The Exhale Factor - Design It Yourself
As you may know, during the second half of 2022 we did a little pivot and broke into the realm of online course creation with our Design It Yourself platform. It may seem a bit like the act of a few deranged women - taking on a brand new, ambitiously big endeavour when, as a design studio, we’ve never been busier and our projects have never been bigger. Coming up to our 5th business birthday, our little company has exceeded all our expectations and has filled us with pride as our designs get more and more innovative.
So why complicate matters, just when things are going so well? Or as our accountant might say, ‘Why don’t you just stick with design projects?’ Or as our Mums always say, ‘Are you sure you have the time and energy for this?’
The reason we’re doing this?
We want to make great design accessible for everyone, like never before, no matter your location or budget. So that anyone can create spaces that function better, are more sustainable and give what we call ‘The Exhale Factor’… That feeling that you’ve arrived home, your shoulders relax and life is good.
It’s true, creating a really valuable online resource is a LOT of work. (Take what we used to think it might involve, scoff, and then triple it.) But the thing is, we’ve discovered something about ourselves in the process.
Instead of having less energy, we’re next-level energised! Instead of maxing out our time, we’re finding clever ways to make time for something we absolutely love creating. Instead of reducing our capacity to deliver on projects, we’re becoming more efficient, and collaborating more creatively and working more effectively than we ever have. Why? How?
Because it’s all purpose-driven.
Over the last five years we’ve loved watching our clients’ faces light up when they see their designs come to life. We often take a moment as a team to read their testimonials, which describe how their daily lives are easier, more comfortable, more joyful in their new space. They tell us how much they now value the role of clever design in their everyday life. Their feedback makes us more driven, more excited for the next project, more hungry to create an exceptional design.
In short, we’ve found our purpose - to enhance people’s lives through clever design.
So, to build on our purpose, our new online courses allow us to make great design available to anyone - regardless of where they live or what budget they have for their upcoming project renovation. By teaching our students how to use clever design in their projects, they're able to approach their renovation or build with confidence and a solid understanding on how to design something that is not just heavy on the wow-factor, but actually improves the way they live.
We show them how to translate how they want to feel and live in a space into a beautiful, budget-fitting functional design, ready to hand over to their trades for execution.
The thought of our students crafting their own life-enriching designs makes us so excited and happy. So as our next 5 years of business pans out, and our design studio continues on its path of creating beautiful new homes for our clients, we hope to help many more people create their own ‘Exhale Factor’ - a space that says ‘Welcome Home, life is good’.
Renee & Sally
Interested in learning more about our Design It Yourself courses?