Our Design Inspiration Starts At Home With Family

Family is essentially the heart of a home, and for us at Bungalow Interiors 'family' remains the central focus of both our business model and design ethos. We design and style interiors for families and friends to come together and share spaces that are filled with warmth, love, stories, laughter and and a whole mix of personalities. Not unlike the rich layers of texture and colour we love to weave through interiors to create flow, unity and contrast. 

We each took a moment to personally clarify why family and friendship is so important to  our business.

1. What makes working with family and best friends so special?

Mary (Managing Director), a former CEO in the medical sector, a mum, mentor, grandmother AND great-grandmother, places trust and loyalty as an integral component of a family owned and operated businesses.

'Our working relationship is built implicitly on trust and loyalty,' Mary says sagely. 'We have honest, direct communication and smoother collaboration which flows through to a positive customer experience'.

For Maddie (Manager, Buyer & first-time Mum to Payten), working with family and besties is kind of like a chaotic dream, 'You get the honesty, the laughs, and the occasional, "I’m saying this with love but," moment'.

'It’s special because there’s trust, history, and a shared vision', she adds with an infectious giggle. 'Plus we already know each other’s coffee orders, so that’s a win'.

2. What do you think is the best skill or personality trait each person brings to the business?

Mandy (Operations Manager), has been a close family friend for more than twenty-five years and an integral part of the Bungalow success story from day one, believes that it is the strength of each person that makes a whole.

'Metaphorically speaking, we all bring something different to the table,' she says  simultaneously cradling the phone to her ear, directing a delivery, cross-referencing on paperwork and negotiating several open tabs on the Mac. 'Kristin makes the space feel like a warm hug and is the vision at the heart of Bungalow. Maddie has an eye for curating & buying pieces that feel effortless but elevated. Mary has her finger on the pulse providing wise guidance and advice and I am responsible for making sure it all operates smoothly.'

3. What do you feel sets Bungalow Interiors apart?

Mary emphatically states that a family owned business like Bungalow Interiors, operates on shared values, priorities and aligned goals.

'We have a unified purpose,' Mary says, 'and that goes beyond making things look nice, but providing a truly elevated experience for our clients and their home or office.  We are each flexible and willing to step into different roles to get the job done on time and budget for our customers'.

Kristin (Creative Director, Principal & 'Queen Sparkles') believes the core purpose of Bungalow Interiors is to curate relaxed, luxurious and personalised spaces that are not staged or clinical like a showroom but rather, warm and inviting like a big hug.  Ironically, this is generally how they make people feel bar none; welcome and engaging.

'Our signature style is tactile, layered and thoughtful,' she states while gliding through the showroom plumping cushions and tweaking floral arrangements.  'We want our clients to feel at home, while deliriously delighted each and every time they walk through the front door'. 

Kristin would much rather just focus solely on the creative aspect of the business and planning one-on-one with her clients.  She is very approachable and so invested in each and every project. 

'That wow feeling they first experience when looking at what we have created, should stay forever', she adds.  'That is the real buzz for me'.

4. What was your personal favourite project to work on?

This was an extremely hard choice, as the Bungalow team have worked on so many incredible projects all over the Gold Coast and as far afield as Sydney and Fiji. They have also forged amazing relationships with clients who have become fabulous friends, even travelling with them on the Bungalow Curated Tours to Morocco and India.

However, a recent standout for the entire team, has been the Beach House at Sisters Beach in Tasmania.

'It was such a dream styling project that just flowed so effortlessly,' Kristin says. 'A simple brief that implicitly matched our brand and style, an amazing location and a client who just got it, us and our vision for her'.

Check out the Tasmania Beach House Styling Project Before and After Blog here, and the Full Interior Styling Project brief here.