Long time friends Rochelle and Nicola, co-owners of Roki Design Studio recently finished their Peregian Beach project - a beach side holiday home. The extension entailed an ensuite renovation which was inspired by the serene coastal location. The girls used our Paddington Grey Terrazzo look tile and the Riverton matt white subway tile to achieve this luxurious Australian Coastal ensuite.
Rochelle (L) and Nicola (R)
Tell us a bit about who you are and what you do?
We’re a full service Interior Design and Styling business based on the Sunshine Coast. Whilst Rochelle holds qualifications and experience in Design, and I (Nicola) in Styling, we work together on every job and across the whole business. We love the collaboration process and being able to bounce ideas off each other. The result is a really well thought out and considered result for our clients. Amazingly, we almost always agree!
What inspired you to pursue a design carer?
We’ve both loved interiors and the magic of good design from early ages. We met working at Myer while we were studying back in our late teens, and have worked together in Visual Merchandising roles for the Cotton On group, and a few other creative side businesses. Rochelle spent several years as the in-house Designer for a large commercial fit out company and undertook personal building projects, whilst I studied and tried out Primary Teaching for a short while, but took a U turn back into Design and Styling after completing my own build from scratch. We joined together all of our Design, Styling and Construction experience at the beginning of 2021 to create Roki Design Studio.
What took place at the Peregian Beach Project?
The Peregian Beach project was such a fun one. It was actually a small extension, built out into an existing porch under the original roofline. It presented some challenges such as the sloping ceiling, fixed beam/bulkhead and a restricted footprint. The owners were interstate throughout the whole process, so our comprehensive moodboards and 3D renders allowed them to really visualise our concept prior to installation. Fortunately, they were able to see it in person a few days after it was completed and were very happy with the result!
What motivated your clients to renovate?
The property mainly functions as a holiday home and is often rented out to holiday makers. The addition of the bathroom allows the property to offer a secondary primary suite, which is often sought after in holiday homes.
How would you describe your style?
Our natural style is a relaxed, coastal luxe style which really suits the Sunshine Coast lifestyle!
Does working with a client have its challenges?
Generally speaking our clients have an idea of the look they’re wanting to achieve, but just need help on how to pull it all together to really nail it. That’s where we come in. We essentially interview our clients on how they envision using their space, what’s practical for them and take all of their style inspiration and create a concept that’s completely customized for them. We utilise tools like concept moodboards and 3D renders which really helps clients understand and visualize our ideas. This way anything that requires workshopping can be done before anything is ordered or installed, avoiding costly mistakes. At the end of the day it’s our clients who we want to really love their new space.
Talk us through the process you take in the planning stages of the renovation!One of our first questions to new clients is, ‘Do you have a Pinterest board?’ Inspiration photos provide a really great insight into the style our client is naturally drawn to, and the aspirations they have for their own space. On the Peregian Beach Project though, our clients completely trusted us and gave us full creative control, which was a lot of fun! We took style inspiration from the beach side location and the tropical garden setting, and carefully considered how the space would be used. Being part of a holiday home, access, cleaning, and durability of materials were all at the forefront of the design brief.
Were there any delays? How long did the renovations take?In the current climate it’s hard not to run into delays due to material and labor shortages, however in spite of that the Peregian Beach project ran very smoothly. This was in most part thanks to great planning and the fantastic team we had executing the project, we can’t speak highly enough of the trades and suppliers that were involved.
Did you come into the TileCloud showroom to look around at tiles? Did you order samples?Due to being located on the Sunshine Coast, we couldn’t visit the TileCloud showroom in person. So we ordered
samples via the TileCloud website, which was really quick and easy. The samples arrived quickly, and we were able to place our full order within days of ordering the samples.
Why did you choose TileCloud / What did you enjoy best about the TileCloud experience?We shopped around for the right tile for this bathroom but couldn’t go past the
Paddington Terrazzo Look Tile. It suited our design perfectly and TileCloud were so easy to work with. The tiles arrived much quicker than we anticipated too so it was a great experience all round.
Any advice for first time renovators?Invest in a good Designer. There’s no substitution for experience and great planning, and the financial savings you’ll make will far outweigh your investment. If that’s just not an option, keep a vision or inspiration board and refer back to it each time you’re faced with a decision, it’s easy to become distracted!
