Rodney Surawski and the inside story on Clive Palmer’s palaces

The man who designs Clive Palmer’s luxury homes is finally spilling the beans on the elaborate interiors of the homes of some of the world’s richest people.

23 Knightsbridge Parade East, Sovereign Islands.

The man who designs the interiors of Clive Palmer’s luxury homes has many hobbies – and breeding Nigerian dwarf goats and keeping the best garden in the Gold Coast are but just two of them.

Rodney Surawski has made headlines a few times in the past, including winning the major prize – with fellow green thumb John Chapman – in the 2016 Mayor’s Garden Competition for their 3ha garden in the Gold Coast hinterland, and the other was for a quirky business he created selling Nigerian dwarf goats.

“The goats were pretty well just a little business venture I started for my granddaughter. She was 13 at the time and it was my way of teaching her to do business,” he tells Mansion.

“They’re known for their high-quality milk. We sell them either for their milk or as show-off pets.”

But perhaps what Mr Surawski should be most well known for is his work with Artnow International.

Rodney Surawski (right) with John Chapman after winning the garden competition in 2016. Picture: John Gass

After two years being stuck at home in southeast Queensland due to the pandemic, he is finally spilling the beans on the past few decades he and the firm have spent designing the elaborate interiors of the homes of some of the world’s richest people.

His portfolio includes work for the likes of the wealthiest man in Ukraine, Rinat Akhmetov, at his Crimea home, as well as for Tunku Kamariah, the daughter of the king of Johor, in Malaysia.

Billionaire Clive Palmer has a number of properties showcasing different styles. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled

He also helped design the King of Bahrain’s palace.

“You know, if you took a photo or even a camera inside the front gate of the palace, you could have the hand cut off … so no one ever does that,” Mr Surawski said.

Locally, his work includes Mr Palmer’s housing portfolio as well as several new homes in the Gold Coast, including Barcelona, 23 Knightsbridge Parade on Sovereign Islands, and 1039 Edgecliff Place in Hope Sanctuary Cove for Lynn and Mark Winfield, the chief executive of Australian Innovation Centre.

Mr Surawski’s work doesn’t just cover indoors; it also includes the likes of murals, glass art, sculptures and artificial rock pools, built “to a level that you wouldn’t see anywhere else”, he said.

Artnow International is designing the Barcelona home in the Gold Coast.

Artnow International's work on the Barcelona home in the Gold Coast. Picture: Supplied

Mr Surawski said part of the reason he wanted to elaborate on his career – and Mr Palmer’s homes – was because the luxury market was now growing.

“I think in Australia (the luxury home market) really seems to have taken off,” he said.

“I mean, it didn’t feel like it had when I was working overseas but now it definitely is happening here on the Gold Coast.”

And perhaps now Mr Surawski wants a piece closer to home. After years out on the road, he has been stuck at home during the pandemic and, naturally, had to come up with ways to produce the kind of fit-out you’d see in a luxury mansion when not physically in the area. One of those methods is called marouflage.

“It’s a process of instead of actually painting on the ceiling, it’s painted on the canvas and then put up over the ceiling,” he said.

 

Inside 23 Knightsbridge Parade East, Sovereign Islands.

Mr Surawski remained tight-lipped on the details of Mr Palmer’s housing portfolio, only sharing that he is working at the billionaire’s newest Brisbane home.

“You know, he doesn’t have much time, so he’ll fly in on that helicopter, he’ll land and you’ve got to get as much information out of him as you can,” Mr Surawski said.

“I would say he knows exactly what he wants and you’re just there to make his wishes a reality.”

While Mr Palmer may know what he wants, his ideas are not always feasible.

“Sometimes, I might not fully agree with him,” Mr Surawski said.

“So, what I’d do is I’d show him by doing something differently and he’ll either say ‘Nope, stick to what I’ve said’ or he’ll look at it and sometimes he might change it towards what I’m saying.”

Asked what kind of houses Mr Palmer likes to build, Mr Surawski said: “Can I tell you the truth? Clive has so many homes and they all vary.

“They’re not particularly one style; some are super modern, some are Mediterranean, some of them are on the beach.”

Asked if the latest home he is working on for Mr Palmer in Brisbane is a retirement home, he said: “I don’t know if Clive knows what this house is for.

“I don’t know the answer to that, no one knows that answer. He’s got such a big selection … what can I say?”

Originally published as Rodney Surawski and the inside story on Clive Palmer’s palaces