What a year it has been! To think that at the start of this year we were still in our cosy little studio in Hawthorne, had many exciting designs yet to become a reality and many more team experiences ahead of us. Now here we are months down the track, very settled into our new studio space and still falling more in love with it every day, with a few new editions of the DJI family! Its been a big year of change for us here in the studio, however as we evolve not only as a studio but as a team we are always thankful for the journey and the end result!

So as we close up the studio for the year, we thought it would be nice to reflect on some our biggest milestones of 2019. We are proud of all that we have achieved over this past year, and are incredibly excited for what 2020 will bring for DJI!

NEW Studio Renovation

After quite a few months of hunting around for a new studio location towards the end of last year, we came across our ideal property in the heart of East Brisbane! It had always been a dream of ours to own our very own brick and mortar studio space, and in December last year we became the owners of this circa 1910 Queenslander! Whilst its not quite brick and mortar, it’s tin and timber charm couldn’t be more perfect and fitting for our new studio – our new home!

Over the past year we have been transforming this dated Queenslander into our dream studio. We have loved piecing the studio together each stage at a time – from the new joinery, the fresh paint and ofcause the beautiful new dark timber floors! Can’t wait to share the finished spaces with you all in the new year! For now lets take a look back at the before and stay tuned for the highly anticipated after shots!!

House Raised – Late 90’s

Pre Renovation – 2018

Mid Renovation – 2019

The Big Reveal – 2020…

KBDi Award Winners

Still so overwhelmingly happy with the results from the KBDi Awards back in August! Read all about it here.

BATHROOM DESIGNER OF THE YEAR QLD

Redland Bay Residence – Main Bathroom

KITCHEN DESIGNER OF THE YEAR QLD + KBDI AUSTRALIAN KITCHEN DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

Woolstore Residence – Kitchen

KBDI AUSTRALIAN CERTIFIED DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

Redland Bay Residence – Master Ensuite

DESIGN SPACE AWARD

Redland Bay Residence – Outdoor Area

HIA Award Winners

TIDA Award Winners

2019 Tida Australian Bathroom of the Year

Raby Bay Residence – Master Ensuite

Read all about the bathroom transformation here.

IDEA Awards Shortlist

Finalist Residential Decoration Award

Tennyson Residence

Read about our favourite parts and the purpose behind it all here.

Front Cover of QLD Homes

Our Tennyson Residence also got the Front Page of the Autumn – Winter 2019 Queensland Homes Magazine! The cover really shows off the large Ali McNabney-Stevens artwork and the way the palette has been pulled out from this through the rug by Designer Rugs and feature armchairs from Hub Furniture .

Purchase a copy of this issue here.

Local Project Feature

“A Contemporary Character-Filled Home – The Redland Bay Residence by Darren James Interiors”

As part of the ‘Designer Rugs Series’, we collaborated with them as part of a feature for The Local Project. Read the full article here.

All photography by Andy Macpherson –

New Team Members

We were lucky enough to welcome 2 new amazing team members this year! Bec started with us at the start of the year as our Accounts & Administration, she brings such a warm friendly vibe to not only the studio but to every single phone call. One of our newest members of the DJI family is Carina, our new Purchasing and Procurement Officer. She has only just begun with us, but will be our organisation go to with all things furnishing and construction ordering!

Kirsty graduating / full time role

Our Interior Design Intern, Kirsty has just graduated from her Bachelor of Design in Interior Design with Honors! Super excited to have her staying on with us full time as our new Graduate Designer after being with us for almost 2 years.

Amazing Social Events

This year we were spoilt by the amount of amazing events we got to attend. From all the supplier launches and showroom events, to the team wreath making workshop and tradie thank you party at our studio – we had a lot of fun amongst all the busyness! One of our top highlights was definitely our Staff Christmas party which consisted of a full day of activities – starting with a morning pottery class, a picnic lunch and afternoon drinks by the river! Here are a few of the beautiful images captured by our friend Dee from Pixel Punk of our amazing team!