Podcast · Arts & Books

Design Anatomy

by Bree Banfield and Lauren Li · English · Arts & Books

Welcome to Design Anatomy , where we examine the world of interiors and design. With a shared passion for joyful, colour-filled, and lived-in spaces, Bree Banfield and Lauren Li are excited to share their insights and inspiration with you. YouTube channel launching soon.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 52 min
Latest: 29 Jul 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

29 Jul 2026 · 50 min

Design Anatomy Live @ Decor + Design: Ask Us Anything

Bree & Lauren are back for Season 4 of Design Anatomy! Kicking off this season, we start with an episode recorded in front of a live audience at Decor + Design Show Melbourne 2026 and we answer the questions people actually ask us, about renovating, hiring a designer, or trying to build a design business. From budgets and joinery to AI and Milan Design Week, we give practical answers and a few spicy opinions along the way. • How to decide between an architect, interior designer, decorato...

Play episodeWhatsApp Download

Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S3 · E16 · 17 Jun 2026 · 35 min
The Perfect Seat: Choosing Dining Chairs That Actually Work
Buying dining chairs should be fun, but it’s also one of the fastest ways to waste money if you skip the basics. Bree Banfield and Lauren Li, are getting practical about how to choose dining chairs that look great, feel comfortable, and actually work in your home day to day. We start with the brief most people forget to write: who’s sitting there, how long they’ll stay, and what kind of meals happen at your table. That simple thinking leads straight into the details that decide whether you’l...
S3 · E15 · 11 Jun 2026 · 59 min
In Conversation with Anna-Carin: The Music Behind Great Design
A lot of interiors look “right” and still feel wrong. We’re chasing something harder to name: the feeling of a home that actually belongs to you. That’s why we loved this chat with designer Anna-Carin, who has built a client briefing process around an unexpected tool: music. We talk through her signature question: if your project had a theme song, what would it be? From there, she layers in a project name and three feeling words to create a brief that’s clear, emotional, and genuinely person...
S3 · E14 · 3 Jun 2026 · 35 min
How To Choose The Right Sofa: Comfort, Scale, Style and What Really Matters
A sofa is never just a sofa. It’s where you crash after work, where friends pile in with a glass of wine, where kids build nests out of cushions, and where the whole room quietly takes its cues. That’s why we’re kicking off a practical “how-to choose” series with the most high-stakes piece in the living room: the sofa. We start with the question that saves the most money and regret: how do you actually live? From entertaining versus Netflix sprawl, to seat height for different bodies a...
S3 · E13 · 27 May 2026 · 23 min
Rugs, Lighting & Reality Checks: The Design Details That Matter
Your place can have great bones, beautiful light, cool vintage pieces, and still feel oddly unfinished. That gap between inspiration and reality is where so many people get stuck, and it is exactly what Lauren tackles solo while Bree is off travelling and living her best design life. We talk about the real reasons people book interior design consultations, and why it is rarely about “just picking a sofa” and almost always about getting the home to feel calm, cohesive, and emotionally right. ...
S3 · E12 · 20 May 2026 · 51 min
From New York Editorials to Sydney Calm With Marcus Hay
A childhood New York souvenir turns into a full-blown compass, and for Marcus Hay it points straight to a 20 year creative career in the US. We’re talking Manhattan apartments, the magazine years, and what it’s really like to build visual worlds for major lifestyle brands when the industry shifts under your feet. Now Marcus is back in Sydney, living with a view of a park instead of a brick wall, and he’s entering a new chapter with fresh eyes and a much calmer nervous system. We chat about h...
S3 · E11 · 14 May 2026 · 59 min
Milan Design Week: From Viral Installations to Quiet Magic Moments
Milan Design Week can look like a never-ending highlight reel, but the real story lives outside the frame. What you don’t get from Instagram is the atmosphere: the scent in a private apartment, the soundscape in an installation, the scale of a palazzo hiding behind an ordinary street door, and the way a space can hit your nervous system in an instant. We’re fresh back from Paris and Milan and ready to share the honest debrief, including the parts that are chaotic, emotional and properly joyfu...
S3 · E10 · 3 Apr 2026 · 1 hr
Sacha Strebe on Storytelling & Crafting EyeSwoon’s Magic
You see the finished rooms, the polished captions and the big-name collaborations. What you don’t see is the work that holds it all together. We’re joined by Sacha Strebe, an Australian editor and storyteller who now works behind the scenes as executive director with Athena Calderone to help craft and execute the creative vision for EyeSwoon. Sacha takes us from her Gold Coast journalism days to building a career in the US, including the mindset shifts that come with backing yourself, buildin...
S3 · E9 · 25 Mar 2026 · 48 min
The Home You Have vs. The Home You Need
This week, Interior designers Lauren Li and Bree Banfield explore why homes that look beautiful can still feel uncomfortable or frustrating to live in. Many clients come to them not just for aesthetics, but because their spaces create stress, limit connection, or don’t reflect who they are—making the process feel more like “interior design therapy” than simple decorating. They highlight common issues, starting with the feeling of not enjoying your own home. This often stems from poor layout, ...
S3 · E8 · 18 Mar 2026 · 38 min
Spaces That Speak: What Great Design Books Teach Us
A single book can change the way you decorate a room, not by handing you a shopping list, but by sharpening how you see. We’re diving into the design books that have genuinely shaped our interior design practice, from the emotional impact of architecture to the surprisingly personal meaning of colour, art and everyday objects. We start with Alain de Botton’s The Architecture of Happiness and why the best design is never just “style”. It’s about how a space makes you feel, and why beauty can ...
S3 · E7 · 11 Mar 2026 · 52 min
Leÿer Design Studio: Designing Spaces That Welcome Real Life
What if a home could feel calmer, look warmer, and bring you closer to your neighbours—all at once? We sit with interior designer Rebecca Leijer of Leÿer Design Studio to explore design with restraint that still feels generous, and the surprising community benefits of a street‑facing, glass‑fronted home in Torquay. From the first sketch to the final touch, Rebecca shares how simplicity, texture, and tactility can deliver spaces that welcome sandy feet, morning light, and real life without dat...
S3 · E6 · 4 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
In Conversation with Cléophée Poli: The Art of Turning Everyday Spaces into Living Galleries
What if your home could meet you where you are, every day? We sit down with Paris-based designer Cléophée Poli of Cléo Interior Design Studio to explore the psychology of home and why the best interiors are built around how people live, not what’s trending. Cléo’s path from luxury hospitality to interiors sharpened her instincts for service, diplomacy, and solving problems before they start, and she shares the scripts and strategies that keep projects humane and on track. We trace how cultur...
S3 · E5 · 25 Feb 2026 · 28 min
Unhinged Design Predictions For 2026
Predictions are only fun when they’re a little risky, so we’re putting our names to a future that feels warmer, braver, and far more liveable. We share the moves we’re already testing with clients—laminate countertops that look sharp and wear hard, wide-blade Venetian blinds in fresh powder-coated colours, and coloured stained glass that solves privacy without killing natural light. The goal isn’t shock value; it’s designing homes that work for real life and still make your heart skip when th...
S3 · E4 · 18 Feb 2026 · 56 min
Studio Isaza: The Art of Elevating Style & Colour of a Queenslander
What happens when you lift a 100-year-old Queenslander, drench a kitchen in deep olive, and build a business around family, community and place? We invited Jana from Studio Isaza to share the gutsy choices behind her coastal move, flood-resilient renovation, and colour-rich design language that feels joyful, lived-in and deeply personal. We start with the sea change: swapping Melbourne’s buzz for a sleepy pocket north of Byron, where trees loom large, streets stay slow, and a raised timber h...
S3 · E3 · 11 Feb 2026 · 54 min
Spaces That Hold You: The Mood Shift Shaping 2026 Design
Feeling overstimulated by screens and underwhelmed by white-on-white rooms? We dive into the real interior shifts shaping 2026 and explain why homes are moving from performative to restorative—spaces built for calm, conversation, and everyday joy. Drawing on years inside the industry, we unpack how cultural mood, technology, and cost-of-living pressures are changing what good design looks and feels like. We start by reframing trends as signals of how we live, not flimsy fads. That lens revea...
S3 · E2 · 4 Feb 2026 · 55 min
When Good Design Still Fails: Kelly McCloskey on Real Feng Shui
What if your home looks beautiful but still leaves you flat, restless, or strangely unlucky? We sit down with feng shui master Kelly McCloskey to unpack the practical side of energy at home—how doors, corridors, water, light, and small daily habits shape wellbeing, relationships, and money. Kelly cuts through the gimmicks and myths to explain what classical feng shui actually measures: precise facing degrees, twenty-four sectors, annual flying stars, and how personal astrology and timing inte...
S3 · E1 · 28 Jan 2026 · 58 min
Inside Studio Gemma: Humour, Hinges, And High-Impact Joinery
Ever wonder why some rooms feel irresistible the moment you touch a handle or close a door? We sit down with Gemma from Studio Gemma, the mind behind the Joinery Edit, to explore the tactile side of interiors—where hinges, board sizes and finish choices quietly decide how your home lives every day. It’s a joyful, candid tour through craft and practicality, with a healthy dose of humour and hot takes on the tiny design decisions that make a massive difference. Gemma shares the origin of her c...
S2 · E34 · 21 Jan 2026 · 51 min
Best of Design Anatomy Series: 25 Years of David Hicks: A Legacy of Timeless Design
The final in our best of Design Anatomy series wraps up today, revisiting some of our most admired, inspirational & popular episodes for you to enjoy over Summer! Bree & Lauren will be back with more amazing guests in late January 2026 Symmetry, structure, warmth, and a sense of materiality that's instantly recognisable – these are the hallmarks of David Hicks' approach to design, a philosophy he's refined over an impressive 25-year career. We sit down with this influential Aus...
S2 · E33 · 14 Jan 2026 · 58 min
Best of Design Anatomy Series: Sarah Ellison on Timeless Trends and Creative Innovation
The best of Design Anatomy series continues today, revisiting some of our most admired, inspirational & popular episodes for you to enjoy over the holiday season! Bree & Lauren will be back with more amazing guests in late January 2026 Renowned designer Sarah Ellison joins us to uncover the vibrant tapestry of her career, from her early experiences at Real Living to the exciting launch of her new venture, Sarah Ellison Creative. With a unique blend of humour and insight, Sarah d...
S2 · E32 · 7 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
Best of Design Anatomy Series: Bringing Nostalgia into Interiors with Brahman Perera
Design Anatomy will be releasing a 'Best of' series starting today, revisiting some of our most admired, inspirational & popular episodes for you to enjoy over the holiday season! Bree & Lauren will be back with more amazing guests early 2026 Join us on an insightful journey with the talented designer Brahman Perera as we uncover the past year's highlights in interior design. Ever wondered how rest can spark creativity, or how the cultural tapestry influences your work? Brahman share...
S2 · E31 · 31 Dec 2025 · 52 min
Best of Design Anatomy Series: A conversation with Simone Haag
Design Anatomy will be releasing a 'Best of' series starting today, revisiting some of our most admired, inspirational & popular episodes for you to enjoy over the holiday season! Bree & Lauren will be back with more amazing guests early 2026 Recorded in front of a live audience from the gorgeous Living Edge showroom here in Melbourne, this special episode celebrates our official launch of The Design Anatomy podcast last year. Hosts Bree Banfield and Lauren Li engage in a wonderful di...
S2 · E30 · 24 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Best of Design Anatomy Series: Nickolas Gurtler on Personal Style and Timeless Design
Design Anatomy will be releasing a 'Best of' series starting today, revisiting some of our most admired, inspirational & popular episodes for you to enjoy over the holiday season! Bree & Lauren will be back with more amazing guests early 2026 Renowned interior designer Nickolas Gurtler invites us to rethink the concept of luxury in our homes. He shares his unique experiences working on projects like a menopause clinic and a lively New York apartment, emphasizing that luxury is a...
S2 · E29 · 17 Dec 2025 · 49 min
From Colombia To Creative Catalyst: How Manuela Millan Elevates Australian Design
A city’s design culture doesn’t thrive by accident—it grows because people make generous choices. We sit down with Manuela “Manny” Millan, founder of 'Meanwhile in Melbourne' , interior designer and design manager at Fortis, to map how one person’s curiosity can lift an entire creative community while shaping more livable homes. Manny takes us from her Colombian roots to early retail and visual merchandising, through the “baptism” of first built projects, and into a developer role where apart...
S2 · E28 · 10 Dec 2025 · 44 min
Pantone Picks White, And Designers See Red!
The colour world just lit a match and called it neutral. Pantone crowned white as Colour of the Year, and we couldn’t let that pass without a serious debrief. With our friend and designer Jono Fleming, we dig into why a “blank canvas” lands as apathy for many, how politics always sneaks into palettes, and what this choice says about the stories brands tell when the world feels anything but calm. We pull apart the forecasting machine—zeitgeist reading, panel dynamics, and the messy lag betwee...
S2 · E27 · 3 Dec 2025 · 15 min
Design Myths You Must Break for a Home You Actually Love
Your home shouldn’t feel like a decision you regret every time you sit down. Lauren goes solo to unpack the biggest myths that keep spaces cold, hesitant, and half-finished—and shares practical moves that make a room feel welcoming without a renovation. From tackling open plan confusion to choosing colours that turn shadow into mood, this conversation is a clear-eyed guide to building a home that behaves. We start with the pain points we all face: decision fatigue after a big build, guests h...
S2 · E26 · 26 Nov 2025 · 1 hr
Studio A.mi: Crafting Interiors With Empathy And Intent
What if the secret to better interiors is the same method therapists use to guide change? We sit down with Anouska Milstein of Studio A.mi to unpack a simple framework that reshapes design from the inside out: observe, explain, predict, and then change or improve. It’s a candid, uplifting look at how empathy, psychology, and good systems turn “make it pretty” into “make it personal.” We trace Anouska’s path from psychology lectures to a concept-driven degree and the small practice apprentice...
S2 · E25 · 19 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
Timeless Craft: The Beauty of What Endures
What if “timeless” isn’t a look, but a way of working? We sit down live with Jeremy Bull (Alexander Co.), Simone Haag, Bree Banfield and Nicci Kavals of Articolo Studios to unpack the real markers of longevity: craft, material honesty, and the stories that form when people actually live with their spaces. It’s a candid tour through trend cycles, practical sustainability, and the design choices that keep rooms relevant without sanding off their character. Jeremy shares how Alexander House was...
S2 · E24 · 12 Nov 2025 · 43 min
Metricon's New Lookbook: Designs & Styles For Real Families
Step behind the scenes of Australia’s most-walked display homes with Metricon’s National Display Home and Studio M retail manager, Lisa Goodsall. We dive into how a massive plan library, real customer feedback, and years of display learnings distilled into Metricon's New Lookbook that actually makes styling choices easier. Instead of boxing people into rigid labels, the Metricon's Lookbook offers clear style families—think Palm Springs, Japandi, Nordic, Coastal Luxe and an evolving Australian...
S2 · E23 · 5 Nov 2025 · 30 min
Our October Top Five: From Tiled Furniture To Ola Mexicola
Bree & Lauren round up their top five for October with colour, craft, and comfort at the centre. From tiled furniture and Tasmanian-inspired rugs to smarter sheers, Ikea edits, and a Milanese armchair, we share what’s worth your money and why it matters. • Tiled furniture by Matthew Raw as durable statement pieces • Wild South rug collection and the new book ' A Visual Feast' by Jono Fleming • Mokum sheers and smarter colour ranges from Warwick • Ikea walkthrough str...
S2 · E22 · 30 Oct 2025 · 27 min
Top 5 Places Where Designers Find Great Art
Art can transform a room faster than any sofa swap, and today we map the exact places we rely on to find pieces that feel personal, joyful, and within reach. We start with the VCA Art Grad Exhibition, a friendly doorway into original art where you can speak to creators, learn what moves you, and buy before prices climb. Then we head to Leonard Joel for the thrill of the auction: weekly catalogues, known names beside hidden gems, and a smart path to works on paper that deliver character withou...

About Design Anatomy

Design Anatomy is a English arts & books podcast from Bree Banfield and Lauren Li. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Bree Banfield and Lauren Li
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 52 min
Latest episode: 29 Jul 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1778024382

RSS feed Apple Podcasts

More English arts & books

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.