Just you wait
This interior designer let time lead his heart to décor that proves patience is definitely a virtue.
This interior designer let time lead his heart to décor that proves patience is definitely a virtue.
ono, you’ve been living here for about six years — what’s the backstory?
I was looking to buy a place but wasn’t quite ready to tackle a house or a renovation, so I was mainly looking at apartments, but so many of the new builds I saw lacked personality, and they all had very small kitchens. So I started focusing on ‘designer’ apartments, and when I came across this one by SJB in a gorgeous spot in Waterloo, I knew it was a winner and bought the last available apartment off the plan. They’d already started construction, so I took a bit of a gamble and hoped for the best, but knowing SJB, I knew I was in good hands — and I wasn’t wrong!
Were you able to customise any of the finishes?
There were a few options to choose from off the plan, such as the beautiful parquet flooring, which I chose to continue throughout the apartment, including in the bedrooms, for a spacious, seamless feeling. I went with light marble benchtops rather than a darker granite finish, and there was the option for a fireplace, but I didn’t think we needed it in this climate and I wasn’t keen on having a large, immovable feature in the centre of the living room wall.
With this refined backdrop established, how did you tackle the fun bit — adding your own special touches?
It’s wild to me how much my taste has changed. When I arrived here, I had a Pinterest board on which I’d saved a lot of Scandinavian-inspired looks. I really thought that I could pull off a minimal, sleek, European effect, but I was wrong. When I moved in, I had a beige sofa, a black-and-white beni ourain rug, blush accents, a fiddle-leaf fig and a reindeer hide slung casually on a dining room chair. It was very chic, but it wasn’t very me.
Curating a meaningful interior takes time though, right? How many looks has this place seen since you moved in?
Over the years, I started to get more comfortable with my own design choices and began to add more colour — through cushions and art, and eventually larger furniture items. It’s been an organic evolution, rather than a journey through specific looks.
“I treat each object, vase and shape as a piece of art, and not much is for display only.”
How does sustainability play into your décor decision-making?
Although I definitely accumulate lots of ‘things’, I like to use the excuse that they’re work-related purchases, plus I’m conscious of supporting local businesses rather than mass-production stores. It’s firstly a quality issue — if you buy quality pieces, they won’t be landfill after six months — and it’s also how I bring personality into my home. I treat each object, vase and shape as a piece of art, and not much is for display only. Everything is useful and nothing is too precious that it has to be saved for a ‘special occasion’, so nothing is wasted.
With Palette by Jono Fleming, you’ve created an accessible way to add art to interiors — what led you to launch this side hustle?
My art collection kind of snuck up on me. I used to see art as a scary prospect — it was always too expensive and too mature, and for the most part I didn’t know what I actually liked. But I started finding pieces at op shops and getting posters framed, and over time, my collection grew.
Last year when we were in lockdown, I spent time at my family’s farm, pottering around and styling sideboards and bedside tables in lieu of actual work, and realised I wanted some smaller-scale pieces for these interior moments. I looked online and couldn’t find anything at affordable prices that I’d want to invest in, so I approached my best friend’s sister, Rachel Stevens, an extremely talented illustrator, pitched her the concept of creating artworks that were based on classic still lifes and landscapes, and from there Palette by Jono Fleming was born.
You’ve also used plants to add character to this apartment…
It’s taken time to figure out which plants are the right fit for this area. I found it helpful to chat with the people at my local nursery, who were able to help me choose the best options and understand what specific plants need as far as light and water go. I think when people think of lowmaintenance plants, they end up at succulents and cacti, which are beautiful but don’t always suit a space. For me, it’s all about combining plants of different heights, textures and shades of green to create a full garden that needs watering only about once a week.
You call yourself a ‘curated maximalist’ — what’s your advice for embracing this aesthetic?
Remember that you don’t have to have all of your décor items on display at once. Collections and vignettes help guide the eye around a room, so group pieces together to place the focus on different stories and moments. Arranging pieces you have a connection with will make your home feel like a true reflection of yourself.
Colour can be intimidating, so my suggestion is to start small. You don’t need to paint the walls right away — just put a pop of colour on your coffee table with a great book. Pick colours you really love in the form of cushions, a vase or a candle, then build up to including that colour in an artwork. Explore complementary colours opposite each other on the colour wheel that sit nicely together, and play with different shades and tones.
What colour combos are you into at the moment?
I never thought it’d say this because it was never a colour I loved, but I’m having