Le Corbusier knew the power of built environments. UNESCO confirmed the influence of his pioneering twentieth century designs in 2016 when it named 17 of his architectural creations world heritage sites, underlining his works as references for modernism long after his final project took form in the 1960s.
Described as ‘visionary’ and ‘radical’, it's fair to say Le Corbusier’s brutalist designs and raw concrete shapes indicate he was driven only by rationality, at least until you stumble across this quote:
“The home should be the treasure chest of living,” he once said, declaring that our most important spaces should have a human-centredness that creates feelings which go beyond the ornamentation we see. It’s a point that internationally acclaimed interiors specialist Simone Haag is quick to expand.
“The home should be the treasure chest of living." La Corbusier
“Style is much more than a curated image,” she says, gesturing towards the entry to a sun-drenched residential sitting room. Walking through the doorway wraps you in a blanket of visual warmth, which immediately brings to life her creative work, and La Corbusier’s quote.
She’s right, of course. It’s not just ornamentation at work here. Simone’s ability to humanise interior spaces for high-end residences and hotels is a kind of magic, one that required a long and steep journey to develop. It began with eight years of intense work with a top Australian interior design firm to shape her skills, a professional grounding that involved extensive research, sourcing furniture and design pieces, styling photographic sessions, arranging fine art – and more – for high-profile clients and properties. She says it was a life-changing experience and “the most invaluable apprenticeship.”
It led to the special moment that drove her towards her own practice in 2014.
“My mentors at Hecker Guthrie let me discover that researching furniture and pieces could be deeply enjoyable,” she says. “But it was only when high-profile clients began seeking me for their answers, and not the head of the firm, that my confidence soared.”
Simone admits that establishing her own brand name while summiting the world of interiors required more than confidence. She has surrounded herself with the best people to keep pace with fast-moving technical developments such as computer-aided design (CAD) while preserving and nurturing her honed abilities to style interior spaces.
Eight years of intense work with a top Australian interior design firm shaped her skills.
“Intuition and personality fit are important when taking on new projects. There are so many subtleties you need to understand about each client and their relationships, including how my own relationship with them will develop as their project progresses.”
Like all great artists, the work is so much more than paint and canvas.
“Outwardly, the finished result might comprise a collection of carefully assembled items, textures and colours, but it’s the underlying human elements you can’t see that make them work.
“There is a huge amount of psychology involved. It’s critical to show clients you understand them sufficiently to be able to create interior environments that give rise to certain feelings. Achieving this isn’t simple. If I have a super power it’s probably the ability to be a ‘reverse chameleon’, where I make someone’s personal background reflect them, not the other way around.”
Personal drive
Navigating people’s deep internal needs to help create their ideal personal spaces isn’t without difficulties, especially when client projects involve private houses valued at more than $50 million and landmark hotels in the world’s biggest cities. Drawing on years of professional wisdom, Simone reveals how interior styling takes form and comes to life.
“This process is very much about trust. Many people don’t want to relinquish control when it comes to determining how their homes will look and make them feel, but when they loosen their grip just a little a magic in the process begins to appear.”
“Every project has an ever-present light at the end of its tunnel and it keeps me driven.” Simone Haag
Simone’s work can easily convey a sense of easy glamour but the road to achieving her results is far from straight, which begs an obvious question: what drives her to take on these extensive and sometimes years-long projects?
“The results of my work are tangible,” she says. “They’re immediately satisfying. Every project sparks a special glow of achievement, whether it’s a residential project in Melbourne or styling a room at Palazzo Donizetti at the third edition of L’Appartamento by Artemest during this year’s Milan Design Week.
“And I love the fact that all of my projects are always at different stages. One day I might be presenting a first round of ideas to a new client and later that afternoon I could be inspecting another client’s new furniture which was commissioned many months earlier. Overall, every project has an ever-present light at the end of its tunnel and it keeps me driven.”
There is one specific thrill, however, that always invigorates her – and her clients.
“I love creating combinations. Furniture, items, colours, textures; highly designed items can be wonderful but it’s how they combine together that creates the success.
“All projects have waiting periods, such as the time between ordering furniture and its final delivery. These periods are perfect opportunities to remind clients how and why these combinations work so effectively to create certain feelings.”
Championing high performance
“It’s difficult to articulate the finish line in my work,” Simone says. “There’s no chequered flag for many of my clients.
“Much of my work is conceptual and quickly becomes tangible as the project progresses. A project can resemble a concert when it approaches its end. It’s like the final song at a live performance. Clients often express a sense of ‘no, just one more!’ because they can become quite attached to the involvement we share when we create their most personal spaces. It’s hard to define high performance in my world but this concert analogy is the best way to articulate it.”
It's another example of the wisdom she has banked from years of patient and detailed work.
So, what are the hardest lessons that live there?
“Humility, always listening to your intuition and knowing when to apologise. Almost ten years ago I had a client who wanted to import her own furniture and her $30,000 dining table was damaged in transit, requiring another 30 weeks for its replacement to arrive. Every client makes a big emotional and financial investment with our projects, which means honesty and care are woven in to everything my team and I do. Incidentally, I was with that client only a couple of weeks ago, which is a reminder that how situations are managed can determine how relationships turn out.
Simone is passing on professional knowledge like this to new generations of designers and stylists, conducting mentoring sessions that reveal the good, the difficult, the highs and the challenges that lie underneath the style and settings.
Simone is passing on professional knowledge to new generations of designers and stylists.
“Paul Hecker and Hamish Guthrie are still mentors and friends to this day,” she says. “They had a great way of showing me when I was on the right path and then subtly steering me when I wasn’t. Now it’s my turn.”
Staying charged
Unwinding from the rigours of her work isn’t Simone’s strong suit. “I don’t think I’m very good at it,” she says, adding that exercise and retreats with her family are important escapes when time permits them. “There’s an amazing forest near our house and it offers the most meditative walks.” She says it’s a great way to recharge her creativity, but adds, “I need to get better at pausing.”
It's no surprise. Her constant need to keep driving ahead reflects the nature of her projects, their musical beats always creating new and enduring visual songs in her ongoing collection of client concerts.
It’s a model that serves her clients well. In a way it resembles the constant beat of innovation at Porsche, where different models, such as the Macan and Cayenne, undergo quiet evolution.
Her constant need to keep driving ahead reflects the nature of her projects.
“A key signature of my work is vintage pieces with a contemporary twist. It’s natural to want the latest of something while preserving the best bits of its heritage. A new Porsche 911 finished in Crayon paired with a plum-coloured interior with Pepita check upholstery is a perfect example. It’s about creating a calm exterior that prepares you for an inside reveal.”
There it is: another Simone Haag treasure chest. La Corbusier would be proud.
woman with drive
woman with drive is an online content platform from Porsche Cars Australia that celebrates and empowers women with inspiring and vibrant stories. woman with drive has published a number of stand-out campaigns, including the Women at PCA Series. It also brings together Australia’s trailblazing women at Porsche’s annual Woman with Drive event during the annual Formula 1® Australian Grand Prix.
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