Out of the ordinary: the bespoke interior

31 August 2017

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Creating a stunning feature in an interior that allows for a true point of difference is not always the easiest task. But with the right products at hand, specifying a unique luxurious interior feature can be one of the most rewarding parts of putting a design together. We chat to specialty finishes experts Designsource about their treasure trove of products sourced from Myanmar to Bulgaria and everywhere inbetween.

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A luxury interior is nothing without the right materials and often, it is the unique, unusual, or hand crafted bespoke products that pull together a truly exquisite interior. For Designsource, a firm that has operated specifically in speciality products for more than two decades, the heart of their business is discovering these eclectic materials.

Of late, that has meant everything from hand-woven copper wall panels to eggshell lacquer and malleable resin mosaic tiles. “Often it’s about a really textural look,” Design Source’s Sue Holmes says. “Our products aren’t following trends; they bring a timeless aesthetic.”
That’s no doubt because of their individuality. Many of Designsource’s wallpapers, for example, are works of art in their own right, handpainted drop by drop by artisans around the world.

But it is in the unusual where Designsource’s point of difference lies. Another area in which they specialise is the sourcing of salvaged products. “Recently, we’ve sourced baltic pine from a German barn and beams from the Bundaberg Sugar Refinery,” Sue says.

These materials not only create a stunning visual point of difference, but they provide a unique historical context.
One of Designsource’s relentlessly popular wall finishes is the iconic Australian artist Florence Broadhurst range of bold, bright patterns originally designed in the 1960s. “They’re retro, bold and eclectic.”

But Designsource’s range of quirky, high-end custom and bespoke specialty finishes is almost unlimited in its depth. Covering everything from sueded buffalo hides to cork wall panels, scrapwood wallpaper, leather floor tiles, hessian and seagrass coverings, the design possibilities are endless

Sue and the team travel extensively, visiting places as diverse as the Philippines, Myanmar and Bulgaria, but a large proportion of their products originate in the United States, where Sue says she has often found products that often align better with the Australasian market than some materials of European origin.“Our product range is like a treasure trove,” Sue says. “I often speak to architects and designers and we have a chat about what they want to achiTeve, and I’ll think of something I collected during travels years ago that’s just perfect.”

“In California and LA for example, we have found really beautiful, textural materials that have a more casual feel that we find work in the context of New Zealand particularly well. We’ve been in business since 1984 and it’s allowed us to develop strong relationships with a multitude of suppliers around the world.”

Get in touch with Designsource on ArchiPro here to have a chat about what’s possible, or simply for some interior inspiration.Designsource also supplies natural stone and landscape materials for urban streetscaping through to commercial and residential settings, as well as operating its speciality products for luxury custom-designed interiors across the residential, commercial and hospitality sectors.