talking design: amy spargo

talking design with amy spargo

Amy Spargo’s passion for design started as early as ten years of age. She remembers her first project – her bedroom – where she styled all her trinkets and toys (on her side of the room anyway). Once her bed was made perfectly she would ask her Mum, a decorator herself, to photograph the space.

AMY SPARGO

From these early design days, Amy went on to graduate from Interior Design at RMIT and her formal design career started at Rothe Lowman Architects. It was there that she formed an understanding of large scale projects, working on the well known Art Series hotels. She then worked for Nexus Designs, a boutique design firm in Melbourne under Janne Faulkner AM, who was one of Amy’s greatest inspirations. After moving to Sydney to open their NSW office, and with over 12 years experience in the design industry, Amy founded Maine House Interiors.

Splashback: Matt White 100x100mm Floor: Arhus Natural

What is your design ethos, and what do your clients look for when they engage you?

I believe a house should represent the journey of your life. It should tell a story of where you have been and what’s important to you. I aim to create spaces that feel like a home to my client, and a welcoming reflection of their lives to friends and family who visit.

I enjoy working with colour and prints, and always ensure the addition of an unexpected element of surprise. I like to source objects and furniture from both high-end, acclaimed Australian and International suppliers; as well as one off pieces, found by scouring antique stores, which take my interiors from feeling predictable, to unique.

What is your design process when you take on a new client?

I sit down with the client and we get to know each other. I ask about how they live, what’s important to them and how they enjoy spending their time. Most of the design process is really about gaining an understanding of who they are what they love. The designer and client relationship is a very special one, we are in each other’s lives for a long time, so it’s making sure the relationship is strong, even before we get to the design.

With the recent renovation of the Mt Martha house, what was your brief and your response to this brief?

This was a great little project, a real challenge for me as it was a very budgetdriven design. I usually design high end residential projects, however this was the fourth project that I had completed for this client so I couldn’t resist, as we have a fabulous relationship. The brief was ‘a relaxed family beach house on a shoestring budget and by the way, it needs to be ready in 3 months’. I still recall the laughter coming from my client, I think it was the shocked look on my face, that was actually making him laugh! I knew I had to be clever, working with the existing layout and injecting colour and texture through well priced and well wearing materials.

The cedar beams were painted white and the cedar ceiling a pretty beachy blue, this made an immediate impact, as it lightened the space and gave it a relaxed and soothing feeling.

I kept the finishes to a minimum, choosing to use the same tiles in both bathrooms and even using left over floor tiles for the laundry splashback, all cost saving while integrating the rooms together in a cohesive way.

Most of the furniture was bought second hand or sourced from local Opportunity shops and given new life through paint and colour.

I repurposed the old built-in timber desk and re-used it for the laundry benchtop - I am strong believer in reusing, re-purposing and limiting waste wherever I can. Finally I designed the kitchen around standard sized cabinetry modules to keep the costs down, and all the appliances and light fittings were sourced from Bunnings - for cost reasons and also because they were all in stock suiting the very tight timeframe.

You feature a range of National Tiles product in the project – in the laundry, bathroom and kitchen. What tiles did you select and why?

I chose timber tiles (Arhus Natural) for the main flooring as they are super hard wearing, easy to clean and gave it the appearance of a timber floor without the maintenance and the cost.

The wall tiles are 100 x 100mm matt white (Pressed Edge White Matt). As the bathrooms are small and needed to feel larger and brighter, I laid them in a brick bond pattern for a little fun. I kept the same tiles in the kitchen as we wanted to reduce the cost and only tile the walls that were necessary, so this enabled the tiles to blend into the white painted wall seamlessly. The wet area floor tiles are a porcelain Terrazzo look tile in a perfect shade of blue (Dolce Vita Amalfi Mar Matt), and the terrazzo pattern makes them easy to maintain and more forgiving than a plain colour.

What are your five top tips for selecting the right tile/s for a space? 1. Start from the ground up, choose your floor tile first. 2. Don’t be afraid to mix finishes, matt tiles on the floor and gloss on the walls can work well. 3. Choose a tile based on maintenance too, I love marble mosaics however not everyone wants the upkeep. 4. Think about the natural light in the space, gloss wall tiles are great for bouncing light around a small dark room. 5. Look at the scale of the space, don’t choose too large a tile for a small space or too small for a large area.

Do you see any particular tile trends emerging?

I see a trend towards more natural colours and finishes, terrazzo, stone, handmade tiles with a clay base and uneven glazing. I feel that we are seeing a return to nature and natural forms in interiors.

What is your favourite tile from the NT range?

The Masia White Gloss 75 x 150mm, I seem to sneak it into most of my projects, it’s just so easy to work with!

TALKING trade

grants

As one of Australia’s leading tile retailers, it was a natural step for National Tiles to develop a home brand range of tiling adhesives. The result was Grants – a range that is sold exclusively and extensively through National Tiles stores and franchises. “I first met Nick and Frank when I bumped into them in a store in Darwin,” explains Grants manufacturer WASEEF ZUBAIRI Waseef Zubairi. “The store owner was a good friend of mine and he introduced us, which proved to be a very fortuitous meeting. At that stage I was General Manager for the tiling adhesive division of a large company, and I forged a great association with National Tiles. To this day I have a fantastic relationship with both Nick Walker and Camron Whittaker.”

Four years ago, after going out on his own and with his background as a chemist, Waseef and his company SAS were awarded the contract to further develop the Grants range. The tiling adhesives and affiliated products – primers and waterproofing – provide everything required for tiling installation. The key to the success of the range is the quality partnership with Waseef, who ensures consistent quality in his highly controlled manufacturing facility.

Waseef developed a new to market product called PM700, a lightweight adhesive that provides additional coverage with less volume. The C2S2 formula combines the highest Australian Standards strength and flexibility classification. The 15kg bag of the white polymer, cement based tile adhesive is designed for internal and external applications and offers tilers the best possible application solution.

The Grants range of tiling adhesives is available in National Tiles stores nationally.