Designed by Catherine Finlay

About

Catherine Finlay runs an award-winning design practice specialising in residential spaces, from new home builds, to alterations and additions.

With 34 years of experience in design and 24 years as a residential designer, Catherine brings a wealth of practical knowledge and professionalism to every endeavour.

DBCF’s primary focus is crafting bespoke design solutions to suit every client’s individual needs. Catherine finds immense satisfaction in the creative challenge of translating the client’s unique vision into reality, blending aesthetics with functionality in order to create the captivating living spaces DBCF is known for.

From concept to completion, Catherine and her team attend to all aspects of the design process with meticulous attention to detail.

This involves preparing comprehensive documentation for council approval, selecting the most suitable builders, and overseeing the project’s execution from start to finish.

Central to Catherine’s approach is maintaining open communication with clients throughout the process. By keeping clients informed and engaged at every stage, Catherine ensures that expectations are not only met but exceeded, resulting in homes that perfectly reflect their vision and lifestyle needs.

Our Services

Our Process

Testimonials

Catherine was patient with us as first time renovators, was very conscious of our budget, really understood our needs, and based on her experience had a good point of view on how our needs are likely to change.

She incorporated quite a few wow factors, and has a great sense of when to give a firm recommendation on design choices vs. frame options and leave to personal preferences. We absolutely love the space – to live in, entertain and host house guests – and are looking forward to enjoying it for decades to come.

Ward

Catherine has worked with us now on three properties. Each time she has taken care to understand our needs and tailored solutions to suit them.

We have found Catherine and those tradesmen she works with to be a delight always willing to help achieve a shared vision is time and on budget.

Catherine has very capably managed the processes of design, dealing with Council and Certifiers, Builders and Trades for all our projects.

We would confidently recommend “Designed by Catherine Finlay” to anyone wanting a highly skilled professional to manage their renovations/builds.

Hugh Bishop

It was a delight to work with Catherine, she listens to what we wanted and came up with some grea designs for us. Nothing was too much trouble and Catherine was there to help whenever we asked.

Catherine has a portfolio of builders, cabinet makers etc to choose from and we are extremely happy with the building company we selected. Our renovation has recently been completed and we are very happy with our new home.

Jacky

As a Commercial Interior Designer, I needed to appoint someone who had a good knowledge of residential design but more importantly had a clear knowledge of the local Council Requirements.

Our home was part Heritage Listed and came with several restrictions so Catherine was able to navigate the problems encountered and guide us through all the associated hoops. She was able to work effectively in collaboration with me to pull together the necessary documentation for a DA submission. With her extensive knowledge of local trades she was also able to tender the building works on our behalf and was a constant support as and when required throughout the whole process from inception to completion.

I would happily recommend Catherine Finlay to anyone seeking a knowledgeable, passionate and understanding Designer and have already done so on numerous occasions.

Thank you Catherine… we couldn’t have done it without you.

Freya

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