In the fourth instalment of our new series Natalie Walton, creator of the recently relaunched Daily Imprint, revisits Greg Natale, pictured above, to find out where his creative journey has taken him since the original interview.

It's been almost eight years since Daily Imprint was launched. During that time I have published more than one thousand posts on people in the creative arts – from artists to designers, photographers to writers, and architects to florists. After re-launching the site recently, I thought it would be interesting to revisit some of the interviews from the early days and learn how these people have progressed on their creative journey.

Meet interior designer Greg Natale. He was originally featured on 12^th November 2007.



In this Sydney home a Warhol print and large tufted sofa evokes 1970s modern luxury.

It's been almost eight years since you were first interviewed on Daily Imprint. What have been some of the highlights for you since then?

I started Greg Natale Design in 2001. Looking back now, to when we last spoke, the studio really was quite a small operation, producing an incredible amount of work.

Whilst we're still extremely busy and very fortunate to be expanding our portfolio daily, I have a bigger team now and that too is changing week-to-week. We seem to have a new face in the office all the time, each contributing to a really creative, vibrant studio.

In six months we will be relocating to our much bigger, brand new, customised studios in Surry Hills, Sydney - a landmark moment for my business. So to answer your question, the growth and expansion of Greg Natale Design has been a great highlight and source of pride for me. Not only has our service offering expanded to include interior design, decoration and architecture but I also enjoy great product design opportunities with some fantastic manufacturers and brands like Designer Rugs, Stylecraft, Porter's Paints, American furniture company Regency Distribution and there are even more exciting announcements on the horizon! To cap it all off I launched my first book The Tailored Interior in November 2014.



Gold adds a layer of luxe detail against the mosaic tiles in the powder room of this house in Clontarf.

The interiors that are featured in your book are bold and colourful, and you have gone on to build a name for yourself based on this aesthetic. How do you keep your designs evolving and engaging?

I like to think that my aesthetic is consistent, in that everything I do is a demonstration of design fused with decoration. I strive to balance all my projects with that tailored combination of sophistication and elegance, layered over raw visual appeal. My clients also keep me revising my aesthetic and refining and honing it. In the last two years we have completed a beautiful horse stud in Geelong, we are currently completing an expansive home in Oklahoma in the United States, and in Sydney we've completed full exterior design and interiors on some very contemporary, cutting-edge properties that really demonstrate the breadth of what Greg Natale Design can achieve.



In the living room of this small one-bedroom apartment in Fitzroy the diagonal stripes of Greg's wallpaper seems to elongate the walls, an effect heightened by the narrow portraits and low sofa and coffee table.

At the time you cited Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Tom Ford, David Chipperfield, and the late English designer David Hicks as inspiration. Who do you look towards today - whether it's for your design work, or running the business?

I would suggest that those names will always be defining influences for me. Looking back I still draw on fashion names like Halston and when it comes to architecture I can't go past Harry Seidler and the modernist Paul Rudolph.

I'm also really enjoying the interior work of William Sofield, Joseph Dirand and the young French designer Jean Louis Deniot at the moment. His work is beautiful.

What's the biggest lesson you've learnt in recent years?

I'd say that the most important thing I can take from my professional life in recent years is firstly recognising and then working with the fact that good things can't be rushed.

I think what I'm more acutely aware of now, more than I might have been 10 years ago, is that whilst determination and focus can set you on the right path for success, there's also a real need to respect timing and understand that some things can't be pushed through, sometimes things just need to take baby steps.



This hand-painted kitchen in a Sydney apartment offers a warmly welcoming space.

What are you looking forward to?

There is always something on the horizon and right now we're looking forward to the new Greg Natale Studio in Sydney. Around the same time as the new offices are ready, I will be travelling to the US and UK to launch my book, The Tailored Interior. We are celebrating the book's Northern Hemisphere launch with events in Jonathan Adler stores in London, New York and Los Angeles this September; I'm very excited about that. To coincide with this we will launch a new website and a really fantastic range of products will hit the market this year from collaborations with new and existing brand partners. I can't wait for everyone to see them.

Photography by Anson Smart. Images from The Tailored Interior by Greg Natale.

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