In this exclusive interview, we delve into the creative journey of renowned interior designer Nickolas Gurtler. With a career that spans luxury visual merchandising and diverse interior design sectors, Nickolas has developed a distinct style that balances aesthetic beauty with functional design. As the founder of his own design firm, he shares insights into how his experiences, from childhood home reconfigurations to leading award-winning projects, have shaped his approach to design.

What inspired you to pursue a career in interior design, and how has your journey shaped your design style? 

We moved house a lot when I was a child and we were forever setting up a new house, or reconfiguring the house with the furniture we had which I used to love. Each new residence offered a unique opportunity to experiment with spatial configurations, colour palettes, and forms, fostering my curiosity about the nuances of design. 

As a young adult I landed some amazing jobs work for luxury fashion brands Gucci, Chanel and Tiffany & Co in a visual merchandising role. This allowed me to play with design on a small scale with beautiful, expensive products placing them in dynamic and expressive configurations. These formative encounters significantly shaped my design philosophy, deepening my understanding of luxury and craftsmanship in a broader context.

I have been fortunate to travel extensively over the past decade, and I believe this experience has significantly influenced my personal design aesthetic. Engaging with diverse cultures has provided me with invaluable insights into how people interact with built environments, both contemporary and historical. This exposure has allowed me to appreciate the myriad cultural expressions reflected in architecture around the world.

What types of projects do you primarily work on? Do you find yourself working across different sectors, such as residential, multi-residential, or workplace environments?

My firm is 9 years old this month and over that time we’ve worked across almost all sectors of design. The mix has stabilised somewhat for us over the few years where we work on about 50% Commercial projects and 50% residential. It fluctuates a little here and there but we find this balance works well and allows us to cross-pollinate concepts from the residential to commercial. 

How do you approach balancing your client's vision and preferences with your own design expertise and aesthetic sensibilities?

Ultimately, engaging a designer is about trust. Clients hire us because they like our work. We engage in a dialogue on this with our clients early on in the process, always hearing our clients’ out but also reinforcing that nothing we do is “just because” - there is always thought behind every decision developed from experience, and of course our aesthetic signature that they were drawn to. We often justify our decisions even without being asked by clients to demonstrate our reasoning. We use the design elements and principles a lot for this, educating our clients as we go on interior theory. 

Photos by Timothy Kaye: Ocean Cosmetics designed by Nickolas Gurtler

In your opinion, what are some key elements or principles that every well-designed interior should incorporate?

This is a rather literal answer, but a well designed interior is the result of a distinct alchemy of the Elements and Principles of Design themselves and each of them plays an important part in a well designed interior. Designers use these in different ways and we all feel more deft at using and manipulating some more than others. Texture for example is perhaps one of the most important element in our work - I think the tactility and the textural relationships in a project are incredibly important to a successful design. Establishing a sense of balance and harmony through a project is also incredibly important, the way that one space relates to another is crucial. I think light (both artificial and natural) plays an incredibly important role in this, and is crucial to the success of a space - it’s one of the most important parts of any project for us.

A well designed interior should make you feel something when you’re in it. What that means to every designer and every project is a bit different, but to me, calm, balanced, inspired and surrounded by beauty is usually the desired result. 

What inspires you in the design process?

My inspiration comes from all sorts of weird places like history, architecture, film and television, fashion, objects and even space. I have a cork board in my office that is an ever-changing source of inspiration. Each project usually has one idea that finds its way into my brain and is a guiding star for the process.

What’s your favourite project to date and why?

It’s hard to pick a favourite I love all my children equally! Our Ocean Cosmetics project stands out for me - it won the IDEA award for institutional design last year and I was incredibly proud of how far we pushed the envelope in the medical space to create something ethereal and otherworldly. It was also perhaps our most colourful project to date, something we aren’t always able to do. I’m also incredibly proud of some of our current projects that are either just finished or in the finishing phases - I feel like we’ve been producing some of our best ever work in the last 12 months and we can’t wait to share it with everyone. 

 

Photos by Timothy Kaye: Ocean Cosmetics designed by Nickolas Gurtler

Where do you source new products from? How crucial is it for you to source products face-to-face and discover the latest innovations firsthand at events like trade shows?

Everywhere! I try to keep my ear to the ground always for new makers, suppliers and artisans through all forms of media and word of mouth. I love trade shows because we discover the types of things that people might find boring like new door sliding systems or cabinetry mechanisms etc. We try to engage with showrooms as often as we can and develop relationships with our fabulous reps who know us and how we use products - they’re always bringing us new products that are something we’d use that we didn’t know about

Have you attended Design Show Australia before? If yes, what’s your favourite part about attending the show? 

I have, and have spoken on panels at two of them. My favourite part is discovering new creative makers and up and coming product designers. I also love championing Australian design and seeing how truly talented the creatives in this country are.