Whenever I read "James has a long history working in the building and design field..." I feel surprised (and a little old) as it only feels like yesterday that I started my journey working with houses, and it is still something I love as much today. My working career started with me studying and gaining my Advanced Real Estate certificate, then working over a number of years in all aspects of the real estate industry, but I actually know that my love affair with houses started even earlier than that, spending hours as a child building homes with Lego bricks, sadly still a favourite pastime.
Over the years I've worked with some of the largest home builders in Australia, in a range of roles including duplex development and new home selections, where my customer service skills and passion for design created opportunities to be trained as a Kitchen designer, learning all aspects design, manufacture and installation. One builder expanded my knowledge and design skills further by allowing me to develop their bathroom devision, where I worked in Bathroom Designer for many years.
Little did I know then that what I was learning about, two of the most important spaces within the home, would become such a strong part of what I now do every day, helping my clients creating beautiful homes. Over my career I have continued learning and still do, gaining qualifications in both Colour Consultant and Interior Design. Thanks to the sum of these experiences and my shy demeanour, I landed in Lifestyle TV, Radio and Magazines... nowadays all I seem to do or talk about seems to be Houses... but how I love my Job.
Last night, in collaboration with the team at International School of Colour and Design [ISCD] I spent three hours passing on as much of my knowledge as I could to an eager audience. Surrounded by the stunning displays at DiLorenzo Tiles' Sydney Showroom, the Bathroom Design and Styling Workshop was a sold-out event to an elegant crowd of designers, students and renovators.
The Workshop which commences with an introduction to the various bathroom elements, takes the audience through the understanding of client's needs, plan reading, plumbing, spacial design and redesign, tiling, cabinetry and finally styling. Dealing with an audience with such diverse knowledge and expertise, I was happily open to questions throughout the evening, as I am keen on people gaining genuine, practical and clear information.
But whilst having fun and passing on knowledge "time flies" and those three hours went fast, just like my decades of work and experience too have gone in a blink. And when I think back at that kid playing with Lego I smile, because I didn't know then of all the amazing opportunities and experiences that game of building houses was actually creating.
The next Workshop coming to Sydney is Kitchen Design and Styling, on the 5th of October, then New Build & Design Process for those people building a New Home or those new designers that wish to enter the New Home Building industry. These short course workshops also heading to Melbourne with dates to be confirmed. Find out more at ISCD.
Until then, I'm off for a well-deserved holiday and a little bit of work in Italy and Portugal. Will I be able to stay away from talking about Houses and Design? ...that would be impossible!
James Treble is an ambassador for Planet Ark and firmly believes in sensible purchasing, recycling and creative re-purposing. James Treble has more than 25 years of experience in the Building Industry, Real Estate and Interior Design. His knowledge and experience in adding value to homes, through clever design & styling, is now published for all to learn and benefit from. Interior Design For Profit is now available online.
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