The Designer

Design Creative Ashling Punnett has been making design her passion for over 25 years. She has always had a curiosity for seeking out beautiful, timeless and unique homewares that spark interest and joy rather than following trends.

With a design Degree in Fashion, Ashling started her career as a fashion designer for an international womenswear label for 3 years.

She then shifted her design focus to interiors, wanting to explore opportunities for starting her own business within the design industry. “I saw a huge gap in the kids bed linen market – all the bed linen in the market place was very twee. I knew I could create a contemporary product that would sit well in the Australian market”.

After working for an eastern suburb decorator for a few years, Ashling started her own leading designer bed linen brand for children Lilly & Lolly in 1998.

Lilly & Lolly expanded exponentially with a successful online business and stores in both Sydney and Melbourne. Ashling also tried to find furniture to photograph her linen on but to no avail and as a result ended up designing a timeless, contemporary kids furniture range under the Lilly & Lolly brand which is still being sold today.

After 17 years in Lilly & Lolly, Ashling sold the business and decided to re-focus and transition away from mass production. “I wanted to get back to the grass roots of design. I missed working closely with the customer and the attraction of every project being different really appealed to me.”

It was an easy transition after being in the kids interiors industry, designing and fitting out the Lilly & Lolly stores over the years, Ashling already had an extensive knowledge of the interior design industry and loads of resources and contacts.

Ashling has an eclectic approach to interior design with an ethos that great design is timeless design. “I’m less about creating a style and more about creating a space unique to the client that evokes interest and joy. I like adding old with the new and often suggest clients restore and recover vintage furniture or pieces they already have.” Attention to detail and emphasis on being attuned to the clients interest and tastes are important to Ashling. ”Every client is different so my approach must be different.”

Ashling’s years in the industry has enabled her to collaborate with a large resource of joiners, artists, furniture makers and lighting designers to be able to produce custom pieces on demand. As a result, the spaces designed are individual and interesting. Each space takes on a casual elegance, a comfortable play between form and function – spaces that are a pleasure to live, work and play in.