Introducing Di Henshall
I am passionate about design – I live and breathe it, and I translate this into every project I work on.” – Di Henshall
What I give clients is something they don’t have. They don’t have enough time, confidence or intuition to design their own homes to truly reflect their personalities and lifestyle. I give them that – all that and in some cases, much more.
Some of my closest friends started out as my clients. This indicates the level of depth I sometimes attain in order to achieve the best, the most innovative solution to a design challenge. And believe me, I’ve had a few.
In 30 years of having my own design practice, I’ve worked on over 2400 separate projects. From hotels to offices, shops, restaurants, retirement homes, first homes, new builds, resorts, major renovations, investment properties, inner city penthouses, farmhouses and tiny one bedroom flats.
Some projects take years of planning and execution, others get flipped in a few weeks. In all cases, without exception, the same degree of tenacity and passion is put into each – every project is a challenge and every project is a great source of energy and excitement for me personally and my whole team.
Some clients have been designing, renovating or redecorating their homes, businesses and holiday “shacks” for years before they land on my doorstep. Invariably, they have either run out of time, confidence, passion or ideas and so they “resort” to asking for my input. It is when the process of working with me, and my team, is underway that they begin to realise that there is a huge difference between what we do, as a design practice, and other experiences that they have had in the past.The interesting, fairly unique aspect of what we do is the breadth of service, experience and qualifications we have. I only employ graduates from recognised, full time design schools, who either have a diploma or a degree in Interior Design. We also have qualified draftsmen and business graduates that support the design team.
I am also a qualified builder, which is a brilliant adjunct to my design qualifications and experience – like having a foot in both camps, practicality and creativity (this is more useful than you may at first think!). I am also qualified and experienced in furniture design and cabinetry design, which opens up a universe of possibility when designing for our clients.
I travel at least three times a year to various exhibitions around Australia and the world so I can source fabrics and furnishings for clients that you simply can’t get from shops – even if you spent a month searching.
Our clients expect this and deserve it. So, we’re a sort of one-stop-shop for design and decoration – designing buildings from the ground up, right down to teaspoons and everything in between.
Di Henshall, Design Director
