About us.
Dearne Tuffey founded Design By Two in 2018 and has enjoyed curating beautiful, unique spaces ever since. Since then, she has joined forces with Michelle Azzi – and together they rebranded the business to LOFT Design Studio in order to reflect the broad range of services offered. They have expanded their team of go getters to help them keep up with the demand in the region. The Style Squad now includes Stan and Derek.
They inspire, balance, and bounce ideas off each other every day. They are two like- minded creatives that absolutely love what they do – and it shows in the detail of the bespoke spaces they create, and the smile on their client’s faces.
We take the stress out of selling your home
Selling your home can be stressful and knowing where to start to improve the appeal of your home can feel overwhelming. At LOFT, we ensure that this is an enjoyable experience for you – by taking all the stress away. We believe that home is where the heart is – and that everyone deserves to live and work in a beautiful, welcoming, comfortable space. So, we curate the most inspirational and functional space to compliment your budget and lifestyle.
We are experts in our field
With over 30 years of experience and access to a vast range of suppliers and inventory of high-quality furniture and homewares, we can create any style – from classic to modern contemporary and everything in between. We know what’s on trend, but we pay more attention to respecting the heritage and character of your home. This, in conjunction with our comprehensive understanding of the property market, allows us to identify affordable improvements to make your property shine.
We love what we do
We have built a reputation based on our infectious enthusiasm, innovative ideas, attention to detail and ability to deliver – offering professional and seamless experience every time. We listen to your concerns, accommodate your needs and help to define your style to ensure the final presentation feels like a beautifully designed home rather than a styled property. We take care of everything from concept creation through to installation – while you sit back and relax.
We believe in what we do – and know it works
We can work our magic by using your existing furniture and just adding a few décor elements or we can supply a complete fit out using our vast range of furniture and homewares. While no two properties are the same, the aim of every project is… and that is to create an emotional appeal that captures people’s hearts, evoking a feeling that holds potential buyers such that they can’t imagine calling anywhere else home.
Style Squad.
MEET OUR DEDICATED TEAM OF INTERIOR DECORATORS, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE STYLE SQUAD.
DEARNE TUFFEY – Founder & Creative Director
Through her passion and experience in design, Dearne truly understands the fundamentals of creating an elegant, sophisticated and inviting home.
With over 15 years’ experience in the industry, Dearne kicked off her design career in her early 20’s with her darling and extremely creative mum (her ultimate inspiration!) - starting a business called Design Deeds. She moved on to complete a Diploma of Interior Design & Decoration at Torrens University (formally CATC), attended the Interior Styling Enmore Design School / Coco Republic, ran her own market Interiors business in Echuca, as well as worked as an Interior Designer in Auckland.
Prior to starting LOFT, Dearne was a Design Consultant for Coco Republic and a Visual Merchandiser and Interior Decorator for Freedom Furniture. Add to all this Dearne’s considerable experience in renovating and selling properties with her builder husband Daryl – and it’s clear that she has a natural flair for transforming spaces into something breathtaking!
Every time Dearne finishes a project the result is always as special as the previous. The best part is seeing the client’s reaction – having been on a journey from transforming a complete blank canvas into a functional, authentic and aesthetically pleasing result – where they are typically completely overwhelmed (in a good way) and there is a display of happy tears (which means we all end up crying together!).
Dearne is currently loving the transitional design style, which is a blend of traditional and contemporary elements, with the living room being her favourite room to style as you can have so much fun with it. She loves nothing more than to style a traditional home with a mantled fireplace, balanced with a curved sofa, a neutral colour palette and organic texture - oh so divine….!
MICHELLE AZZI – Co-owner & Director of styling
With a love for beautiful things, Michelle takes pride in her own home and loves nothing more than pottering around, re-arranging furniture and homewares. Michelle brings a wealth of retail and customer service experience to LOFT – having run her own clothing shop as well as working at Pillow Talk for many years, before joining the LOFT team two years ago.
Previous years of working in the fashion and homewares industry enables Michelle to find elements of colour and styling in interior design and helps her thrive in the fast-paced environment of transforming spaces to create a cohesive feeling for our clients. Since creating the LOFT team with Dearne, Michelle has stepped up as co-owner and is now enjoying her new role as Director of styling.
Michelle’s experience in bespoke display home design and styling has given her an excellent eye for detail and a passion for creating beautiful spaces. Every time a client asks if they can purchase all the furnishings in a house that we’ve styled it warms her heart (and she does a little happy dance!).
When it comes to styling, Michelle is lover of the classic Hamptons / modern farmhouse because it is understated and exudes timeless luxury. Her favourite room to style is the master bedroom because it entails loads of beautiful layering of tones and textures to create a warm and welcoming space.
Michelle’s career highlight was recently when a property for sale was valued at $780,000 prior to LOFT working its magic, and then sold before auction for almost $300,000 over the asking price! Not surprisingly, the vendors were ecstatic with the result!