Sydney’s Star Decorators Who Are Adapting To A New World

Interior designers shape how we exist within internal spaces, blending form and function to create inner sanctums that embrace us physically and emotionally. In a post-pandemic world, where home has become our sanctuary, interior designers are stepping up the plate to produce palettes that both comfort and inspire.

In Sydney, interior designers have never been busier as the city experiences a buying and building boom. From private harbour-front mansions to more humble residences, talented stylists and decorators are in high demand.

Here are a few emerging Sydney talents to watch.

Shakila Shaflender

Shakila Shaflender. Photo: Bureau SRH

Growing up in Iran, Shakila Shaflender, 37, dreamt of a career in design but it took two decades and a relocation to the other side of the globe to see her vision come to life.

“In Iran it wasn’t easy because being creative was sort of looked down on. I grew up in a family where my mom and dad were professionals and their feeling was ‘Yes, you can do that in your free time, but you really have to have a proper job’. Design and creativity was appreciated but seen as a weekend thing in an environment where unemployment was high,” Ms Shaflender said.

“I studied politics and African studies back in Iran and then, sadly, I had to leave the country. I lived for a while in Malaysia before migrating to Australia but I couldn’t continue working in politics when I came here as an immigrant in 2010. I knew absolutely no-one and English wasn’t my first language. It was extremely difficult, so I just had to begin again. But I always had the attitude that I do want to learn and I will do whatever it takes.”

After Arriving in Sydney 12 years ago, Ms. Shaflender worked as a restaurant manager for several years before returning to study her first love—design. She graduated with a Diploma of Interior Design in 2021, and landed coveted internships with leading Sydney interior designers Claire Delmar and Megan Morton, before scoring a full-time job with award-winning architecture and interior design firm Bureau SRH.

The diversity and inclusiveness of Sydney’s design scene is Ms. Shaflender’s ongoing inspiration.

“It’s wonderful because there’s space for everyone and a place for everyone’s own style. I grew up in the Middle East and it’s a very different type of architecture and interiors. When I moved to Malaysia I saw the amazing temples and buildings and thought they were beautiful. Then when I came to Australia it was all really different again. So as I develop as a designer I think I can bring bits and pieces from all these different quarters that I love.”

Since entering the industry, Ms. Shaflender has worked on the redesign of several high-end Sydney homes including a Queens Park apartment, a waterfront residence at Bondi Beach, and is currently working on a semi-detached house in Dover Heights Semi and a house in Bondi.

Focusing on residential design, Ms. Shaflender said she aimed to create spaces that not only looked appealing, but also promoted a sense of wellbeing.

“I am all about how it affects our health and mental health. I’ve worked a lot with building biologists to make sure the spaces we create are healthy, so we don’t create something that grows mould or has high electromagnetic impact on people who live there. That’s quite important for me to make sure spaces are created in healthy ways, both physically and emotionally.”

Kyara Coakes

A love of travel and design played a tug-o-war at Kyara Coakes’s heartstrings straight out of college. Although she’d studied interior design, a 21-year-old Ms. Coakes (now 34) followed the well-trodden path of many 20-something Australians and took off to discover the world.

“I lived in London for two years, but it was in the middle of the [global financial crisis] and I couldn’t find a job in design so I ended up falling into real estate,” she said.

When back in Sydney, Ms. Coakes’ real estate career flourished, but so did her love of design and property styling.

“My interior design background was always in the back of my head. As a compromise I started styling my own properties for sale. From 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. I was styling properties and during the day I was selling them. Then one night it just came to me while sitting on the floor putting together flat pack furniture. I thought ‘I love this so much more than the selling side, I need to change.’”

The career pivot from agent to founder of The Property Stylist in 2019, in a city where real estate agents have become the nouveau riche thanks to skyrocketing property prices, was more about emotion than money.

“It was the perfect marriage for me; merging my love of property and design together. I can’t help using my years in real estate to impact what I do. I know how buyers flow through a space, I know what agents are going to say and do so that’s how I put the furniture and layout together.”

“Styling for sale” has become a common selling tool in Sydney, with research from one agency group, LJ Hooker, suggesting a styled property will sell for between 7.5% and 12.5% more than an empty or poorly presented home.

Styling for sale might have been the jumping off point for The Property Stylist, which is now a team of 12, but a hunger for high-end interior design and project management quickly saw the business expand.

“It happened organically with agents saying to us, ‘We can’t get carpet, we can’t get a painter, or a handyman.’ So I adopted a project management side of the business where an agent literally hands me the keys and two weeks later I hand the keys back to a new look home. We then started creating such great relationships with the homeowners that we began doing the interior design of their new homes.”

Previous projects for Ms. Coakes include a luxury penthouse fit out in Sydney’s harborfront suburb of Milsons Point, a French-inspired chateau in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales and the office space of financial firm Pac Capital in the CBD’s iconic Macquarie House building.

Ike Sonder

_{Ike Sonder}

After graduating with a Diploma of Interior Design in 2021 from TAFE NSW, Ike Sonder recently celebrated one year at residential design firm Lawless & Meyerson, but he is already filling up his metaphorical trophy cabinet. The 41-year-old creative recently won TAFE NSW’s Excellence awards as the Creative and Design Ideation student of the year, plus the Graduate Of The Year Award for interior decoration awarded by Design Institute Australia.

They’re proud achievements for a later-in-life newcomer to the business who, as a kid, would spend hours sketching at home in The Netherlands, where he grew up. Not only did a young Mr. Sonder never imagine his ideas could one day come to life, he didn’t expect to be creating beautiful spaces for Sydneysiders, thousands of miles from his homeland.

“I used to watch movies in the days of VHS tapes and pause and rewind them to sketch out the houses I saw, or study home and garden shows back in Holland just because I liked copying what they did,” he said. “Back then I also went to IKEA almost every week for inspiration and I remember having a little briefcase I carried around with all my drawings in it.”

After studying event management, he worked in hospitality and then retail before a redundancy in his late 30s sent him back to his beloved sketch pad.

“I had been working in designer homewares, selling furniture to designers and architects but when that company restructured it was actually the welcome push I needed to go back to study.”

The work selling high-end design pieces was an ideal apprenticeship according to Mr. Sonder who arrived in Sydney 13 years ago. Another string to his bow is his heritage, which he said directly plays into his creative work, and its uniqueness appeals to Australians seeking a fresh approach.

“Because my background is European I do feel like my aesthetic is a little different than the average Australian. I’m 100% minimalistic and I’m in love with the color black. I like geometry and working with shapes or playing with proportions and the simplicity that comes from that. Whereas, I feel like Australian design is traditionally a lot softer.”

“I quite like the fact that I’ve discovered my own style through study later in life. It forces you to do a bit more research into what you really like, what you can create and how you create it.”

The award-winning recent graduate has already designed an office space for a real estate agency in Sydney’s edgy city fringe neighbourhood of Darlinghurst and is currently working on other confidential projects.

The Australian housing market is rapidly evolving, with new research revealing changing activity in regional and city areas.

The latest Regional Movers Index from the Commonwealth Bank showed the exodus from Australian cities to the regions is significantly exceeding pre-COVID movements, sitting at 19.8 percent higher. Even more revealing is data which showed relocations are 1.8 percent up on the average recorded during the height of the lockdowns. At the same time, people in regional areas are staying put.

The report is a partnership between the Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australian Institute. RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said the regions have become the permanent home of choice for more Australians.

“The inter-regional migration index —which tracks regional to regional relocations — has fallen by 5.1 percent, suggesting that more regional residents are content to stay where they are. With the continuing strong jobs market across regional Australia, increasing city property prices and ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it’s no surprise the regions remain desirable,” Ms Ritchie said.

She said this had significant implications for planners, with a better understanding of infrastructure needs required by planners.

“Regional Australia is truly the nation’s new frontier. There are so many opportunities in our regional communities, but likewise we know there are challenges. Housing for example remains a key ongoing concern in many communities,” she said. “Regional Australia is growing and for that to continue we need adequate foundations. The time to lay them is now.”

Among the areas to benefit from this shift over the past quarter was the Hunter Valley city of Maitland in NSW which saw a 3.4 percent increase in net migration from the cities and other regional areas. Long seen as the less desirable locale in the wine growing region, Maitland has attracted more buyers looking for an affordable home with lifestyle benefits. CBA Executive General Manager Regional and Agribusiness Banking Paul Fowler said it was an area on the rise.

“There is significant development happening around Maitland, with extensive land releases for residential, industrial, commercial and retail fuelling strong employment and construction industry opportunities,” Mr Fowler said.

“Maitland is also set to benefit from major investments in the area including the nearby Newcastle Airport which will welcome international flights from 2025, further enhancing the region’s accessibility and economic profile.”

And while Melbourne property prices continue to experience a lull, it’s a different story outside the capital, with regions closer to main city centres performing particularly well.

“A move to regional Victoria remains on trend among those relocating, with the state’s regional areas experiencing the largest surge in popularity in the 12-month period to September 2024, with its share of net regional inflows rising from 21 percent to 30 percent,” Mt Fowler said. “Trending scenic LGAs like Queenscliffe on the coast, as well as Moira, Wangaratta and Strathbogie located further north, offer attractive and more affordable lifestyle opportunities for many Australians.

“With more corporate employers setting up or relocating to Geelong, Queenscliffe’s proximity to Greater Geelong and the Melbourne CBD means more regional Australians can enjoy diverse employment opportunities while living in a beautiful location with enhanced lifestyle opportunities.”

Sydney’s Star Decorators Who Are Adapting To A New World

Here are a few emerging talents to watch.

Shakila Shaflender

Kyara Coakes

Ike Sonder

Buyers are moving there in their droves while existing residents know they’re on a good thing