The bubble wrap was flying, flat packs were assembled in world record time and there was even an (unintentional) pot theft - it was Canberra's answer to The Block in August as teams frantically decorated the interior of the Raize the Roof charity house.
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The house, located on Clancy McKenna Crescent in Bonner and constructed over the past decade from donated materials and labour, will go up for auction on October 20 in a bid to raise more than $1 million for disadvantaged children.
After a shopping trip to IKEA, the interior design teams had just 24 hours to complete their rooms before judges headed in the next morning to critique.
The challenge will be released as an online series in coming weeks, with Canberrans able to watch the show and vote for their favourite zone via www.decorateforadifference.com.
Here, the teams describe their approach to decorating and the challenges of the day.
Sisters from the Southside
Nicole Liakos (travel agent) and Maria Cerne (founder of Studio Black Interiors)
Zone: Girl's bedroom, kids' retreat, powder room.
Describe your zone in three words: Playful, functional, engaging.
How do you want people to feel when they enter your rooms: We wanted to create a space that encouraged playfulness and had a sense of fun. Good design is about balancing function and beauty and creating a space that makes you feel good.
Best part of decorating day: Seeing the empty house transform into a beautiful family home. As designer Darren Palmer says, “Feeling good in your home doesn’t rely on how much money you spend, it’s got everything to do with making it as beautiful as it can be with the resources you have”.
Why should you win: We believe that we have styled our spaces so they not only look beautiful but are functional and practical. We had the biggest challenge in the house as we had the three smallest spaces to worth with.
The Lone Stylist
Rose Polglase (creative director, Home Eclectic)
Zone: Entry, living and courtyard.
Describe your zone in three words: Modern, eclectic, boho.
How do you want people to feel when they enter your rooms: A sense of beauty, calm and warmth.
Hardest part of decorating day: Being outside repotting plants in the cold. It was windy and raining - I swear it was the coldest day we had this winter.
Why should you win: Honestly, I feel like I’ve already won just by being involved. Supporting a charity that helps children in need and collaborating with a global brand like IKEA—all while doing what I love? This kind of opportunity doesn’t happen everyday!
The Decor-daters
Pip Swayn and Ron Asumadu (public servants)
Zone: Master suite - bedroom, walk-in-robe and ensuite.
Describe your zone in three words: Soft, serene, soulful.
How do you want people to feel when they enter your rooms: The hustle and bustle of everyday life means we often forget to just ‘be’ in the moment so we wanted to create a master suite the owner would see as a haven to retreat to. We used a palette of soft colours to create a tranquil bedroom.
Hardest part about decorating day: Working to a deadline had its challenges, especially when it came to putting together the storage baskets - we had so many! With five teams working against the clock in a house of this size trying to locate our decorative items was hectic (plants being the main source of stress).
Why should you win: Decorating one of the smaller zones meant careful consideration had to be given to scale while still creating an impact. We think we've done well to achieve this yet kept styling items to a minimum so that the buyers can add their own pieces to personalise the space.
The Wallpaper Flowers
Mia-Lee Ching (artsACT employee) and Shelley Dickerson (goldsmith)
Zone: Living room, kitchen, dining, laundry.
Describe your zone in three words: Heart and home.
How do you want people to feel when they enter your rooms: Welcome, relaxed and cosy.
Best part about decorating day: Laughing with each other and getting to see the love everyone has put into the house.
Why should you win: We don't mind if we win or not, we put everything we had into it and feel a real sense of satisfaction with how it turned out. We had such fun being a part of the Raize the Roof team. The experience has been so wonderful in so many ways.
Team Kandy
Kaitlin Mott (interior architect) and Andrew Anthony (yoga teacher and town planner)
Zone: Main bathroom, alfresco and nursery.
Describe your zone in three words: Luxe, dreamy, lush.
How do you want people to feel when they enter your rooms: We have three very distinct spaces with different feels. However, tying them all together is a consistent feel of being soothed, relaxed, and indulged; a place people can retreat to at the end of a hard day.
The hardest part of decorating day: As the only team with a designated outdoor zone, the rain was a massive challenge as we battled mud, wet boxes and icy wind.
Why you should win: We had a challenging zone with very distinct room functions. But we managed to pull off three gorgeous spaces, each with a unique and visually stunning style ultimately harmonised through the common theme of retreat and luxury.
The Raize the Roof house will be auctioned on Saturday October 20. For further information head to www.raizetheroof.org.au
