2026 Work Resolutions

Every January arrives with many good intentions.

If you love design, architecture and interiors as much as I do, you already know how this story ends.

The truth is, interior design is not just a job you switch on and off. It becomes the way you look at the world. You walk into a café and notice the lighting temperature before the menu. You sit at a dinner party and instinctively assess chair comfort and table height. You go on holidays and photograph door handles, tiles and joinery details instead of sunsets...

Those New Year’s resolutions usually fail not because of a lack of discipline, but because they misunderstand the nature of creative work. Design curiosity does not clock off at five. And when you genuinely love what you do, that curiosity becomes part of who you are.

Take the work desk, for example. Every designer dreams of a calm, perfectly styled studio space. The reality is usually a beautiful kind of chaos. Swatches, samples, folders, drawings and notebooks accumulate because they are tools of thinking. They represent decisions in progress, ideas being tested, options still open. A busy desk is often the sign of an active mind ;)

The same applies to stationery. We promise to buy less, yet we are drawn to notebooks, pens and folders because they feel like possibility. A new notebook suggests a fresh start. A new pen feels like it might finally be the one that sketches the perfect plan. It is not indulgence. It is optimism.

And then there is the resolution to talk less about homes. That one rarely lasts beyond the first social gathering of the year. Because when design is your profession, it is also your language. You talk about homes because homes matter. They shape how people live, rest, gather, retreat and connect 👍

For anyone considering interior design as a career, this is an important insight. Interior design is not only about choosing colours or styling cushions. It is about understanding space, proportion, materials, light, function and human behaviour. It is both creative and technical. Emotional and practical. Intuitive and structured. This is why education matters.

If interior design is something you are thinking of studying this year, I strongly encourage you to look into TAFE courses. That is where I learned the theory myself, and it provided an invaluable foundation. TAFE offers practical, grounded education that connects creativity with real world knowledge. You learn how spaces work, not just how they look. You gain an understanding of construction, documentation, regulations and design principles that will support your creativity rather than limit it.

Most importantly, studying design gives you language. Language to explain your ideas. Language to justify your decisions. Language to grow from instinct into expertise.

So here is my advice for the year ahead, whether you are a practising designer, a student, or simply someone who loves homes:

• Embrace your curiosity.

• Laugh at your own obsessions.

• Stay open to learning.

• And never apologise for truly loving what you do.

Because the best careers often start with a simple truth: You can't stop thinking about it.