"I Took Kelly Wearstler’s Masterclass and Realized It Was Time to Follow My Dream" — This Interior Designer's Bold Home Set the Tone for Her Creative Portfolio
Set in the lush hills of Australia’s Yarra Ranges, this spectacular home is also a laboratory of ideas for the owners’ design studio
For seven long years, Ruby and Patrick Shields have spent their evenings and weekends building their dream house. They bought the property during their early twenties, when Ruby was working as an art director in advertising and Patrick was a second-year carpentry apprentice.
In search of a place of their own and somewhere to experiment, they found it in the hills of Australia’s Yarra Ranges, an hour’s drive from Melbourne. From the moment they stepped inside this modern home, they knew it was the one. "It felt like a treehouse, sitting above a canopy of gum trees," says Ruby. "It was so stunning we named it The View."
"Originally, when you walked in, there was a hallway that blocked the view," says Ruby. "We knocked down a wall and now you walk in and see the treetops through the window."
The early-1980s structure was far from finished. The lower level had no connecting staircase and consisted mostly of an exposed frame carved into the hillside — a deal-breaker for many buyers, but the Shields saw it as the perfect project for Ruby to express her interior design instinct and for Patrick to gain hands-on experience.
"From the kitchen island, you can do your dishes and look out to the canopy of gum trees," says Ruby.
The project reached a turning point during Covid. "I took Kelly Wearstler’s masterclass and realized it was time to follow my dream," says Ruby. "I loved interior design and wanted to do it all the time." By the end of the renovation, she had launched her design practice, Studio Shields, with their own home as its strongest manifesto.
Flos's suspension light is an elegant alternative to Studio Squire's own design above — and it's a timeless piece that adds richness to a scheme.
One wall here is lined with glossy, tactile green tiles. "This adds another texture to the space," says Ruby. "It’s about layering, and it adds light and color."
Living in the house meant tackling one room at a time. Together, Ruby and Patrick designed and made everything, from the smallest details such as the brass twisty handles to the sculptural joinery. "We had to think hard about how to make things interesting, how to elevate our budget," explains Ruby.
"We advocate using reclaimed materials because it means we’re being more sustainable in our construction of bespoke pieces," says Ruby of the entrance space.
The challenge of making the most of limited funds was probably a blessing in disguise, as the results speak for themselves — not least in the precision of Patrick’s craftsmanship. "I call him 'Perfectionist Pat'," says Ruby. "He’s a stickler for all those fine details. I give direction, and he just makes it so much more perfect. It’s what makes us the best team."
Emma Shepherd's woven wall hanging captured our hearts in this space — this Ferm Living design offers a similar dose of texture.
The main bedroom features a Murano pendant (not shown) hanging above one bedside table and a floor lamp next to the other. "I like the asymmetry of having a higher light and a lower one. It adds movement and creates a really beautiful lighting effect," says Ruby.
In the main bedroom, one of Patrick’s bespoke pieces stands out: a carved headboard made from reclaimed wharf timbers. "We called it 'Where Dreams Subside,' because it’s such a beautiful backdrop to fall asleep to each night, with its little redwood flowers notched into the timber, like a meadow," says Ruby.
"I consider myself a bit of a bowerbird with objects," she adds, referencing the native Australian bird known for collecting vivid, colored items to build its courtship structure. "It’s about finding those unique, weird pieces to combine into a narrative."
"For the guest bedroom, I came up with the wild idea of having the rug under the bed run up the timber headboard," says Ruby. It’s a great solution for making this space feel extra cozy and welcoming.
Perhaps the home’s most defining element is its bold color palette, drawn from the landscape on a sunny autumn day: muddy browns, tinges of rust, shades of green and a splash of electric baby blue on the ceiling — something cool to energize the saturated tones.
Odditi's printed Avant Garden bedding looks like a textured bedspread — so go a step further with a quilted design that's thick enough to cozy under through winter.
The bespoke wavy timber vanity in the bathroom is the kind of detail that makes this home so interesting. "I think it’s really lovely when your eyes can linger on a space and you keep discovering things you hadn’t noticed before," says Ruby.
Looking at the Shields in their home, there’s no doubt it’s where they belong. The warmth, the eclecticism, the layered textures all mirror their personalities. "That’s one of our key drivers," says Ruby. "A home should feel completely, unabashedly like its inhabitants."
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