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A designer, writer and speaker, known for his stylish and classic interiors, Darren Palmer is an established & well regarded member of the design community.
Darren has a broad portfolio, having studied fine art & graphic design, originally working in advertising and owning his own graphic design company. After succumbing to his true passion, Darren now operates his own interior design studio and has been a judge on the past three seasons of The Block.
He works primarily in residential design & has completed many stunning projects over the years including multiple home renovations and styling for major celebs like Jen Hawkins.
Darren has also thrived in his role as Carpet Court’s ambassador, collaborating with the national flooring brand to create an exclusive flooring collection, Provincial Lane by Darren Palmer.
Darren is a high profile design expert and we are delighted to offer him as a spokesperson for comment & profiling.
Darren’s style can be described as sophisticated, highly finished, natural and bespoke.
In his interior designs, Darren looks to achieve a balance between homely and liveable, fresh and stylish.
When Darren Palmer was in high-school, he knew he wanted to build houses.
He thought that architecture was the only route into the building trade, but not having the marks to do so, he enrolled into graphic design instead. A few years on, with his own graphic design business under his belt, he realised he needed to change direction.
He started building up experience with a friend of his, buying his own apartment, and fixing it up with the assistance of his friend and now business mentor.
He had photos taken of the apartment and sent them off to Belle magazine. Within a couple of months, his work was featured, and Darren’s path was cemented.
Since then, he’s starred on HomeMade in 2006, before joining The Block as a judge in 2013.
He says he’s a passionate ‘fixer-upper’, buying homes and renovating before selling them and repeating.
SEE ALSO: Top Interior Designers | J. Randall Powers
When it comes to buying a place, Darren says his biggest tip is to look for things you can’t install – location, natural light, ceiling height and architectural detail.
Having styled the homes of major celebs like Jen Hawkins, Darren is well versed when it comes to the subject of interior design. While Darren admits to following trends when it comes to fashion, he says he disregards fads when it comes to interiors.
The dapper designer has just teamed up with Carpet Court to create Provincial Lane: an affordable, stylish flooring collection that includes durable laminate, a European vinyl plank and bamboo hard flooring as well as a 100 percent wool carpet range, available in a striking palette.
Background & Realizations : Bests Projects
PADDINGTON TERRACE
In the client’s own words “We are in the process of renovating a 150 year old terrace in Paddington and asked Darren to come up with a concept for our formal lounge and bedroom – incorporating some existing pieces such as light fittings and curtains. Darren did an amazing job – I could not be happier!
KENSINGTON RESIDENCE
Starting with a beautiful, architecturally designed home, Darren Palmer Design Studio provided furnishings and decoration – in the process making this house a livable and practical designer home.
POTTS POINT 1 BEDROOM
new life into the apartment, Darren removed two full walls, relocated a doorway, added new nib walls, a new-for-old kitchen and bathroom, and installed new finishes and joinery to create a clean and cohesive result.
POTTS POINT 2 BEDROOM
Opening up the previously poky rooms of his 1920s apartment was a priority for Sydney designer Darren Palmer, who has cleverly reconfigured the layout to create a light filled, free-flowing abode.
COOGEE RESIDENCE
The decor in this beachside home in Sydney’s Coogee was in need of an update. Enter interior designer Darren Palmer, who reinvented the space with smart & stylish design touches.
IT MUST BE A SIGN of a job well done when an interior designer could live in the place they’ve just redecorated. “I would love to live here,” admits Darren Palmer of this two-storey home in Sydney’s beachside suburb of Coogee. “It’s probably the project that is best suited to my personal aesthetic to date.”
“There was nothing intrinsically wrong with the interior, it was just that the furniture was dated and not suited to the style of the home,” says Darren. “It had furniture from my client’s previous residence that would have worked in a terrace, but in this modern beachside home it was definitely at odds with its surroundings.” Darren set about injecting a “comfortable, breezy, contemporary look, with a slight African, textured flavour” in the place with fabulous results.
POTTS POINT PENTHOUSE
Taking his cues from the natural world, Darren Palmer combines cosy and contemporary.
THE BRIEF in this two-bedroom Sydney penthouse, Darren was confronted with a bare shell, with just floor tiles already there “I was asked to bring life into it, layer in natural textures for depth and make it warm, but contemporary it was to be masculine and solid, not delicate, but also cosy”.
Darren Palmer’s first book, Easy Luxury is an ode to the style he loves – comfortable, beautiful and polished yet still down-to-earth. Much of your book’s philosophy is based on the Coco Chanel quote ‘Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury’. What is it about this statement that resonates with you so strongly?
That’s a happy coincidence but it does reflect my ethos really well. There is no point living in a museum of beautiful things that you need to tread delicately around. I see no joy in having a home where you chastise your kids or pets or guests for being comfortable in your home so why would you encourage that?
For me a home should be somewhere that lifts your spirits, gives you a sense of prosperity and wellbeing and generally provides you with a beautiful sanctuary from which to live your personal life – kids, pets, spouses and friends included.
- Luxury Homes Magazine Nov 2011 – “What’s Hot by Darren Palmer”
- GQ Magazine Oct/Nov 2011 – Ultimate Bachelor Pad
- Design Decoration Annual 2011 – Feature Editorial Potts Point Penthouse
- Luxury Homes Magazine – Biographical Editorial. Date 08/2011
- GQ LUXE Edition 2011 – Featured Contributing Editor Interiors
- Belle Magazine 2011 – Featured “Mood Makers 2011”
- Belle Magazine 2010 – Featured “Kitchen and Bathroom Edition”
- Belle Magazine 2009 – Best of Australian Interior and Architects Directory
- GQ Magazine 2009 – Contributor “Night and Day” Article
- Belle Magazine 2008 – Featured “Renovation Issue”
SEE ALSO: Top Interior Designers | Christian Liaigre
- Interior Design
- Joinery Design
- Space Solutions
- Lighting Schedules and Design
- FURNITURE DESIGN
- DECORATION SERVICES
- DOCUMENTATION
- SOURCING
- STYLING
Provincial Lane by Darren Palmer
With Sophisticated Bamboo, Stylish Laminate, European Vinyl Planks, 100% Wool and the latest generation plush carpets, you can create your own designer look at an affordable price.
Carpet
Pont Des Amoureux
Premier Soft
Arles
SEE ALSO: TOP INTERIOR DESIGNERS | Kemble Interiors
Hard Flooring
Designe Range Laminate
Strandwoven Bamboo
European Vinyl Plank
