The Designful team

My aim is to create change and lessen our impact on the planet through the built environment – it’s a challenging task!

I strive to make good design available to more people whilst practicing enoughness. Enoughness is about understanding what you need to live a healthy, happy and reciprocal life with those around you and our environment and not taking or using more than this.

My endeavours and passion for sustainability, integration, user well-being, affordable housing and buildability have created the foundations of what Designful provides.

“I question clients and prompt them to really consider their lifestyle. What are their true necessities? What is enough? What are their true values? We work out what the needs and desires are for the build – together.

I take budgets very seriously and invest time in creating concepts that address all requirements of a project, functional, financial, aesthetic and environmental. I like to look at what can be removed to make space for the meaningful.

My favourite quote is “make it simple but significant”. I do not agree with complicating things for the purpose of design interest or just because you can. I appreciate refined and considered ideas that benefit more than one party. In life and in business, I am looking for win-win-win-win outcomes! Wins for us, our clients, society and the environment.”

When not at the Designful + Homeful helm, Jane appreciates a simple life, investing in her home and family and those we share with, being outside, appreciating nature and trail running!

Rosie’s design and life values hold equity and nostalgia at the forefront. An equity of opportunity: everyone should have access to good, healthy, affordable and sustainable design that creates functional and joyful space. Nostalgia holds a lot of weight with her too: with what something means to you as the client, how it fits into your story, and how people and their spaces are a reflection of what life has held for them.

“Buildings are made for people. They should be purposeful spaces created to hold real, gritty, emotive life experiences. I like to help clients understand how they fit with their buildings, beyond the function, and how their home can become a part of their everyday narrative.”

Rosie is passionate about exploring, through conceptual design, the connection of people, landscapes and built environments, to create healthy home spaces for everyday living.

“I’m excited to see a movement towards built environments becoming more sustainable: financially, socially and most importantly environmentally.”

Rosie is heavily influenced by 1950’s Finnish design, in particular the work of Alvar Aalto, and contemporary Japanese interiors, enjoying simple, authentic spaces that show the patina of living.

In her spare time you’ll find Rosie drinking too much masala tea, reading, bushwalking and gardening, or inside drawing plants and making wonky ceramics.

After graduating from the University of Tasmania, Sebastian has spent the last four years freelancing with small design practices in Victoria. Sebastian is excited to have recently joined the Designful team to collaboratively design home spaces for everyday people with sustainability at the core.

“I believe the ethos of Designful is part of the solution in making housing more cohesive with the environment, both from a carbon footprint perspective, and how houses interact with the land they are perched upon.” In a time where reducing our carbon footprint is more essential than ever, Sebastian brings experience working with residential builders and clients to create sustainable, humble home designs. 

Designful’s designs allow the user to enjoy good design, at an affordable price, while still using low impact materials that will last. The designs are neat, minimising the ground footprint, while still having enough space to accommodate the different needs of different people. Designful encourages the use of outside space – year round – allowing us to realise with smaller internal space, we can make use of the huge open the space of the outside world around us.

Beth comes from a graphic design and web development background. She’s taken a bit of a sidestep into the Operations + Engagement co-ordination role at Designful.

“I like to think I keep everything running under the table, so everything on the table can do it’s thing. The creative/design work needs time and space to evolve – I like to think I take care of all the non-creative stuff so everyone else can do their thing. I think what Designful puts out into the world is ace, and I love being one of the cogs in this machine.”

Designful’s values and team culture is what drew her to us. “I love that at Designful we prioritise – and don’t compromise on – our values. We’re happy to educate our clients, to get the best end result, rather than just giving people what they think they want (but don’t really need)! I love that we apply the principle of ‘enoughness’ to everything we do.”

Beth hopes land sharing becomes more commonplace, as housing prices go up. “Land sharing has many benefits, beyond the obvious financial ones – eg: using less earth, leaving the rest wild for us to enjoy. I also think community is really important. Surrounding yourself with people whose values align with yours, making connections with those around you. That doesn’t have to mean living at each others’ backdoor, but I love that this is becoming a realistic option for people, allowing for more affordable, creative housing.”

In her downtime, Beth is either sewing, reading, playing with her children, or marrying people (in her side-gig as a Marriage Celebrant).