How did you meet?
Romeo: I had joined a brand-new team at Virgin Australia just days before my youngest daughter unexpectedly arrived 4 weeks earlier than her due date early 2017. My manager at the time had organised a team lunch to introduce our entirely new team together.
It was at this lunch that I met Ronni – this gorgeous, warm and bubbly woman – and when my 4-week-old daughter threw up on her shoulder, Ronni didn’t bat an eyelid. It was at this moment, that I knew I would love working with her after my maternity leave. Indeed, she easily became a “sister from another mister” in no time when I was back at work!
Whiskey: Christina and I met working as colleagues when a new team in business improvement was stood up. It was a mixed bag of all kinds of personalities, and I immediately gelled with Christina. What I most remember was seeing her breeze in the office every day, so at ease, even after wrangling three children for the morning and managing to get in on time. Each day I asked more and more questions trying to learn her secrets of being a successful working mum!
What made you want to go into business together as Romeo and Whiskey?
Romeo: Ronni is straight up and honest – she has an amazing “let’s try it!” outlook. In the early days of our friendship, I also discovered she has an eye for gorgeous textures, graphic design and is adventurous with her design decisions during her own renovations.
From time to time, we had those late-night conversations that went along the lines of “wouldn’t it be amazing to start something together and strike out on our own?” When 2020 arrived, and the upheaval that came with it for so many industries across the globe including aviation, we decided to take a chance on ourselves and give our dream of starting something together a crack.
Romeo Whiskey Designs arrived.
Whiskey: We would often talk about our own renovations, what we loved about them, what frustrated us, and visions we had for our final dream homes. At the occasional team meeting the question would come up ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time’. We would often circle back to the discussions of how incredible it would be to be able to do renovation and home/interior design for a living and manage a business around our lives. The theory became more frequent in conversation.
Enter: Romeo Whiskey Designs.
You have both built and renovated, what was your biggest challenge?
Romeo: My husband and I renovated a 2-bedroom 1922 cottage that had seen better days in her heyday. After sitting on this house for years, we decided to take on the challenge of doing a lift, extend and build under for our family.
The single biggest challenge, by far, was making a decision on the final design and locking it in! Design is an ever-evolving process and, as an interior designer, I had to give myself some very clear constraints: budget; a design brief; and some non-negotiables.
Being exposed to the design industry also made it very challenging to nominate what finishes, fixtures and fittings to put into our renovation. (There are too many beautiful choices out there!) So, I did the opposite: the interior design is pared back to celebrate the overall design of openness, light and warmth.
Whiskey: Upon renovating our 1989 single brick storey home, we have struggled making the decision if it will be our ‘forever home’ or not. This in turn impacts our decisions of individual (or quirky) design choices vs versatile and timeless for resale benefits. Piece by piece as the home has come together, it truly is a reflection of us and our family. I have always opted to create things that I personally love and want to see every day and it has given the home a special something.
The other challenge I have noticed is the intense decision making that comes with balancing structural elements, budget and time. Some decisions are easy and forth-coming, but others make you question how you will want to use a space for the next 15 years (which is no easy task!). Lucky for our family, my husband has a construction business so he would often cross a few scenarios off my list to align with structural reality. But it sure can be a juggle.
What surprised you?
Romeo: How much I loved the entire renovation process, even the surprise hiccups that all renovations inherently have. How much I enjoyed picking up the tools to bring the renovation vision to life. And just how intense life becomes when you embark a renovation of any scale! Decision-making fatigue is real.
Whiskey: How expensive everything is! That is my honest answer. I certainly knew renovating wasn’t cheap, but things that surprised me were the cost of little things like the faces for power outlets, door handles and windows – ouch!
But like anything, you choose what you want to hero. I often start visualising a room with what I want to experience there and that’s where I am happy to spend extra money on great quality. For example, our bathroom I want the bath to feel luxe (as I LOVE bathing), so I purchased a high end brushed brass floor spout and beautiful freestanding concrete bath, whereas the vanity was a cheap Freedom clearance item, as it’s not something I will remember from the room and isn’t important to me. Choose your battles!
What would you say your personal style is?
Romeo: Is ‘casual elegance’ a thing?? I tend to gravitate towards a less-is-more personal style and incorporate details that adds my own ‘Christina’ twists here and there.
Whiskey: My personal style I would say is natural and rustic. I try to salvage anything old with history, I also love natural fibres and things that have once been living or a part of the natural earth, like stone, timber, greenery. In terms of home aesthetic, I’d say an eclectic mix of coastal, boho, scandi. Haha, once again, ‘is that a thing???’.
What is your best design hack?
Romeo: IKEA! The classic Scandinavian design aesthetic is brilliant to integrate into homes of any style or age. Many of IKEA’s items can be installed with little bespoke items – such as switching handles or built in – and can help many families achieve an affordable functional space with small tweaks here and there.
Whiskey: Light! Bring light and a blank canvas to the room that will make small features pop. There’s nothing worse than 50 features in a room.
What will 2021 bring for RWD?
Romeo: New partnerships, new clients, new experiences, new designs and new perspectives!
As an interior designer, I strive to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings and how our spaces shape our days. I would love nothing more for Romeo Whiskey Designs to support new clients achieve their design visions and guide them towards delivering spaces that will make their everyday experiences meaningful.
Whiskey: What she said. A world of opportunities!