DesignOffice – Our Creative Collaborators
Meet Mark Simpson and Damien Mulvihill, co-founders of Collingwood-based studio DesignOffice, as they bring their particular style and sensitivity to Tableau, Cantilever’s latest Kitchen System.
Mark and Damien | Photo – Dave Kulesza
For Cantilever’s first ever collaboration, we wanted to work with likeminded creatives who understand the way a well-made space can make us feel. People who share our love of craftsmanship, functionality and the joy of the unexpected detail.
DesignOffice ticks all of those boxes.
Established in 2008 by Mark Simpson and Damien Mulvihill, DesignOffice’s folio is full of memorable, award-winning spaces. Whether it be a home, a shop, a workplace, a café or a combination of all the above, each project shows personality and panache. We love their work, and we know you will too.
Their problem-solving prowess is uniquely focused in the context of a bustling restaurant. To wine and dine in a venue by DesignOffice is a multisensory experience. Your eyes feast on the inviting interior, while you feel yourself sink into the buttery softness of a leather banquette. Countless considerations of light, space and form resolve in a triumph of hospitality design – and all before you’ve ordered your entrée.
The sprawling industrial chic of Higher Ground in Melbourne, for example, or the casual cool of Congress in Collingwood: each demonstrate an attentive and sophisticated design approach from kitchen to table.
Congress | Photo – Dan Hocking
Congress by DesignOffice | Photo – Dan Hocking
Higher Ground by DesignOffice | Photo – Sean Fennessy
Higher Ground | Photo – Sean Fennessy
“Both projects are about macro and micro,” says Mark. “So when you walk into the space it feels right, composed, holistic and cohesive. But when you sit down there’s an unexpected enjoyment too.”
“And they both have a use of purposeful colour, the palette of timber and stainless steel, and the softness of corners,” says Damien. “That level of detail is the DesignOffice element which comes through in Tableau.”
DesignOffice’s affinity for finely-executed details is one of many reasons why we’re excited to have worked with Mark and Damien on Tableau: Cantilever’s new furniture-based kitchen system.
Mud Australia in Double Bay by DesignOffice | Photo – Dianna Snape
Mud Australia in Double Bay by DesignOffice | Photo – Dianna Snape
Mud Australia in Double Bay by DesignOffice | Photo – Dianna Snape
“We drove the design aesthetically and strategically, and there was a lot of technical and functional expertise that came from Cantilever all the way through,” says Mark. “They’re really fascinated by how things are made, as are we, so that’s one great connection point between us all.”
We do relish a good manufacturing challenge, which made for an experimental, truly collaborative design process with DesignOffice. The result: a beautifully composed kitchen collection that invites you to rethink and reshape the heart of your home.
Tableau, a collaborative kitchen designed by Cantilever Interiors and DesignOffice | Photo – Haydn Cattach