INTERIOR DESIGN TRIUMPH
TAFE Queensland interior design student Alicia Donnelly saw her final assignment transform into NightQuarter’s latest venue
WHEN Alicia Donnelly, 29, submitted her final assignment for her interior design course, the thought of her presentation becoming a real life bar seemed like a fantasy.
But that fantasy has fast become reality, thanks to a partnership between TAFE Queensland and NightQuarter in the hunt for their latest
redesign, The Depot.
TAFE’s interior design students were asked to submit a design that fit with the demographic, interests and accessibility needs of NightQuarter’s thousands of weekly visitors.
After researching the Helensvale area, Ms Donnelly soon found the suburb NightQuarter calls home has a high New Zealand population, and decided to work that into her design.
“The earthiness, balance and harmony from the natural beauty which is romantically evoked in the country’s Maori name Aotearoa, translating as ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ has been visually represented in the design,” she said.
“That’s why I did … the New Zealand-inspired art, and lots of greenery, things that represent home for them. I’m not Kiwi myself but I thought it was a really nice touch for the people using the space.”
Featuring original artwork by local artist Dion Parker, her design caught the attention of social media and co-owner of NightQuarter, Michelle Cristoe.
Ms Cristoe said she was looking for something a little less “blokey” to offset the rest of the venue, and hoped Alicia’s design would appeal to female patrons.
“She also did very carefully consider the movement around the furniture. We have a lot of people with different disabilities, so it was very important to us that there’s plenty of movement for people with prams, with wheelchairs, with walking sticks to get around our site,” she said.
TAFE students have previously offered designs for The Gallery at NightQuarter, and though Ms Donnelly has graduated and started her own business, she’s looking forward to seeing it happen again.
“As a student you’re doing all these hypothetical design scenarios but to know one of my designs was actually going to come to life, I thought ‘wow’,” she said.
To discover interior design courses and maybe have your shot at designing NightQuarter’s newest venue, visit tafeqld.edu.au.