Studio Shields

•MILANO•

Mentally, emotionally… spiritually parked in Milan Design Week right now while our feed is flooded and I’m sitting here in Melbourne pretending I’m not jealous. I am. Deeply.

Two years ago, I somehow landed the golden ticket, a trip with to Milan, moving through ateliers that most of us only ever see through a screen. , , , … each one a masterclass in obsession, craft and absolute devotion to process.

And that’s the thing, it wasn’t just beautiful (though… it really was). It was the level of care. Watching a leather hide at get scanned, mapped, cut around its imperfections like it’s some kind of sacred artefact. Seeing the rugs at shift in tone thread by thread, like a painting translated into fibre. Sitting in pieces at that feel less like furniture and more like fully realised ideas.

Everything held narrative & nothing felt accidental.

There was a moment, somewhere between warehouses of hand-pulled rugs, fresco-lined showrooms and a slightly too many spritzs, where it all clicked. This is what it means for design to be ingrained rather than applied. It’s not surface. It’s not styling. It’s decisions, stacked over time, held with intent.

Yes, there were fashion fits. Yes, there was wine. Yes, there was a slightly unhinged level of enthusiasm over chairs (no regrets). But what stayed with me was the reverence for making. The patience. The pride.

It shifted something. It still does.

The trip gave me more than access, it gave me a deeper understanding of what sits behind the pieces we specify, and a sharper lens on how I want to design. With story. With weight. With that same sense of care stitched into every decision.

Forever grateful for that experience
But also… I’m ready to go back.

•IN THE PRESS•

I’m so excited to finally share Joy Haus, my most recently completed project, now published in Issue 04 magazine ~ on pre-sale now!! ✨

Located in Mt Eliza, this interior design and decoration project led by Studio Shields for the most wonderful family. A home that holds joy at its core, expressed through colour, materiality and personality in equal measure.

The inspiration came from the family, their personalities, their cheek, their vibrancy. The palette of materials shaped by behaviours over aesthetics, intuitive and instinctive.

The home is a material wonderland of checkered cork, Rosso Levanto, blue quartzite, bold gloss orange, jacquard velvets, walnut, silk rugs, stainless steel… layered with intention, woven into a fever dream of colour and texture that feels both playful and grounded.

Orchestrating over 13 colours, the palette unfolds as you move through the home. Blossom yellows wrap the main living zones, emanating warmth, before intensifying into bold blues, deep browns and finally arriving at a main bedroom cocooned in rich nutmegs and rusts ~ romantic & immersive.

Material and colour are used deliberately as architectural devices, shaping atmosphere, guiding movement, and creating moments of surprise throughout. From joinery detailing to hardware that reads like jewellery, every element plays a role in the broader narrative.

The home is also a celebration of local & internatial design, featuring lighting by and , hardware by , and furniture from local makers & designers like , , and many more ~ bringing depth, character and a strong sense of authorship to every corner.

This project was built on trust, openness and a shared ambition to create something truly expressive, a collaboration that allowed the design to be pushed, refined and fully realised in joy.

Interior Design & Decoration .shields
Builder
Photography
Stylist

Front cover is the beautiful house of shot by

•ELIZA LEGAL•

A little moody board for your Friday ✨

Sharing our latest commercial project, concept board where we explored how colour can transform a professional environment into one that feels warm & welcoming.

Eliza Legal is a practice that leads with empathy first. A place for family law that acknowledges the emotional weight people often carry when they walk through the door, uncertainty, vulnerability, big life shifts. The interior responds by softening the experience of arrival, creating a space that feels human before it feels corporate.

The palette sits in careful balance between warm and cool, a little nod to Lady Justice herself. It’s the rich fig burgundy’s and hues of verdant, alongside natural materials of cork, stone and walnut. Always a flourish of bold in there & combining all this into a melting pot you just want to sink your teeth into.

The result is a legal office that moves away from the clinical greys and whites we’ve come to expect. Instead, colour and material are used to build atmosphere, comfort and trust.

A place that recognises that sometimes the most powerful thing a space can offer is simply a sense of calm.

The View ~ our richly layered home in the Yarra Valley treetops ~ Read the full article here - https://bit.ly/4apm4xm

The View featured on Vogue Living - A true labour of love spanning seven years, Studio Shields’ debut project is a warm, colour-drenched, deeply personal and handcrafted home inspired by the natural setting surrounding it. Thank you Saskia for such a beautifully written article.