Simone Haag
Simone Haag invites natural hues into incredibly polished spaces that are unique for her clients— each like an open book, ready to be read and interpreted into beautiful designs.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
Armadale Residence which includes furniture classics such as the Maralunga sofa, the Cesca dining chair and a series of vintage pieces sourced by Simone Haag. Photo - Anne Stroud.
At the intersection of contemporary design and a liveable home, comes a careful curation of objects that serve an aesthetic value and add warmth and comfort. To do this, Simone Haag takes inspiration from the past, looking to focus on quality, rather than temporal designs.
A perfect mix includes, “a cross-pollination of vintage, contemporary, textural and colourful pieces curated mindfully with the client’s brief,” Simone shares. With generational designs straight out of the 1960s and 70s which offer continued timeless appeal, such as the leather De Sede Terrazza sofas, Mario Bellini designs, or those Charles Hollis Jones’ Le Dome Dining Tables with the curved legs that pop up throughout Simone’s projects.
St Kilda Penthouse showing Simone Haag’s love for 60s and 70s design. Photo - Derek Swalwell.
Canterbury House - furniture, art, objects and styling by Simone Haag. Photo - Eliza Watson.
“Career defining moments for me can be as simple as standing back to admire a combination of furniture we curated for a client – and the internal dialogue that goes with that – something along the lines of ‘Damn that’s good’.”
The Simone Haag journey is all about, “warmth and comfort and bloody good fun as we navigate our way,” says Simone Haag. Photo - Anne Stroud.
The designer is drawn to “perspex, lucite, chunky wools, interesting forms, curvaceous pieces,” furniture that offer visual texture and depth within their environment. Standouts include Lunapark Coloured Murano Glass Coffee Table by New Shades, The Agra Console Table in Estremoz Marble with Brass Details, and Anna Karlin’s slump armchair— all inviting those minimal forms with expressive materialism.
Art is just as crucial in Simone’s interior designs, her favourites including Ry David Bradley from Sullivan and Strumpf gallery in Sydney, and “any form of brutalist wall sculpture.” Both which contrast each other, one full of colour and textiles, and the other, harsh within its line, providing sculptural departures from clean walls. The materiality feeds into Simone’s dream projects. “Anything that has a curve, a chunky fabric,” she shares. But the special moment comes from “hearing a client enthusiastically brief us on what they are wanting to see in their home.” And that is, fundamentally, what the Simone Haag journey is all about, “warmth and comfort and bloody good fun as we navigate our way.”
The dining space at Armadale Residence. Photo - Anne Stroud.
Simone Haag in her Melbourne home. Photo - Sarah Collins.
“I’m inspired by those who aren’t really designers – but do an epic job of their homes – reminding me, all you need is a bit of sass”
Armadale II project designed by Simone Haag. Photo - Mark Roper.
A vignette from Armadale Residence. Photo - Anne Stroud.
Working with the team is their “gorgeous studio in Collingwood,” is on hold at the moment, except for client meetings or working through concepts and installation checklists. A mum to a 10-month old, and a four and five-year-old, means current working days are scheduled around school runs and nap times. “Then, as all working mothers can relate, it is go like the clappers until they wake!” A perfect “off” day — when they finally arrive — would be spent at the beach shack in Sunderland Bay (Anglers Shack on Airbnb) “with the kids getting all ‘free-range’ and me with feet up and a gin.”
Future exciting projects include an LA buying trip; Milan Furniture Fair; The Fenwick — a development by The Angle, with Edition Office, Flack Studio and Eckersley Garden Architecture; and Simone and her husband’s new holiday home — the Mountain House.
House Baillieu designed by Ben Pitman with furniture and styling by Simone Haag. Photo - Mark Roper.
Canterbury House - furniture, art, objects and styling by Simone Haag. Photo - Eliza Watson.
“It is really important we make the time for researching new products, collating finishes and fabrics that we love and making sure we somehow gather all of the beautiful things we find in a way we can remember them.”
House Baillieu designed by Ben Pitman with furniture and styling by Simone Haag. Photo - Mark Roper.
Canterbury House - furniture, art, objects and styling by Simone Haag. Photo - Eliza Watson.