the same.

It’s about understanding the clients’ wants and needs; it’s about how the space is to function and then drill down to the aesthetics and mood.

Sarah: There’s a section in your book where you talk about Sourcing: Finding the right pieces. You go on to say that, “Creativity is not copying—use your references now to define your own version of the style you’ve compiled”.

I know on The Block they seem to visit Matt Blatt quite a lot so in a similar matter what is your opinion on replica furniture?

Darren: I think there are so many options of affordable furniture even if they’ve been produced in China or India they still have integrity because they are not ripping off someone else’s design. As a designer I wouldn’t be terribly happy if I had spent all of that time in research and design bringing something to the market and then it was replicated. I don’t think it’s fair and I don’t think it’s particularly stylish.

You’re much better off buying with integrity; it doesn’t mean that everything has to be expensive and it doesn’t even mean that needs to be Australian made. As much as I like Australian made design the fact is that you can get things made cheaper elsewhere; sometimes that’s what your budget requires. If I could have everything handmade in Australia and be able to afford it that would be wonderful. But that’s not everyone’s reality and it’s why Matt Blatt does so well because they deliver designs that people have a desire for.

I think it’s a major missed opportunity of major furniture brands that they don’t tackle a mass market product like fashion designers do. For example look at Stella McCartney for Target. H&M and Target are really good at finding high street fashion. They’re able to mass produces on a level that is affordable. I think major brands miss that opportunity because what they’re doing is protecting their high end stuff thinking that they’re going to devalue it by using lower cost manufacturing products or materials. But the fact of the matter is they’re missing a steal opportunity to make something with integrity that’s got a lower price point.

Sarah: Easy Luxury, your book covers just about everything to do with interiors. What prompted you to share all of your secrets, which I’m sure would have taken years in the making to accumulate?

Darren:  I want to help people. I want them to understand that design isn’t just for people that are wealthy. Just because they can’t afford me to design the interior of their house doesn’t mean they can’t have information on how to approach it. As I say it’s only my time that won’t allow me to do some things I used to be able to do.

There is still a desire for people to engage me for design, I get asked about it all of the time. And so I thought, well how do I help? What do I do so I can inform people and inspire them? Give them the foundations so that they can interpret what design means to them so they can then do something that is perfect and appropriate for the way they live. That is the desire behind the book and I think I achieved it.

Sarah: Interior design of late has become so popular that it seems like everyone is studying it and wanting to be the next big thing. What advice would you give to anyone starting out in the industry and who wants to get there name out as being the first port of call when people require interior design services?

Darren:  First of all get comfortable in your own skin. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Pay no minds to what trends are happening. Find your feet in terms of your own aesthetic and what you’re going to be delivering with integrity.

Once you define yourself then keep working. Just keep working at doing the best at every single project you get. And then keep your eyes open for opportunities. Always be kind to people and respectful of people because you never know who might be able to help you in the future. And you know what, it’s better for you anyway.

Sarah: And finally a Canberra based questions for our readers. There seems to be an outsider’s opinion that there isn’t much to do in Canberra and that it’s a pretty daggy place to visit. Over the past few years Canberra has completely boomed in the way of leading design in hotels, restaurants and bars.

What is your initial thought when you think of Canberra in the way of what it has to offer for local design?

Darren: Hotels especially, there’s two really amazing hotels there.  You know what I am ill-informed, it’s not something that I can really comment on. I’ve seen photos of the Hotel Hotel foyer and I think it looks magnificent. Obviously if you’ve got a day in Canberra you’ll pop in to see Parliament House for half an hour and the War Memorial. The rest of the day you’d spend in Art Galleries. There’s a lot of sculpture and architecture in Canberra but I am ill-informed as I’ve only be there two or three times in my life.

Sarah: Well you better get down here to see what we’ve got to offer, you won’t be disappointed.

Darren: I definitely want to come and check out Hotel Hotel!

Sarah: Well Darren, you’ve created a brilliant book filled with information that only people in the industry would know about. It’s really like a step-by-step guide that anyone could pick up and they’re ready to renovate.

Darren:  That was my intention; I just wanted people to be able to feel like they have confidence to create things their own way and to understand why things work. I see the same mistakes time and time again, people are either too afraid to make a bold decision because they think they’re going to make a mistake or they simply don’t know what to do and they get paralysed with choice. Or on the other hand they buy things that they like and they shove them all in their house and nothing works with each other because they bought a whole bunch of different things. Individually the pieces are nice but together they are awful.

And so I wanted to inform people of what the principles are, let them know processes that work. Then give them the information so that anyone who can afford a $39.99 book can make their house look as beautiful as they can on the budget that they’ve got.

Sarah: You’ve hit the nail on the head with this book, so can we expect to see more?

Darren: Oh yeah! There’s a whole series planned in my head, I just need my images. It takes a lot of work and a lot of projects to fill a book so that’s what I’m working on.

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