“Making space” for living feels like a privilege, and I’ve come to realize that it’s actually quite rare that you get to do the thing that fulfills you creatively as a profession.

Building can be challenging and unpredictable, but it’s also an incredibly rewarding and multi-faceted adventure. I didn’t realize in my early years that I didn’t have to choose between being an architect or an interior designer and that I could create the journey that worked for me.

Approaching each brief as an individual problem to be solved by design means that every day is different and every solution unique. Be curious, ask questions, visit the site as often as you can and never stop looking around.

Sometimes the solution comes quickly and sometimes it takes a long time.
I find it fascinating how the answer is revealed through the simple act of drawing by hand. Iteratively, putting pen to paper again and again and again reveals an evolution that eventually leads to the solution.

When it doesn’t work, reframe your vision: stop, take a walk, and do something else. I often find that the right approach is far away from the office: cycling on the streets or in the pool.

Be aware of how much design is experienced through images, look around you and absorb it with all your senses, in every aspect of life, through other creative disciplines and considering the built environment around you.

Best advice I got: Be passionate and enjoy the process, not just the results.