“Mairead Murphy’s clients already had an architectural concept in mind, and town planning permission sorted when the interior designer was asked to work on this new build in the Melbourne suburb of Ashburton six years ago.

“It was a striking design with beautiful clear volumes, which I immediately loved,” says Mairead, founder of Maike Design.  “We were bought onboard to ensure that the interiors were done tasefully and that everything worked together as a whole.  The clients had renovated homes before and had a clear vision for what they wanted to achieve while building a new house.”

However, the original condition of the property left much to be desired.  The house was passed in at auction in 2016 and, months later, there still hadn’t been any interest in the property until the current owners purchased it.  “It was a daunting site when we inspected it,” says the homeowner.  “It was dilapidated, had masses of weeds, abandoned junk and building materials, dead trees and an overgrown backyard – but we saw what it could be.  My parents nearly disowned me when I signed the contract, but we fell in love with the property and were determined to realise our vision – and we couldn’t be happier with the result.

The clients learnt of Mairead from their builder, Grandway Homes, as Mairead had worked with them on a previous project.  She joined the team just in time to work collaboratively with the owners and their draftsperson on the plans.  Her scope of work was to include the overall interior design and joinery plus exterior finishes and lighting design.”