Altus Design Studio

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Balmain, NSW
Altus Design Studio

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Sydney based design studio with a passion for colour, texture and pattern. Residential & Small Commercial Interior Design.

03/11/2026

Before and After. Same room, same footprint. Almost everything moved, and the beige went with it.

Before image: real estate listing photo.⁠

IVY LEAGUE
Joinery by Homestyle Kitchens⁠
Build by KPL Building
Photography by Prue Ruscoe

02/11/2026

When you’re about to start a renovation, there’s so much to think about that sometimes the important questions slip through. So here are a few you really should ask me, or any designer. A project is a conversation, and the best results come when you feel heard. Knowing what to ask is a good place to start.

29/10/2026

It wasn't planned, but once the stone was cut for the fireplace there was a decent piece left that we didn't want to waste. So I designed a side table around what we had, rather than the other way around.

I loved the Cadiz marble from moment I saw it. It's unusual, full of character, and now it has two distinct uses in two rooms.

IVY LEAGUE
Joinery by Homestyle Kitchens⁠
Build by KPL Building
Photography by Prue Ruscoe

27/10/2026

IVY LEAGUE | The whole palette started with this painting by Oliver Watts, which our clients had owned for years.⁠
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It features beautiful Australian scrubland and eucalyptus and our clients knew they wanted the interiors to pick up those colours, so that's where we started. The bush greens went into the kitchen joinery, and the dusty pinks and terracotta were used throughout the space.⁠
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Starting with something a client already loves is a great brief, because the hardest question has been answered before I walk in. I'm not guessing at what they're drawn to, it's already there⁠.
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⁠Joinery by Homestyle Kitchens⁠
Build by KPL Building
Photography by Prue Ruscoe

26/10/2026

IVY LEAGUE | The back garden in a semi like this one is never big, so we wanted as much of it as possible to be usable. Building in a bench means you can seat more people without furniture taking over the whole space.⁠
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The bench seating we designed is terrazzo, and so is the kitchen floor and the bathroom upstairs. Not the same terrazzo though, because we varied it from space to space rather than repeating the same one everywhere. That way the house holds together without feeling too matched.⁠
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That's usually the better way to get cohesion. Repeating a material exactly can make a house feel like a showroom, where you see the same decision being made in every room. Varying it slightly lets each space keep its own character.⁠
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Billie has no opinion on any of this, she just likes the sun. And the attention.⁠
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Build by KPL Building
Photography by Prue Ruscoe

20/10/2026

SUNNY SIDE UP | Yellow and green together is a combination I'm normally wary of, and any Aussie will know exactly why... get it slightly wrong and you’re straight into Olympics territory.

Our clients wanted green in the kitchen, and by the time they asked, the yellow was already locked in. So the question became how to get the two of them coexisting in the same room.

The copper on the ends of the island, and the marble on top, are what break it up so the kitchen never reads as a yellow and green scheme, it reads as a room with several materials in it. Eclectic, just how our clients like it.

The yellow is buttery, and the green is muted and a bit dirty rather than a clean colour, which keeps the whole thing a long way from a sporting uniform.

Photography Prue Ruscoe⁠
Joinery Homestyle Kitchens
Builder KPL Building

15/10/2026

SUNNY SIDE UP | The biggest spatial change in this whole project happened in the smallest room. The laundry was tiny with the washing machine down one side, a little tub in front of the window, and not much room to do anything. So we moved the wall out into the back entry of the house which is a bit smaller now, and the laundry finally works.⁠
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The yellow joinery creates a visual connection to the kitchen, but we used burgundy tiles rather than the terracotta, plus the blue wallpaper. So the laundry relates to the rest of the house without copying it.⁠
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Photography Prue Ruscoe⁠
Joinery Homestyle Kitchens
Builder KPL Building

13/10/2026

THE COLOUR EDIT | Our client was already a committed colour lover. With whole collections full of personality we weren't starting with a blank canvas, it was about bringing those individual pieces together and creating a room that feels joyful and eclectic, but still considered.⁠
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The multicoloured rug grounds the room, and a pair of existing armchairs, previously in a heavy dark grey were reupholstered in a rich burgundy. They'd been weighing the room down, and now they're part of the colour story.⁠
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The white joinery was out of step with everything sitting on it, but rather than replace it we wallpapered the back of the shelves in a soft aqua and white stripe which completely changed how the collection read.⁠
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When a room already has this much colour in it the instinct is to pare back, when often the best result comes from doing the opposite.

12/10/2026

A morning on our Ettalong Hotel project. Floorplans, renders and samples out, and the three of us working through every option at least twice.

Address

Balmain, NSW
2041

Telephone

+61400490482

Website

http://www.altusdesignstudio.com.au/

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