FAQs

360 Design Studio offers something genuinely different: a diploma-qualified interior designer (Interior Design Institute, 2024) and Design Institute of Australia member who spent 24 years in financial planning before following a lifelong passion for design. That combination matters. Most designers are strong on aesthetics. Fewer are rigorous about scope, budget discipline, and trade management. We bring both, guided by the 4F Framework: Form, Function, Finance, and the Future. We can provide an end-to-end service or any part of it: •Interior Design: practical design advice with detailed documentation, for residential or commercial spaces •Project Management: bringing the design to life by managing your trades, scope, and budget with our Trade and Materials Schedule methodology Your project stays within the agreed budget and schedule. You stay in control of how much you want us to manage.

Interior decorators focus on aesthetics - colour, styling, furniture, and finishes. Interior designers handle both aesthetics AND functional elements including space planning, building code compliance, joinery design, lighting, and structural considerations. In Australia, qualified interior designers like Vinti Verma hold formal credentials (Diploma in Interior Design, 2024) and Design Institute of Australia membership, ensuring professional accountability and comprehensive expertise that decorators and social media influencers typically lack.

We provide every degree of support for your project: from interior design to project management. You decide how much you want us to manage. We always charge a fixed fee based on project complexity and scope, not hourly rates or a percentage of construction costs. This gives you complete budget certainty and eliminates conflicts of interest. We pass back 100% of all trade discounts and commissions we receive, keeping nothing for ourselves. We are committed to sustainable design practice: we look for ways to repurpose, upcycle, and specify materials built to last. As co-founders of Dezinery, Australia's marketplace for recycled and reusable homewares, sustainability is not a service add-on for us: it is embedded in how we design.

The 4F Framework is the design philosophy that guides every project at 360 Design Studio. It recognises that great interior design requires four dimensions to be considered together: •Form: enduring aesthetics and spatial design that reflect your brand and serve your people, not just what is trending on social media •Function: space planning, workflow, accessibility, acoustic design, and project management that makes the design work in practice •Finance: fixed fees, 100% trade discount pass-through, no conflicts of interest, and budget discipline informed by 24 years of financial planning •Future: sustainable material choices, circular economy principles, longevity over trends, and the R.A.T.I.N.G. system co-developed through Dezinery You can read more in our blog: Every Degree of Design: integrating Form, Function, Finance, and the planet's Future.

No, and we reject the idea that sustainable design is a premium offering available only to clients with large budgets. Sustainable design is primarily about making considered choices: specifying materials that last rather than materials that trend, repurposing what already exists rather than replacing it, and thinking about cost per use rather than purchase price. A chair that costs $600 and lasts 15 years is a more sustainable and more economical choice than a $200 chair replaced every three. We specialise in cost-effective sustainable design through strategic approaches: upcycling existing items, specifying recycled materials that meet performance standards, passing on 100% of trade discounts, and using Dezinery as a resource for quality recycled furniture and homewares.

As soon as you are ready to move forward, and before you speak to a builder or contractor. One of the biggest causes of project delays and budget blowouts is scope changes once construction has started. Walking through your ideas early, visualising them with detailed drawings and 3D models, and identifying risks before they become problems is significantly cheaper than discovering them on site. We can also provide practical, unbiased advice on the feasibility of your project and budget. With 24 years of financial planning experience, we are well placed to tell you honestly whether a proposed approach makes financial sense.

The variables that have the biggest impact on your budget are: • Quality of finishes - we can help you get your dream design without a hefty price tag by passing on our deep trade discounts from an extensive range of retailers. We also specialise in cosmetic renovations that are quick, "non-construction", and visually impactful makeovers. • How efficiently you build it - in other words, how efficiently the project is managed, which includes how tradespeople are vetted, selected and then managed. We can manage the entire process allowing you to save a lot of time and money, compared with a typical builder situation where you will have a lot of independent contractors and tradespeople working on the project without much coordination • Design and size of the renovation - we can help you ensure that you are not over-capitalising or missed any key details which will be expensive to add in the future.

Every project is different and requires us to marry your individual needs with the site's unique features and any regulatory constraints. We provide bespoke solutions where form (aesthetics) and function (practicality) go hand in hand. We charge a fixed fee for all services, based on the scope and complexity of the work. We do not charge by the hour or as a percentage of construction costs. Fixed fees give you complete budget certainty: you know what you are paying before the work begins. The first step is an initial consultation to understand your needs and walk through the site or space. This allows us to prepare a detailed fee proposal for your review.

• Appealing to as many buyers or renters as possible. Ensuring your property creates great first impressions. We can help your property look its very best starting from its kerb appeal, to de-cluttering and property styling • Addressing feedback from your real estate agent or prospective buyers, e.g., outdated kitchen. Such updates can help your property stand out as a “turn key” property and attract buyers looking to avoid the additional cost, stress and mess of renovations. • Identifying and repairing problem areas before buyers see them in the building inspection report

Commercial and residential property owners with one or more of the following needs: • Have an idea of what they want their property to look, feel and function like - but need expert interior design advice to pull it all together • Want something completely unique and tailored to your requirements • Want to outsource part or all of your renovation to a professional. For example, use our interior design service but are happy to manage the construction yourself. Or, you want us to manage the entire project end-to-end – from design, sourcing and execution with our team of tradespeople • Preparing to sell their property for the best price, or maximising their rental income • Have a tight budget or schedule – we can manage both closely with our tools, processes, and your team of trades • Never renovated before and don’t know where to start – we can manage the entire project end-to-end, from design, sourcing and execution with our team of tradespeople. Our unbiased advice and feedback are intended to make you feel as informed and in-control of your project as possible. • Have just purchased a property which requires updates or repairs that may have appeared in the Building Inspection report. Often, we can start designing and planning during the settlement period so the renovation can be completed as soon as you take ownership. We know that you have unique needs from your property, so we pride ourselves on providing “every degree of support" for your renovation.

Yes. For clients outside Sydney, we offer comprehensive remote interior design services throughout Australia. This includes virtual consultations, detailed digital design plans with 3D visualisation, material specifications with sustainable options, and project guidance you can implement with local trades. We can take measurements using a simple phone app you operate, or arrange a single site visit if preferred. Recent projects include designing three Melbourne restaurants remotely with successful outcomes delivered to local contractors.

At this time, 360 Design Studio is focussing primarily on renovation properties to maximise their visual appeal and functionality. This may include minor structural changes such as adding or removing walls in an existing property. However, if you need major structural changes such as adding a first storey or building a new home, we can recommend builders for you to engage and work with directly.

Dezinery is Australia's marketplace for recycled furniture and homewares, co-founded by Vinti Verma in 2025. Dezinery grew directly from the circular economy principles that inform 360 Design Studio's design practice. Rather than specifying new items by default, we always look first at what can be repurposed, upcycled, or sourced second-hand. Dezinery makes that easier by providing a curated marketplace for quality recycled and reusable pieces. The R.A.T.I.N.G. system used in our sustainability assessments was co-developed through Dezinery. You can find out more at dezinery.com.au.