White Pebble Case Study: From Concept to Completion

A stunning forever home two years in the making

Many consider engaging an interior designer towards the end of a project, when thinking about window treatments, furniture and scatter cushions. 

Actually, an interior designer should be engaged right from the start of a project! This case study shows the process from Concept to Completion. 

We spent two years working with the owners and were involved in the planning, specifying, designing and decorating, while also often being onsite throughout the build process. 

This was a Forever Home where our clients said they ‘didn’t know what they didn’t know’, and more importantly wanted to mitigate expensive oversights. 

The design brief was to create a home that was timeless, sophisticated and incorporated their much-loved pieces of artwork and furniture. Our clients wanted to use durable materials combined with an aesthetic that reflected their classic and refined taste, and principally didn’t look like a ‘cooker cutter’ home.

Getting started

The key with this project was they engaged us early on. At floor plan stage!

This allowed the White Pebble Interiors team to go through floor plans in great detail to ensure the plans were going to work hard for them—for when their children got older, for when they became empty nesters, and for when family from overseas came to stay, as well as creating adaptability for rooms to be multi-functional. 

At floor plan stage, we also engaged a landscaper, who we worked closely with on the flow between indoors and outdoors, and for exterior material selection. 

A smart, sustainable Forever Home plan

Our involvement on this project went well beyond aesthetic touches. 

White Pebble created zones for heating and cooling and flexibility for rooms. For example, the floorplan showed a central room which our clients initially thought would be a spare room with a hinged door. Our suggestion was to use double cavity sliding doors to allow for as much flexibility as possible. 

As the doors are open most of the time, they still have a lovely sense of space, however, had we stuck with a standard hinged door the effect would have been totally different. Once the clients moved in, the room actually became a study with a sofa bed. It’s actually now a flexible study come second living room, come spare bedroom.  

Design and fittings

Once the floorplan was finalised, we started on the selections and design schemes. We presented back several schemes that met the brief, including: 

  • Tiles
  • Benchtops
  • Cabinetry
  • Splashbacks 
  • Tap wear 
  • Door furniture 
  • Cabinetry hardware
  • Flooring 
  • Carpet

We used the clients’ brief to come up with the colour scheme, material type and the look and feel. To minimise the overwhelm of our clients having to shop around for all of this, we showed them three different design schemes for the bathrooms and kitchen, all of which suited their brief of ‘sophisticated uniqueness’.

A functional family home

While it is lovely to look at showhomes in magazines, at the end of the day you need a home that is practical and works for you. 

As part of our project, White Pebble also went through all the working drawings and interior elevations in great detail to design the kitchen cabinetry around how the clients entertain and cook, down to how they prefer to store and use certain items, right down to pot heights! 

A cantilever drying rail for space saving drying (no dryer required) was specified for the laundry.

Everything was decided on early on, so that when it was time to tender for builders, everything was pre-selected, meaning it was easier to get a fixed price quote. This involved going through the advantages and disadvantages of different interior and exterior material types, ensuring every selection would meet functional and maintenance expectations. 

Interestingly, the client was adamant on having a natural timber floor as the main floor. Once we went through the advantages of using a timber tile, and they saw it in-situ at another project, they were hooked on the idea. The comment from them now is ‘the floor is one of our most favourite things in the house, and it’s the thing most of our friends comment on as they can’t believe it’s tile!’.

Stunning outcomes, inside and out

White Pebble Interiors liaised with the landscaper and lighting designer to ensure everything would come together as a whole and be integrated from the outset. All exterior colours and finishes were also selected, with particular detail on the façade to ensure contrast and differentiation was created.

As the alfresco faced South, we also provided suggestions on how to maximise the sun and aspect to maximise light and functionality for the area, and its integration with the pool and inside spaces. Likewise, with the windows, their size, orientation and shade provisions ensure the home is comfortable all year round, with minimum reliance on heating or cooling. 

Throughout the process, we also worked out the flow and space planning of furniture at floor plan stage to ensure everything would be positioned correctly, working with much loved pieces and blending them with the new. This was to ensure that any furniture and rugs ordered would be to the correct scale.

Window treatments were also planned at floorplan and frame stage to ensure we had motorisation installed correctly and reviewed multiple window treatment options before deciding on the right ones for each room based on aesthetics, privacy, sun management and sleeping requirements. 

In the end, we used a combination of curtains, blinds and a fabulous adhesive linen window covering for the window by the front door to maximise light and create privacy. We also assessed shade requirements for west and northerly facing windows to ensure a comfortable home no matter what the season.

Client Feedback

This is what our clients had to say once they moved in:

White Pebble Interiors, led by Frances, was a key pillar in the construction of our dream home. Having met with a number of interior designers to assist us, the selection was easy after we met with Frances. Her knowledge and approach was superior. Luckily, we decided to engage their services early in the process. Frances was critical in all the work we did with the architect, the builder, the garden designer, as well as in choosing most materials.

Throughout the process, Frances became a trusted advisor to us and we probably ended up involving her in many more decisions than what would be considered normal. Her advice was always so sound, logical, well considered and yet we still knew that she would always ensure that whatever it was being decided, the end-result would be to the highest standards, have a stylish wow-factor and be within budget.

Once the house was built, Frances continued to assist us with all things to do with the inside. Colours, lighting, furniture, artwork, cushions….nothing was left to chance. 

Frances’ attention to every single detail meant that every part of our house has worked out to look, function and feel better than we had ever dared hope for.

We learned that working with White Pebble Interiors also enabled us to save a lot of money. Not just savings from not making mistakes we otherwise undoubtedly would have. Real, tangible savings were made from the many discounts Frances was able to land us through her many and varied high quality supplier contacts.

Honestly you have been amazing, lovely to work with and very professional. You have the right mixture of making it fun but getting things done. We really appreciate all the extra time, effort and thought you have put in on achieving our deadline.  We are beyond happy with the house and a big part of that has been you from start to finish”.

A positive outcome for all

It was an absolute delight to work with this family. After 12 months of their home being completed, they still let us how much they love their home and the compliments they continually receive from friends and family. It’s what makes our job so rewarding! 

An interesting comment my client made was how her friends keep telling her, “We wish we had finishes like yours”, or  “Oh, I wish we had have sought the advice of someone during our build”. Several of her friends thought they could do it alone, but didn’t really get the results they were after.

Why hire an interiors team from the start of your new build or renovation project?

Having someone on your team who can advise about the design and colours that will come together and look great, and will suggest which materials are going to meet your functionality needs will arm you to make the right decisions. 

It’s about aesthetics, functionality and budget all coming together to meet your overall goal. As someone who is not experienced with renovating or building, the number of options can be overwhelming, and the pitfalls numerous. By investing in experienced help, you actually stand to save thousands of dollars. 

Would you like to see all the other pictures of this stunning home? View them here.