Conversation Zone
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Be Entertained
The conversations series will include talks and panels from top exhibitors, influential renovators and industry professionals discussing what’s new and on trend. Get inspired by the experts and gain insights into the minds of professional renovators.
Saturday
9:30am | Learn from the Real Life Renovators
with Cindy Mead @reno_diary_brisbane, Brooke Simmonds @burleighbungalow and Alycia Chapman @renovatingqueenslanders
Meet the Real Life Renovators, Cindy, Brooke and Alycia talking us through their home knock-downs and rebuilds, and the knowledge they gained during their experiences. They’ll be sharing the renovating tips and tricks, things they wished they had known before they had started, and some fun stories about their own renovations.
10:00am | How to Incorporate Modern Additions to Heritage Houses
with Joe Snell, Founder of Snell Studio; and James Hardie
Joe Snell will be collaborating with James Hardie, and will be discussing all things interior and exterior building products focussing on how to incorporate modern additions to heritage houses.
10:30am | How to Create a Sustainable Home
with Amelia Lee, Founder of Undercover Architect
11:00am | How to Achieve a Designer Look in Your Home
with Ania Forster and Kasia Clarke, Founders of Zephyr + Stone
12:00pm | How to Start a Garden and Create a Liveable Outdoor Space
with Charlie Alborne, Better Homes and Gardens’ Resident Landscaper and Founder of Inspired Exteriors
Landscape designer and host on Better Homes and Gardens, Charlie Albone will join the conversation stage to discuss how to get started when designing your garden and the steps involved when building your outdoor area. He will also discuss how to ensure your outdoor space is an extension of your your indoor space.
12:30pm | How to Style Your Home with Former Style Editor of Real Living Kerrie-Ann Jones
with Kerrie-Ann Jones, Stylist and Former Style Editor of Real Living
1:00pm | What I’ve Learned and Loved From my Own Home Reno
with Jen Bishop, Editor of Interiors Addict
As an interiors addict with no interiors qualifications, renovating does not come as easily to Jen as some might think! Luckily she knows a lot of people who know much more than her, but she has learned a lot from getting stuck into transforming her current and previous home. In this talk, Jen shares her biggest lessons as a real life rookie renovator, and what she has learned, and loved, along the way. Jen will share photos of, and products used in her home, and why they worked.
1:30pm | The Initial Steps Involved in Renovating
with Ben Spencer, Owner of Spencer Constructions
Ben will discuss the first and vital steps involved in renovating. Taking these steps will help to ensure that you get what you want and it almost always involving engaging a builder early in the process. Getting the order correct at the beginning is going to save you money. Invest in taking the time to research the most important initial steps to ensure a trouble free build.
2:00pm | How to Design a Garden That Suits Your Home and Add Value to Your Property
with Charlie Alborne, Better Homes and Gardens’ Resident Landscaper and Founder of Inspired Exteriors
Landscape designer and host on Better Homes and Gardens, Charlie Albone will discuss how to design an outdoor space to suit your home, connecting with the architecture and colours of your house.
2:30pm | Connecting Homes with Landscapes Through Intentional Design
with Rebecca Farrow, Founder of Elska Interiors; and Kate Hewish, Founder of Horte Couture
With our ever improving capabilities to industrialize the world we live in, we have become adept at moving nature aside to make way for the built environment. However data now shows us that our innate biological connection to nature has an overwhelmingly positive affect on our health and happiness. As creators of the spaces we live in, designers have the opportunity to help you create a home with intent, to reconnect with nature and improve the way you feel every day. Come and listen as we share our insights and strategies to invite nature back into your home and life.
3:00pm | The Importance of Choosing the Right Team to Achieve a Cohesive Outcome
with Ben Spencer from Spencer Constructions, Thomas Papasavas from Thomas & Spencer Kitchens, Margaret Harrison from Sourced + Sorted and Christopher Gyzemyter from CG Design Studio
This panel is made up of a team that often work together on projects. Each business brings its own expertise and experience to a project and cannot stress enough, the importance of choosing the right team to achieve a cohesive outcome when renovating. Any project becomes a collaboration between the clients and businesses, who are entrusted to convert a client’s ideas and vision into a stunning end-product. This outcome can be so easily derailed if the team chosen is not aligned with that same vision, values, service and expertise.
Sunday
9:30am | The Importance of Building a Collaborative Team From the Start
with Amelia Lee, Founder of Undercover Architect
Architect Amelia Lee will be discussing the importance of team collaboration from the very start, in order to have a successful, on-budget, project.
10:00am | How to Incorporate Modern Addictions to Heritage Houses
with Joe Snell, Founder of Studio Snell; and James Hardie
Joe Snell will be collaborating with James Hardie, and will be discussing all things interior and exterior building products focussing on how to incorporate modern additions to heritage houses.
10:30am | Zephyr + Stone in Conversation with Cavalier Bremworth about the health benefits of wool
with Ania Forster and Kasia Clarke, Founders of Zephyr + Stone; and Cavalier Bremworth
11:00am | Researching the History of Your House
with Marianne Taylor, Founder of The House Detective
From a grand mansion to a humble cottage, every house has a fascinating tale just waiting to be told. Come along and find out how The House Detective reveals the secret history of homes and the people who lived in them. Hear about some of the stories she has uncovered and the important things to consider when renovating old houses.
11:30am | The Evolution of Home Design and Style
with Lucy Glade-Wright, Director of Hunting for George; and Lachlan Grand, Managing Director of Happy Haus
Lucy Glade-Wright and her co-host, Lachlan Grant of Happy Haus, will share their passion for home styling and architectural design. They’ll discuss the evolution of home design and style, analysing the progression over the last ten years to now. Their conversation will also focus on how home styling and design changes upon personal evolution such as starting and growing a family.
12:00pm | How to Buy Your First Home
with Katherine Persoglia, Founder of Property Before Prada
Looking to buy your first home and don’t know where to start? Property finance expert and mastermind behind Property Before Prada, Katherine Persoglia will be discussing everything you need to know about home loans and all the documents needed to buy your first property.
12:30pm | Trends on Kitchen and Bathroom with KBDI
with KBDI and Kitchen and Bathroom Magazine
1:00pm | Only Worth It In The End? 5 Top Tips For An Enjoyable Renovation Experience
with Prince Seeva, Founding and Managing Director of Comoda Design & Renovation; and Christine Moulder, Residential Project Manager
With over 20 years in the industry, Founding and Manager Director, Prince, and Residential Project Manager and Interior Designer, Christine, know first hand what makes for an enjoyable renovation experience. Together, they put to rest the traditional idea of renovating as ‘only being worth it in the end’ and share their top tips for getting your vision delivered without costing your sanity.
1:30pm | Designing From Outside to In
with Ali Fenton, Design & Colour Consultant for Colorbond at BlueScope
How COLORBOND® steel has become a leader in colour trends and an iconic home building material; the evolution of the COLORBOND® steel colour palette; current trends within housing design and how COLORBOND® steel can be used to connect a home with its surroundings to great effect
2:30pm | The Journey From University Graduates to Lecturers in Design
with Nicole Dann, Lecturer in Interior Design at Billy Blue Torrens University