Pull up a chair as Bree Banfield candidly shares her remarkable journey through the world of interior design in this revealing episode of Design Anatomy. From rearranging her childhood bedroom to becoming a respected designer, stylist, and trend forecaster, Bree's story is equal parts inspiration and practical wisdom.
With refreshing honesty, Bree recounts her early determination to enter the design world, her nail-biting wait for acceptance into design school, and the valuable lessons learned working under both supportive mentors and challenging personalities. Her career took an unexpected turn when she left interior design to work for a carpet company – a risk that ultimately expanded her horizons into event coordination, colour design, and trend forecasting alongside renowned Australian forecaster Barbara Marshall.
Creativity flows through every aspect of Bree's approach to design. She reminisces about treasured trend books with their tactile samples, and explains how she finds inspiration everywhere – from international travel and fashion to the colour combination on a passing truck. Yet perhaps most enlightening is her candid discussion of business challenges, particularly financial management. "If you go off and have fun with all the good stuff," she warns, "one day all of the other stuff catches up with you and that's the worst feeling ever."
Reflecting on how social media has transformed the industry, Bree offers thoughtful advice for emerging designers while sharing her aspirations to create a furniture line and design her own living space. Above all, she hopes her work evokes happiness, interest, and curiosity – qualities she believes enrich not just spaces, but lives. "Curious people have way more empathy, they love harder, they're better friends," she muses, perfectly capturing the philosophy that makes her design approach so distinctively joyful.

Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment.

Bookings now open - Book now

Join Lauren in person for a workshop to help break down the Design steps to run your project & business a little smoother with the Design Process MasterClass, on Sydney 3rd October & Melbourne 9th October

For more info see below

The Design Process MasterClass