The best Australian interior architects on Instagram
Whether you’re pondering a redesign or looking to beautify your feed, you won’t want to scroll past these Australian designers.
Interior design and Instagram are a match made in heaven aren’t they? The social media platform generates a seemingly endless supply of beautiful imagery, and the world of interior design is responsible for the kind of breathtaking, awe-inspiring photography that’s dubbed ‘interiors porn’.
It can be a little overwhelming when hunting for accounts to match your tastes, and ideas that we might even think about replicating in our own homes.
There are, however, interior architects based here in Australia that run some of the most practical (and pretty) accounts in the world.
Here are a few of our favourites.
Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem @ysg.studio
The feeling of movement and spontaneity Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem is able to capture in an interior space always seems to catch us by surprise. Whether it‘s the placement of a playful brass sculpture or the beaming blue of a feature wall, the Sydney-based designer knows how to keep things feeling fresh and unexpected, believing that the opposite is a bore.
YSG is Saleh Ghoniem’s newest venture — she ran Amber Road with her sister, landscape architect Katy Svalbe, for seven years before branching out on her own in 2020. As expected, the Egyptian-Australian’s Instagram account is bursting with eclectic inspiration. If you’re thinking about repainting a cabinet or entire bedroom, her eye for colour is second to none.
Mardi Doherty @dohertydesignstudio
We feel a bit sheepish saying this, given the studio’s excellence in every element of interior design. But it’s the perfection of Doherty Design’s tiling jobs that keep us returning to this Melbourne-based studio’s Instagram account. From a bathroom (and bathtub) done entirely in sage green mosaic tiles, to a terrazzo splashback, its enough to make you understand that tiles can and do make a house.
Run by design luminary Mardi Doherty, the Melbourne-based studio is always posting fun crops of small details and finishings, like textile and colour schemes. We find ourselves scrolling through this account whenever we’re tossing up between tones — and, yes, tiles.
Matt Woods @killingmattwoods
Matt Woods looks more like a hip barista than an interior designer, but this is part of the appeal. With over ten years’ experience creating what he appropriately refers to as “kick ass interiors” that are crafted using sustainable materials and techniques, Woods has developed a sought after practice that appeals to younger clients who want an approachable, no-bullshit guy on the job.
The @killingmattwoods Instagram is a visual manifestation of the designer’s streamlined (but never stuffy) vibe. Follow for tips on how to bring warmth into your home (timber works wonders) and stay for Woods’ wit, which can be found in most of his captions.
Ben Shields @dreamer.lab & @worthy.dreams
If your taste in interiors leans more towards clean lines and earthy tones, try hitting follow on the minimalists at Dreamer Lab. Founded by Melburnian Ben Shields in 2017, the young studio has already gained acclaim for its cerebral spaces, which blend seamlessly with the environment around them — just recently, Dreamer was made a finalist in the 2020 Dezeen Awards for ‘Two Sheds’, a chic wellness retreat in the bush not far from the Victorian coastal town of Lorne.
Shields also runs an account called @worthy.dreams, to which he posts images of cutting edge, ethical design. Both warrant a follow.
Danielle Brustman @daniellebrustman
Scrolling through Danielle Brustman’s account feels a bit like receiving a colour therapy session (or so we imagine). The designer can bring an entire space to life through the clever application of colour, which is why she’s constantly being invited to transform the interiors of art galleries, hotels and, of course, homes.
One of the biggest things we’ve learned since following Brustman is that colour isn’t all about paint — a bunch of wattle, mustard-coloured linen and a Persian rug in the same saffron-y shade is all you need to establish a colour scheme. If you prefer to get fashion and interior inspo from the same source, Brustman’s also has excellent personal style.