How I Accidentally Built the Career I Was Always Supposed to Have
The one where a girl who mapped entire towns on brown paper finally figured out she was an interior architect all along.
How Did Plush Design Interiors Start?
There's a concept in astrology called the Lion's Gateway — a cosmic alignment that opens a portal of energy, clarity, and manifestation. You walk through it changed. You walk through it knowing.
Mine happened in a kitchen in the Adelaide Hills, in front of a whiteboard covered in what appeared to be the ravings of a highly caffeinated, slightly maniacal woman who had finally — finally — stopped lying to herself.
That woman was me. That moment was everything.
But let's back up. Because a good origin story, like a good room, doesn't work without its foundation. So, who is Penelope Herbert interior designer + interior architect?
The Reading: Find Your Interior Design Archetype in Three Minutes
The Reading is a free, three-minute diagnostic quiz created by Plush Design Interiors that identifies your interior design archetype — the underlying personality driving every room you love, every pin you save, and every safe beige decision you've immediately regretted.
It's built on three behavioural axes (Restraint ↔ Abundance, Meaning ↔ Sensation, Rooted ↔ Roaming) and maps your answers to one of eight archetypes.
Unlike style quizzes that assign you a trend label, The Reading identifies a psychological position — one that doesn't expire when the algorithm moves on.
Who Are You Really Designing Your Home For?
Somewhere along the way, “timeless” became code for “please don’t notice me”. People were sold the lie that a safe, all-neutral home is the only path to good taste and future resale. The result is a plague of white-on-white kitchens, oatmeal sofas, pale timber everything, and not a single shimmering risk in sight.
Adopt This White Paint Guide; Your Walls Really Need It!
In this white paint guide, we'll delve into the nuanced world of white paint, exploring the differences between various shades, how to test them on your walls, what to watch out for, and ultimately, how to select the perfect white paint for your home.
We demystify white paint and help you find the perfect shade for your home renovation. Adopt this white paint guide; your walls really need it!
White paint may seem like a straightforward choice for your walls, but any experienced interior designer will tell you that not all whites are created equal. The subtle nuances in undertones and finishes can drastically alter the mood and aesthetic of a room.
The Free E-Book That Will Change How You Use Colour in Your Home (Not Just on Your Walls)
When you walk through your front door, do you feel something? Or do you feel… nothing? The interior design equivalent of a firm handshake. If that's your home right now, I wrote ‘Colour Without Apology’ for you.
Colour Without Apology is my free, complete colour guide — and I want to be clear about something from the start. This isn't just a paint guide.
Can We Finally Stop Decorating for Instagram? Why Your Home Isn't a Photo Shoot
There was a time when homes were designed for families. Now they seem to be designed for wide-angle lenses.
Don't get me wrong—I adore beautiful interiors. I'm an interior architect. Beautiful is literally my business.
But somewhere between perfectly edited reels and impossibly pristine kitchens, we've quietly started confusing good design with good content.
They're not the same thing. A photograph captures one perfect second. A home has to survive every other one. The perfectly styled home might be getting all the likes—but is it getting any actual living done?
Your House Isn't a Gender Reveal Party (And Great Design Never Plays by the Rules)
Imagine walking into a dinner party where every guest is wearing exactly the same outfit. Everyone politely agrees. Nobody interrupts. Nobody laughs too loudly. Nobody tells an outrageous story. Technically... It's perfect. You'd also leave after ten minutes. Because perfection without tension is painfully boring. Now imagine your house…
No-Vanilla Archetypes: Why Your Home Has a Personality, Not Just a Style
For years, the design world has sold you styles — Hamptons, Japandi, Mid-Century, Coastal, that one with all the boucle — as though your home were a costume you choose off a rack. Pick a look. Copy the look. Hope the look still feels like you in eighteen months when the algorithm has moved on and your "warm minimalist" lounge suddenly reads as a dental waiting room.
A style tells you what to buy. It never tells you who you are in a room. And that, my darlings, is the entire problem. So I built something better. Meet the No-Vanilla Archetypes.
Timeless Is a Lazy Compliment (And What Designers Really Mean Instead)
“Timeless” is one of the most commonly used compliments in interior design. It’s also one of the least useful.
Homeowners hear it and feel reassured — like they’ve made a smart, future-proof decision. Designers hear it and immediately ask a different question: Timeless for whom? And frozen in which decade?
Because here’s the quiet truth:Timeless is rarely a design strategy. It’s usually avoidance.
The Display Home Trap: Why Your $720,000 Adelaide New Build Already Looks Like Every Other House on the Street
You fell in love with a display home. You’re not getting that house. Let’s talk about what you’re actually getting — and the six decision windows nobody told you about. You walked into the display village on a sunny Saturday. You touched the stone benchtop. You ran your hand along the engineered timber floors. You stood in the master suite with its pendant lighting and floor-to-ceiling tiling and thought, this is it — this is my home.
Eighteen months later, you’re standing in your hallway — the one with the laminate benchtop, the builder-grade carpet, and the grid of downlights on a single circuit — and you’re wondering why your $720,000 home looks exactly like your neighbour’s. And the one three doors down. And the one around the corner.
Tiles With A Pulse: How To Use Bold Tiles On Floors, Walls, Curves And Splashbacks
Stop playing it safe with white subway tiles and start using tiles as architecture, artwork and attitude.
Tiles are where the renovation stops being polite and starts being interesting. Forget “just a floor” or “just a splashback”—tiles are architecture, artwork and attitude rolled into one. In this first installment of five in our finishes series, we’re turning tiles into the main character of your home, not the understudy.
Why Interior Design Is the Couture of Construction
If couture defines the garment, design defines the home. It’s time to stop treating Adelaide interior design as decoration and start seeing it as the blueprint for how you’ll live and feel every day. Let’s start with a truth bomb: interior design is not a soft‑furnishings sideshow. It’s the beating heart of every successful build — the couture of Adelaide construction. Yet time and again, I meet clients in Adelaide who call a designer only after their walls are up, plans stamped, and budgets blown. At that point, I’m the paramedic, not the partner.
This misunderstanding isn’t just unfortunate; it’s expensive, stressful, and limits the potential of what a home could be. Interior design in Adelaide should lead the conversation, because design doesn’t simply make rooms look good — it makes them work beautifully.
Our blog is a treasure trove of knowledge, filled with valuable insights, expert tips, and insider secrets.
We delve into a wide range of topics that cater to renovators of all levels, from the novice DIYer to the sophisticated homeowner looking to transform their space.
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So whether you're seeking inspiration, practical advice, or a deeper understanding of the art of renovation, you've come to the right place.
Join us on this exciting journey as we empower you to transform your home into a space that reflects your unique style and personality.