At Creative by Design, our designers are what make the business and our work really shine. With years of experience under their belt and a perfectionist eye for interior design, our designers guide customers through the process from start to finish. The result? Beautifully finished, customised furniture for your home that brings a refreshing take to your space. Whether you’ve worked with Creative by Design in the past or you’re looking for a partner in your next home design project, our designers can help inspire you and bring your vision to life.
We caught up with one of our Canberra Designers, Anika to ask her some design questions and get to know her a little more. Bringing her amazing skills and interior architecture eye, she enjoys the end-to-end process with clients where she gets to design their ideal space and see it come to life. She’s been with Creative by Design for two and half years and has a Bachelor of Design specialising in Interior Architecture.
What gets you up in the morning, Anika?
My alarm clock or my cat wanting food 😊
I also love the challenge of a new day and not knowing what’s going to happen, what experiences I’m going to have and who I’m going to meet. It’s always exciting to have something new and unknown to look forward to. I enjoy a challenge and learning new things.
What motivates you as a designer?
The people I meet, the different challenges, designs, perspectives, visions and needs that everyone has have made for some both challenging and beautiful designs. Every person and every job is different and it’s interesting getting to know people’s styles, their likes and dislikes and what they would like to achieve from a design. Then seeing all of this come together into a beautiful, installed design is what motivates me to keep going.
What’s the best part of what you do?
I would say it’s working with a client from concept, design, install and then seeing the final, finished outcome. It’s rewarding when you see it all come together and your client is in love with the final product. Going along that journey with a client to achieve a beautiful end result is really rewarding; the feeling of seeing a design on paper or a computer program brought to life and installed.
What keeps you inspired?
Pinterest is a rabbit hole of inspiration and other designers’ work which I definitely spend a lot of time looking at. I also get a lot of inspiration from places like The Local Project and suppliers such as Laminex – both sources post a lot on their social media channels (which I follow both religiously on Instagram) and provide a lot of detail and information on products, trends and briefs of what each of the designs need to be accomplished.
A recent project you’re really proud of?
It’s really hard to narrow it down to just one project, there have been a few projects recently that I’ve done additional work for after initially seeing them and having their jobs installed.
Being able to go back to see those clients, see the installed design in person, how they use it and how it has changed the way they do things for the better makes me feel like I’ve done my job. It really makes me so proud to do what I do.
What sets Creative by Design designers apart from the rest?
We work with our clients to really get an understanding of what they want and need, to then create a design that is tailored to their style and their needs. We like to design unique, bespoke cabinetry which is both functional and beautiful – a beautiful piece of furniture that can serve a purpose.
We’re also like a little family; we support each other, help each other and are there for each other, whether it’s related to work or our personal lives. We have a great relationship with each other and like to have great relationships with our clients, rather than solely coming to work to get the job done. The entire design journey is an experience for both our clients and the designers.
Your best design advice?
Form follows function – it’s always important to know what you need and want functionally, and the aesthetics will follow. This way you’ll have a beautiful piece of furniture that is not just stunning but will also provide you with functionality in what you need.
If you’d like to get in contact with our Canberra location for your next home design project, contact us today.
