For over a decade, Australian designer Britt Ross has been creating dreamy, one-of-a-kind spaces in homes, restaurants and retail sites all over the world. Since studying interior architecture at the University of New South Wales, she has moved back home to Australia after a several years spent in London. Britt is known for her collaborations with artisans to produce unique pieces for her interiors; for her eclectic mixing of antiques with modern finds, and her bold approach to colour and pattern. Here, we catch up with her to find out how she approached her latest project, a bar and restaurant refurb with a botanic feel for upmarket eaterie Chiswick in Sydney.
Welcome to the Style Journal, Britt. First off, tell us a bit about yourself and how your journey into interior design began?
I’ve always been a bit of a trinket collector, so in hindsight it probably makes sense that I ended up in interiors. After a brief stint studying urban planning at the University of New South Wales, it quickly became clear that I was far more drawn to the aesthetics and finer details of the built environment. That led me to interior architecture, which felt like a much better fit — creating spaces layered with objects, furniture and pieces that tell a story.
Your interiors are known for their bold use of colour and pattern. What advice would you give to people wanting to experiment more fearlessly in their own homes?
I often hear from clients, friends, and even people in real estate that they feel tentative about using
colour and pattern because it can feel quite subjective. There’s often the worry of whether they’ll still love it years from now, or how it might impact resale. My advice is always to lean into what feels instinctively
right for you and the space and embrace colour and pattern in ways that excite you. Even when considering resale, I believe spaces with personality and intention are often far more memorable than something overly safe or generic.
We love your colour palettes, what inspires your choices and are there any combinations you currently love working with?
Not to sound clichéd, but travel — or really, just going somewhere new — is always going to get the creative juices going. At the moment I’m really loving the 70s palette of oranges, greens and deep reds, I recently put together a presentation for a client kitchen inspired by these tones, and I can’t wait to see it come to life.
How do you ensure that every project still feels deeply personal to the client while maintaining your signature style?
It’s always good to have a client who has an inkling of how they want the space to feel and what mood they’re wanting to create. Most people come to a designer with inspiration they’ve collected, but it’s always good to ask about the more emotional side of a space to help uncover what resonates with them personally and, ultimately, create a space that feels reflective of the people who live in it.
Most people will look to designers for their home inspiration, where do designers look for theirs?
A friend recently gifted me an entire collection of vintage interior magazines from the 80s–00s, and it has been so fun trawling through them and spotting little things I’m inspired by — whether it’s a particular room, a fabric detail or the way colours have been layered.
What do you love most about your job?
I love antiques markets, flea markets and anything with knick-knacks — you never know what you may find. I’ve dragged many of my friends to flea markets across Europe a little too early on a Sunday morning for their liking. I love discovering pieces with character and imagining how they might find a place in a project
What aspect of design do you find the most challenging?
Probably balancing all the moving parts. There’s always a practical side to design — budgets, timelines, what’s actually possible within a space — but I think the challenge (and also the fun part) is figuring out how to still create something that feels special and personal.
What inspired you to choose the Barchester Double Pendant for your Chiswick project, particularly above the dining room tables?The space was previously dark and underused, serving mainly as a thoroughfare between the kitchen/bar and the bathrooms. We wanted to brighten it while introducing counter-height banquettes with low-level lighting overhead.
The Barchester pendants were the ideal choice: their double shades positioned light perfectly above each table and enhanced the restaurant’s relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere.
The Chiswick is much loved in Sydney for its farm-to-table ethos, and its serene garden setting. How did that influence your interior choices?
The brief was to gently reinvigorate the bar area, so we introduced counter height banquettes upholstered in a botanical tapestry inspired fabric that shifted the visual focus away from the working bar and kitchen back towards the garden. Chiswick has such beautiful gardens, where some of the produce is even collected from, so the approach was really about leaning into that and creating a space that felt warm, relaxed and inviting. We wanted it to feel contemporary, but not overly polished — and encouraged guests to linger and enjoy the scenery and food.
What led you to choose the Audley Wall Light for the main dining room? And how does it contribute to the overall atmosphere in this space.
As the space has a lot of hard finishes such as concrete floors and floor to ceiling windows around the perimeter of the main dining area, we really wanted to introduce some soft touches that created a warm glow. The
Audley Wall Light in combination with some tie dye silk shades really created a calming effect that transformed the space, particularly in the evening - its super amber and moody.
Finally a few quick-fire questions
What’s your favourite room to design?
That’s a hard one, but probably a
lounge room, as you often have lots of different furniture pieces to curate and can create a really fun atmosphere.
What are three designs tips you would suggest to a beginner?
Trust your gut, be brave — and colour for the win!
I’d have to say the
Barchester Pendants — they’re super versatile. I’ve now used them in two different projects and counting!
To see more of Britt's designs projects, check out her website at
brittross.net and for more interior inspiration, follow her on insta
@brittross. Photographed by
Prue Ruscoe.
