Summer 2019

103 Jan19471 Exceptional Residential Design that Truly Makes a House a Home Founded by Sarah Heyes, Provoke Design is a residential interior design studio that specialises in creating truly welcoming home environments. Following the studio’s recognition in LUXlife’s annual Designers Awards as the ‘Best Residential Interior Design Service for 2019 in the Mornington Peninsula’, we profiled Provoke Design to find out more about Sarah’s design inspirations and work. Successful residential design finds its roots in a rather subtle collection of elements. Of course, it relies fundamentally on an ability for the designer to communicate with the client and understand what truly makes a house a home for them. It can be a shared interest, a memory, a hobby, an ornament. Maybe it’s a style, a preference for a particular trend, or a love of a particular colour palette. A home can be many different things, the trick for designers is to recognise what that thing is. It’s a skill that many have, but few can master. The best residential designers have honed this client-centricity to an artform. Sarah, by all regards, is one of those designers. She excels at exceeding expectations when it comes to fulfilling a client brief, regardless of the demands, or scale, of the job at hand. Starting her design journey in the 90s in the UK, Sarah flourished on the international design scene before settling on the Mornington Peninsula and founding Provoke Design. With this extensive experience working within the global design and building industry, Provoke Design has distinguished itself through an ability to flourish under an outcome- focused outlook and approach. Arguably, Sarah’s work really comes into its own when she embraces a more natural style, allowing her to exercise techniques that enhance a property’s surroundings, blending state of the art materials with more traditional solutions that work to compliment the space and elevate it to new heights. Outside of this, Provoke are able to adapt to a variety of styles, with much of their portfolio of work highlighting an almost chameleonic ability to change their skills to the project in question. In some projects, Sarah and her team work to a contemporary style, showcasing elegant lines, soft colour palette and an almost minimalistic quality – function over form, without sacrificing visual impact. In others, a more modern slant is evident, defined by bolder colour choices, and touches of experimental lighting. Throughout it all is a certain timelessness, ensuring that Provoke’s work remains always relevant and on-trend. For all of these reasons, Provoke Design was recognised by LUXlife for providing the best residential interior design service in the region – a title that they are, certainly, worthy of. “‘As a full-time mother of two, work life balance is incredibly important. Getting that balance right relies on genuine love and motivation, and my girls motive me. I would love for my girls to join the business with me in the future.” - Sarah on her inspiration, and the importance of family Company: Provoke Design Name: Sarah Heyes, Creative Director Address: Mornington Peninsula Website: https://www.provokedesign.com.au