In Profile:
Atelier Alwill

Name: Romaine Alwill
Company Name: Atelier Alwill
Position Within Company: Director
Website: www.atelieralwill.com

Tell us a little about your background in design:
Romaine Alwill is the Creative Director of Atelier Alwill is a qualified Interior Architect (UNSW Hons) bringing over twenty five years of experience in the interior design industry.
Before founding Atelier Alwill, Romaine lived in London, working in art and design, and upon her return to Australia, she held the position of Interior Design Editor at the respected Australian publication Belle magazine, where she honed her eye for storytelling through interiors. Working across media, high end residential and boutique commercial interiors has given her a broad lens and unique overview of the industry and she has forged strong relationships with collaborators and suppliers. Her practice has evolved to encompass many successful collaborations with some of the most well respected architects across Australia and New Zealand and boasts an impressive client base. At Atelier Alwill we enjoy looking at everything from the biggest picture to the smallest detail and create a personalised custom outcome for all our projects which respond to site, aspect and the individual brief.

How would you describe your personal design style?:
Atelier Alwill is known for an innate sense of casual sophistication in their interiors. This comfortable tension can be manipulated at either end of the scale to suit the clients way of life and brief. Exuding luxury, warmth, texture, tonality and leaning into playful moments with colour and richness. Atelier Alwill prioritises a layered approach to the material palette, seeks out fluid forms and moments of sophisticated refinement. We love craftsmanship, the hand made, working with both big and small ateliers and embracing the stamp of human connection. Moments of nostalgia are created through the use of vintage pieces creating a nod to styles of the past. Understanding the needs of their clients both functionally and aesthetically to create nourished interiors to be “lived in” is a priority.

What projects are you currently working on?:
Mainly residential projects currently, however they range from the most incredible Mountain house between Coronet Peak and The Remarkables in New Zealand, to a Cliftop residence overlooking the Tasman Sea and a spectacular Italian inspired villa overlooking Sydney Harbour.

What was your favourite project to work on and why?:
We enjoy working on residential projects for the relationship we can nurture with the client. However, any project where the team and collaborators connect and support each other. One such project we are very proud to be working on is an incredible Villa (above mentioned) in Sydney where we have a well established relationship with an Italian architect and the landscape designers, and we are delving into the depths of Italian design history with its interior references, detailing and furniture and lighting procurement. It will be a very unique residence for Sydney and something we hope to be able to share one day.

What was your most challenging project to work on and why?:
When connections are lost with clients or collaborators that is always the hardest. Many projects we have finally finished recently were started in Covid and keeping this momentum going with all the challenges that threw at us was incredibly difficult. So much of what we do is tactile, nuanced and requires reading between the lines, it keeps the soul in a project and this can get lost with a technological interface or a loss of connection.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?:
Beautiful lighting and furniture is how we like to express ourselves. We are endlessly inspired by unique artisanal pieces from Carpenters Workshop gallery, Studio Twenty Seven, The Invisible Collection, Pierre Yovanovitch, Charles Zanna and Liagre to name a few.
From the big brands we love De Padova, Paola Lenti, Vaselli Marmi, Salvatori, Time and Style. Sourcing vintage is always a deep dive we love to take, appreciating the incredible design masters of the past. We love Japanese and Brazilian design so anything from these countries with us. We also love hand made materials and textures, fabrics from France and India or tiles from Morocco and Japan.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?:
To build our high end Atelier team and culture, not to be bigger but continuously better. Working on projects that allow us to show what we can do, the depth of knowledge we can draw from to create a unique outcome each time. This comes with built trust from clients and collaborators. I’d love to do more travel for myself and the team to inspiring places and explore makers and special artisans.