01
Start with the feeling
Before choosing a style, name the feeling you want on an ordinary Tuesday evening: grounded, open, playful, quiet, or ready for company.
Tip: choose three feeling words before opening a mood board.
AS Studio field notes
Design ideas for a home that feels like yours.
Practical principles from the studio: colour, light, layout, material, and the small choices that change how a room feels every day.
Tips and tricks
Sixteen ways to design for real life.
These notes are starting points, not rules. The best home uses them in a way that is personal, practical, and specific to its people.
02
Layer light, do not flood a room
Use ambient, task, and accent light together. One central fixture rarely gives a room enough depth or flexibility.
Tip: plan circuits so dining, reading, and arrival can each have a different mood.
03
Build a palette with undertones
White, beige, grey, and timber all carry undertones. Keep them aligned and the room will feel calm without becoming flat.
Tip: compare samples together in morning and evening light before ordering.
04
Give each room one anchor
A room needs one point that tells the eye where to land: a window view, art wall, fireplace, stone plane, or sculptural light.
Tip: let the secondary pieces support the anchor instead of competing with it.
05
Make double-height rooms feel human
Large volumes need intimacy at seating level. Use low pools of light, grouped furniture, tall art, and a material plane that connects both floors.
Tip: never float furniture in the centre without a clear reason to gather there.
06
Let the kitchen work first
Prepare, wash, cook, and store should follow a logical rhythm. Beauty lands better when the daily movement feels effortless.
Tip: reserve at least one clear landing surface beside the fridge, sink, and hob.
07
Design for the gathering you really host
Consider where people naturally pause, put down a drink, and continue a conversation. A successful entertaining space is about circulation as much as seating.
Tip: keep a clear path around the dining table even with all chairs in use.
08
Balance material voices
Stone, timber, metal, fabric, and glass should not all speak at the same volume. Let one or two lead and the rest give texture.
Tip: repeat a material three times across a space so it feels intentional.
09
Design bedrooms for recovery
A bedroom benefits from visual quiet: softened contrast, concealed storage, controllable light, and a bedside surface that does real work.
Tip: choose blackout, sheer, and reading light as one system.
10
Let storage become architecture
Storage does not need to look like an afterthought. Integrated joinery can guide circulation, create rhythm, and make a room feel finished.
Tip: plan the objects you need to hide before deciding the cabinet sizes.
11
Use art to set the tone
Art is not filler. It can give a neutral room personality, add scale, and make the colour story feel more lived-in.
Tip: choose the wall and lighting first, then choose the artwork.
12
Borrow from the outdoors
Garden, terrace, balcony, and roof views should influence the interior palette, sightlines, and threshold materials.
Tip: align one indoor focal point with the best outdoor view.
13
Treat terraces as rooms
Give exterior spaces a floor, shade, lighting, and a reason to be used. A terrace becomes valuable when it works after sunset too.
Tip: use warm exterior light at low level to avoid turning the balcony into a glare box.
14
Keep wet spaces calm
Bathrooms feel more generous when transitions are simple: fewer grout lines, aligned fittings, and enough concealed storage for the daily clutter.
Tip: choose one main stone or tile, then vary its scale rather than adding more patterns.
15
Give work a boundary
Whether a full office or a desk in a living room, work feels better with its own light, power, storage, and a visual end to the day.
Tip: position screens perpendicular to windows whenever possible.
16
Renovate in the right sequence
Decide the plan, electrical points, lighting, and wet areas before choosing finishes. Reversing that order costs time and compromises details.
Tip: make one complete decision sheet before work begins on site.Bring it together