I didn't start Your Design Companion because I wanted to open a traditional interior design firm. I started it because I looked at the traditional interior design model, really looked at it, and thought... this doesn't work for most people, and I was convinced it didn't have to be that way.
Where did it start?
I spent close to 15 years as a Corporate Account Director in IT Consulting and Professional Services organisations. I was good at it even if it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Those golden handcuffs had me good for quite some time. Managing complex projects, tight budgets, high stakes commercial outcomes. I knew how to bring structure to chaos, find simple messages in complex scenarios to keep leaders relaxed, how to keep multiple moving parts from colliding while negotiating my little butt off for that next gig all at the same time. Things still collide sometimes but there was a very specific framework we used in every project that really allowed me to do it with my eyes closed in the end. It didn't matter the size or complexity of the organisations and problems I worked with, the framework never changed. Even if there were fires to put out. So how does that relate to design?
While I was working in corporate, I renovated. I built. I discovered what everyone else does pretty quickly. It's a lot!
Nobody hands you a process when you start a renovation. You're just dropped in and expected to figure it out. I made mistakes because of it. Decisions on the fly. Decisions under pressure. Some things I'd go back and change if I could. The kind of mistakes that happen not because you're careless but because you genuinely didn't know what you didn't know and your builder just wants to build the thing, not educate you in the thick of it.
I decided after all of that, yep after, not before, to study design. A lifelong dream.
So, here I finally was sitting with the interior design project methodology in front of me for the first time, watching this process unfold through each assignment. I kept thinking the same thing over and over.
Every single person renovating or building needs to know this. This process is not complicated. It's not magic. It's the framework that will keep me sane and it shouldn't be locked away inside a design degree or available only to people who can afford full-service design or an expensive course. But it usually is sitting behind both of those things, completely inaccessible to the people who need it most.
That annoyed me and planted a seed.
So why didn't you just open a design firm?
Traditional interior design firms are professional services businesses. They sell time for money. A designer's revenue is directly tied to how many hours they can work and how many clients they can physically service. There's a ceiling on that and it's not very high. Because of that ceiling, the way most firms survive with enough credibility is by charging premium fees for their time.
Which means the advice, the process, the expertise, it all sits behind a price point that most people renovating simply can't access. Not because designers are greedy but because the model doesn't give them another option.
I really want to be clear about something here. An experienced designer's knowledge is worth its weight in gold for a million reasons. I could talk about that for a very long time and probably will in another post. This isn't about whether designers deserve to be paid well for their expertise. They absolutely do. This is about the business model that makes that expertise inaccessible to most people and whether it has to be that way. I didn't think it did.
I watched friends go through builds and renovations who desperately wanted design advice. They'd call me. I'd help them as much as I could. But when I suggested they book even an initial consultation with a designer, the fees stopped them every time. So, they'd make their selections based on what they'd seen in my house or at a friend's house, or what felt safe, or what the tradie recommended, and then hope for the best.
I was happy to be the inspiration. But I kept thinking: that's a problem. These people need and want proper guidance. They just can't access it the way the industry currently delivers it. Every course is thousands of dollars, designers are too etc. etc.
And then I thought: what if I built something that could reach them and how could I do that without falling into the same business model?
What did you build instead?
I spent a few years really thinking about this. Not rushing it. Actually, thinking hard about what would genuinely help people and how to build something that was sustainable and scalable without just selling another set of throw cushions with my logo on them which I never wanted to do.
The answer was the interior design process itself. Packaged in a way that anyone could follow. At their own pace. At a price point that didn't require them to remortgage anything.
The Design It Yourself system is the result of that thinking. It's the four-stage interior design process, PLAN, DESIGN, EXECUTE, MANAGE, broken into guided tools, systems and templates you work through at your own pace and on your own terms. The same methodology a designer uses on every project, made accessible to anyone with a renovation or build on the horizon.
It was built for the me of the past. The person who had the creative ambition and the drive but no clear process to follow. Who made expensive avoidable mistakes because nobody handed them the framework. Who would have loved something like this but didn't know it could exist.
Alongside it, we have Design With Us services. Because some people do want hands on support and outsourced help. Design direction, selections, sourcing, concept development. Available online across Australia or in person on the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne Metro areas. For the person who wants someone in their corner, whether that's for the whole project or just at the moments where they need an expert eye.
The idea being that someone who can't afford full-service design or wants to do this thing themselves they can access the process through the DIY system at an affordable price. If they want to add a consultation here or a review there, they can do that too without it costing them the entire renovation budget.
Everyone should be able to afford some level of good design guidance. That's not a radical idea. It just requires a different kind of business model to make it real and I'm so passionate about it because home is so incredibly important to our lives. It has a profound impact on our health and good design can change lives.
What is YDC actually built on?
The belief that clarity, structure, and good design guidance shouldn't be gatekept. That the interior design process isn't a trade secret, it's a framework that anyone can follow with the right tools. That people can and should feel in control of both the creative and commercial sides of their project. Not every renovation needs the same level of support and we get that.
Some people want to lead the whole process themselves. Some want more hands-on help. Most fall somewhere in between and that changes at different stages of the project. YDC is built to meet you wherever you're at.
Because home matters. Everyone deserves a home that feels considered, beautiful to live in, and worth every bit of effort they put into it. And everyone deserves access to the process that gets them there, regardless of their budget.
That's not just a nice thing to say. It's the whole reason this business exists.
If you're interested in working with us:
Whether you want to follow the process yourself, bring in support along the way, or want tailored design services there's a way to work with YDC that makes sense for you.
Design With Us: tailored services available remotely Australia wide or in person on the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne Metro.
Design It Yourself: Follow the 4-stage YDC system, PLAN, DESIGN, EXECUTE, MANAGE, at your own pace or use the tools you want and need.