We make beautiful homes. That's our day job. Of course, there are a lot of designers out there with fabric swatches and Big Ideas who say the same thing. You'll usually find them using words like 'courageous' and 'journey'. Unironically.
So, what makes Red Door different?
Well, for one thing, we speak like real people, not judges on cooking shows. We're an experienced team of designers and builders with a folio full of satisfied customers.
When we start a new job, we start with lots of questions. What you like. What you don't like. Your kids' middle names. How you feel about subway tiles. Do you like red wine? (Because we do.) We want to see every Pinterest board, Post-It note and crazy bit of Dream House inspo you've got. After that? We roll up our sleeves, whip out our yellow trace and get to work.
Time to meet the team. This won't take long – we're a close-knit little family here at Red Door Project. There's Dan (he does the building), Dani (she's the creative director) Ashlee (our interiors expert), Ryan (the unflappable site manager) and Annette (our number crunching Financial Controller). Pull up a plush, leather wingback and get ready to read some bios…
Dan is a 20-year construction professional with one heck of a résumé. He's been the leading hand on some of Melbourne's biggest commercial projects, including The Gatwick Hotel, Vue de Monde, The Stokehouse and Port Melbourne's Soap Factory .
Commanding battalions of tradies on TV is fun, but on a day to day basis Dan specializes in high-end residential projects. Settling families into their dream homes. Making sure every surface is millimeter-perfect. He's a trustworthy bloke with a big smile and perfectionistic tendencies. Exactly what you want in a builder.
On the daily, Dan can usually be found:
If Dan's good with his hands, Dani's good with her eyes. She's a qualified interior design expert with a lot of experience. Her real talent is problem solving: seeing a space's potential, weighing up variables, juggling a thousand little jobs at once. Reading clients' minds also helps.
Dani's design ethos is clean lines, creative textures and a side of quirk. She knows that the real test of interior design is comfort – there's no point having a magazine-worthy living room if you're too scared to touch anything. Her clients appreciate her honesty, sense of humour and (mild) addiction to spreadsheets. Dani really enjoys spreadsheets.
On the daily, Dani can usually be found:
Ashlee is an Interior Designer who makes,in her own words, "bloody fab spaces". (Dan and Dani liked her immediately.)
Ashlee's approach is more… eclectic. She doesn't just draw inspiration from the local design scene – her little black notebooks are filled with sketches, doodles, ideas, travel notes, photos and the latest international trends. One look at a blank space and you can already see the mental gears churning. Punchy designs. Subtle palettes. A well-travelled, contemporary feel, oozing sophistication and good taste. That's Ashlee in a nutshell.
On the daily, Ashlee can usually be found:
Ryan is Red Door's trusty site manager and head chippy. He's the friendly face you'll see day-to-day on the build, hammer in hand, keeping the project ticking over nicely.
Dan met Ryan on a job years ago, and they've been teaming up ever since, working on restaurants and residential fit-outs all over town. Being one of the most trusted and experienced carpenters in Melbourne, it wasn't long before Ryan and his tool belt joined the Red Door team full-time. Dani and Dan decided to overlook the fact he's a Carlton supporter.
On the daily, Ryan can usually be found:
As the Red Door business grew and grew, so did the paperwork. It was time to hire a bookkeeper, so Dani turned to the best she knew: her mum, Annette.
With a background in bookkeeping and banking, not to mention a motherly eye for detail, Annette is the paper-filing maestro that keeps the business running smoothly. She handles the accounts, makes sure suppliers are paid on time, and makes sure Dan eats his daily serve of vegetables. What are mother-in-laws for?
On the daily, Annette can usually be found: