Simone Haag | Interiors as Living Narratives

30 March 2026

Simone Haag has established a distinctive presence within the international design landscape through a practice that places curation at its core.

From her Melbourne based studio, she develops interiors that feel both deeply personal and quietly resolved, shaped by a careful balance between instinct, discipline and lived experience. Her work is defined by the way it brings together collectible design, art, and materiality to create spaces that resonate beyond their visual composition.

Working across high end residential and hospitality projects, the studio has become known for its ability to source and assemble pieces that carry both emotional and cultural weight. Each interior reflects a considered dialogue between architecture, objects and the people who inhabit them, resulting in environments that feel authored rather than decorated.

In this conversation, Simone reflects on the subtle gestures that transform a space, the role of curation in shaping identity, and the evolving relationship between design, atmosphere and everyday life.

LYTHORE : You’ve compared interiors to dressing, suggesting that sometimes a subtle « twist » is enough to elevate a space. What defines that quiet but decisive gesture for you today?

Simone : I’ve always approached interiors the way I’ve approached life, with a certain discipline, but also a willingness to lean into the unexpected. That quiet “twist” is often the result of instinct as much as intention. It might be a piece that feels slightly off-key, or a material used in a way that wasn’t entirely prescribed. I’m drawn to those moments because they create a kind of alchemy and they resolve the room, but also give it a pulse. It’s rarely loud, but it’s decisive.

LYTHORE : Curation sits at the heart of your work. When does a room move beyond decoration and begin to feel truly collected?

Simone : For me, a room moves beyond decoration when it begins to hold a sense of lived experience and when it feels like a reflection of the people within it, rather than a composition imposed upon them. Curation is about reconciling many things: aesthetic, functional, emotional, even pragmatic considerations like budget or how people actually live together. When those layers align, the space starts to feel authored. It has a point of view, but also a generosity.

LYTHORE : You’re often brought in once the architecture is already established. How do you insert your voice into a space without disrupting its structural integrity?

Simone : I’ve often come into projects where the architecture is already quite resolved, and I see that as an invitation rather than a limitation. There’s always a “band of comfort” around an architect’s language, and part of my role is to understand whether we sit within that, or gently push beyond it. I’m not interested in disrupting for the sake of it—it’s more about mediating between the architecture and the way people want to live, using objects, furniture and materiality to soften and enrich the framework.

LYTHORE : Your interiors balance emotional warmth with formal sophistication. How do you calibrate that tension?

Simone : That balance is something I’m constantly calibrating. I think it comes from layering and introducing pieces that carry patina, tactility, or a sense of history, alongside more resolved, architectural gestures. It’s that interplay that creates a sensorial quality, something that feels both considered and deeply human.

LYTHORE : Light feels almost narrative in your projects. Do you approach a space through material first, or through atmosphere?

Simone : Light is fundamental and it’s what gives material its voice. I don’t really separate the two; they evolve together. I’m always thinking about how a space will feel at different times of day, how light will move across a surface, how it might soften or sharpen an object. Atmosphere is ultimately what we’re shaping, and light is the thread that ties everything together.

LYTHORE : You speak about creating dialogue between objects. What makes a conversation between art and furniture successful in your eyes?

Simone : I’ve always been interested in the kinship between people and design, and I think that extends to objects as well. A successful dialogue isn’t about harmony in the obvious sense—it’s about creating relationships that feel intuitive but not predictable. There might be a tonal link, or a shared material language, but also a sense of tension. That’s what gives a space its depth, its narrative.

LYTHORE : Your palettes are often deep, earthy and enveloping. Do you feel the contemporary obsession with white spaces has become a creative shortcut?

Simone : White spaces can be incredibly beautiful, but I do think they’ve become a kind of default. I’m more interested in spaces that feel enveloping and where colour, texture and shadow create a sensorial experience. It’s not about rejecting white, but about being intentional. Depth comes from layering and from allowing a space to hold a bit of complexity.

LYTHORE : Your sourcing trips take you regularly to New York, Stockholm or Los Angeles. Are you searching for specific pieces, or for a particular emotional resonance?

Simone : My early years were quite nomadic, and I think that instinct has stayed with me. When I travel, it’s rarely with a fixed list. It’s more like a kind of foraging. I’m collecting ideas and images as much as objects, and creating an archive that continues to build over time. The pieces I’m drawn to tend to have a presence, something that resonates emotionally before it’s fully understood.

LYTHORE : Collectible design is increasingly present in private interiors. How do you see the relationship between decoration and authorship evolving?

Simone : There’s definitely a shift happening where interiors are becoming more about unique authorship than decoration. Clients are more open to pieces that carry narrative and sit outside of a trend, style, or period. My role is often to guide that. When it works, the result is something layered and enduring, where each piece contributes to a broader story rather than simply filling a room. It’s what makes a home interesting and individual.

Simone Haag | Interiors as Living Narratives

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