What happens when you lift a 100-year-old Queenslander, drench a kitchen in deep olive, and build a business around family, community and place? We invited Jana from Studio Isaza to share the gutsy choices behind her coastal move, flood-resilient renovation, and colour-rich design language that feels joyful, lived-in and deeply personal.

We start with the sea change: swapping Melbourne’s buzz for a sleepy pocket north of Byron, where trees loom large, streets stay slow, and a raised timber home gathers light and breeze. Jana explains the surprisingly lo-fi mechanics of house lifting, why it transformed ventilation and under-house living, and how a modest extension became a Scandinavian-barn-meets-Queenslander blend. Then we step inside the now-iconic green kitchen—why ceiling-to-skirting colour calms lofty volumes, how tonal drenching draws the eye to a treetop outlook, and the moment of panic that vanished once the primer white disappeared.

The conversation moves through client-led colour strategy, the art of selling bold ideas, and the power of dustier, desaturated tones to make primaries feel grown-up. We dig into playful details—scalloped edges, buttery yellow mosaics, burgundy ranges—that add wit without noise. Jana’s second-career path from psychology and film to interiors offers grounded advice on starting small, using Instagram to find peers, and leveraging self-employment for flexibility rather than fewer hours. Along the way, we trade rituals that actually help—ocean swims, quick walks, shameless dance breaks—and share unexpected inspiration sources from cinema sets to fashion palettes and local nature.

Check out Studio Isaza here & her insta: @studioisaza

If you’re craving a push toward braver colour, planning a heritage renovation, or wondering how to pivot into interiors with kids in tow, this one’s a warm, practical guide.

Listen, share with a design-curious friend, and tell us: what colour would you dare to drench? And if you loved the chat, hit follow, leave a review, and join us next week for more design anatomy in real life.

Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment.

Bookings now open - Book now

Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October!

For more info see below

The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

Feeling overstimulated by screens and underwhelmed by white-on-white rooms? We dive into the real interior shifts shaping 2026 and explain why homes are moving from performative to restorative—spaces built for calm, conversation, and everyday joy. Drawing on years inside the industry, we unpack how cultural mood, technology, and cost-of-living pressures are changing what good design looks and feels like.

We start by reframing trends as signals of how we live, not flimsy fads. That lens reveals a decisive turn from digital gloss to tactile craft: honed stone with movement, handmade tiles with irregular glaze, timber with grain you can feel. Planning follows suit. Open plan fatigue makes way for thoughtful zones that support work, rest, parenting, and hosting without throwing everything into one echoing space. Kitchens become emotional centres with islands that meet dining, softer materials, and art on the walls—rooms that invite people to gather and stay.

Warm colour palettes continue their rise. Think ochre, nettle green, duck-egg blue, tobacco, and clay—tones that ground timber and ease the eye. White still has a role, but as accent rather than default. Bathrooms evolve into living spaces with layered lighting, joinery that feels like furniture, and even home saunas as wellness settles into daily life. We also make the case for personality: eclectic, collected objects, family photos curated with care, and flea-market finds that carry stories. The outcome is a home that feels human—not a showroom or a shop-the-look grid, but a place that holds you.

We also share a special invite: one final spot on our insider Paris and Milan design tour, with private access, line-skips, studio visits, and a guided morning at the legendary flea markets.

For more info about the tour reach out to us on insta: @Design.anatomy.podcast, @sisalla_interior_design & @bree.banfield

Want your home to feel calmer, richer, and unmistakably you? Hit play, then tell us the first trend you’re retiring and the material you’re bringing in next. If you loved this conversation, subscribe, share it with a design-loving friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment.

Bookings now open - Book now

Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October!

For more info see below

The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE

What if your home looks beautiful but still leaves you flat, restless, or strangely unlucky? We sit down with feng shui master Kelly McCloskey to unpack the practical side of energy at home—how doors, corridors, water, light, and small daily habits shape wellbeing, relationships, and money. Kelly cuts through the gimmicks and myths to explain what classical feng shui actually measures: precise facing degrees, twenty-four sectors, annual flying stars, and how personal astrology and timing interact with your floor plan.

We dive into entryways and why the front door is the mouth of the house, explore why mirrors can bounce opportunities out, and show how to slow fast corridors so qi settles where you live. Kelly shares the big red flags, like toilets or fridges in the true centre, and the fast, realistic fixes that restore flow without gutting your plans. We talk yin bedrooms, supportive seating, and how a simple console behind a floating sofa can calm the body. You’ll also hear real stories of homes that quietly fought their owners—and the precise tweaks that turned around fertility journeys, teenage anxiety, career stalls, and money droughts.

Along the way, we blend design sense with energy literacy: clutter as a universal drag, art behind the bed as intention, lighting as targeted activation, and curb appeal as a magnet for opportunity. Whether you’re renovating, buying, or just rearranging, you’ll learn how to make rooms that not only look right but feel right—spaces that welcome qi, hold it gently, and guide it to the moments that matter. If you’ve ever wondered why a house can be perfect on paper yet wrong in your bones, this conversation gives you the map.

Check out Kelly on here on @kellymccloskey_fengshui & website here

Enjoyed the show? Follow, rate, and share with a friend who’s planning a reno—or snap a pic of your front door update and tag us. Your review helps more design lovers find energy that truly supports them.

Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment.

Bookings now open - Book now

Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, opening 15th October!

For more info see below

The Design Process MasterClass ONLINE