Brisbane Interior Designer - Marilena Baynes
You’re busy. Work is full, the family calendar is full, and now you’re meant to plan a renovation too. If you’re thinking about starting next year, the decisions you make in the next few months will shape how the whole project feels, so it’s worth getting them right.
The overwhelm is normal
Most people hit the same wall. You walk into a showroom with no idea where to start. Every tap, tile and light looks like a decision, and somehow they all land on you. You start to wonder whether the house will ever feel like yours, or whether you’ll just be relieved when it’s finished.
Taps, basins, tiles, the decisions you have to make can seem endless!
I understand. I’ve seen that before, many times. You’re not alone, and it doesn’t mean you’re bad at this. It’s just a lot to carry on top of everything else.
Why one person should hold the whole picture
A renovation goes wrong when the decisions are split across too many people and too many conversations. The look gets decided in one place, the joinery in another, and the fixtures get picked after the trades have already been booked. Nobody is holding all of it at once.
What you need is one person who holds the whole picture from the start.
Marilena Baynes Interior Design Studio - at your service!
What that looks like
The look, settled room by room, before anything is priced. The design and custom joinery, drawn, checked and signed off, so nothing changes halfway through the build. The selections, narrowed to the few that suit you, so you’re choosing rather than hunting. A shortlist of trades I’ve worked with and trust, where your builder makes the final call. And the detail, scope, specs and lead times sorted before anyone reaches site.
Your builder runs the build. I protect the design, every decision and the finish you signed off on.
Where budgets really go wrong
Renovation budgets rarely blow out on the big things. They blow out in the gaps: a joinery drawing that doesn’t match the wall, a tap ordered too late, a trade double-booked across two jobs. Those cost you money and months, and each one lands on whoever is left holding the project. Closing those gaps before they happen is most of the job.
Why starting now matters
Good trades book out months ahead, and joinery and fixtures need lead time that doesn’t wait for your build to start. Starting now gives you the room to settle the look, lock the design and secure the people you want, rather than settling for whoever’s free when you finally get to the site.
Start the conversation now
If you’re renovating in 2027, the first step is a free 30-minute design chat. It’s a no-obligation conversation about your home, your timing and what the project needs, and you’ll leave knowing what happens next.
Book your design chat here.
