Daring and elegant design with SMAC studio

Designers

2 Jun

Written By NBH

**people • designers**

SMAC Studio is an award-winning interior design firm with projects published in Vogue Living, Belle and Domino. With degrees in Architecture and Interior Architecture, the team has a knack for clever spatial planning. Fresh, young and easy to work with, they never build the same thing twice.
**WEBSITE:** **smacstudio.com.au** **INSTAGRAM:** **@smac_studio**

Words: designeers
September 2023

designeers

The most important thing you’ve designed to date?

shona mcelroy

The first two residential projects where I was given real creative freedom, Mirror Image and First Blush, are my most important designs to date. They allowed me to showcase my style and images of them were published in press around the world.

designeers

What is your favourite way to add wow to an interior?

shona mcelroy

Marble. Each slab is extremely unique. Marble is filled with diverse and beautiful colours to use as inspiration for other elements of the interior.

designeers

Describe your interior style:

shona mcelroy

I have a great appreciation for all interior styles, so my own personal style is ever-evolving. I like to merge different design aesthetics. The end result is always layered with detail — I love natural materials and textural elements. Every project I build is daring and elegant.

designeers

How do you communicate with a client in order to understand what they want?

shona mcelroy

I listen carefully and make sure the clients' wants are reflected in my designs from the start. You have to build trust early, it's incredibly important. I get new clients to fill out a detailed brief on how they live, relax and entertain. This is the foundation of the space. After that we talk about non-negotiable things they want, like butlers' pantries and walk-in robes. From there I create an initial concept with a detailed spatial plan, we re-work it together and then it's all systems go.