Meryl Hare

The doyenne of Australian interior design shares some of the highlights on her creative journey.

I grew up in Africa, in Zambia and Eswatini [formerly Swaziland] and I was too busy climbing trees as a child to imagine what my future career might be. My lightbulb moment came when I was asked by a number of friends to ‘help’ them with their homes. At the time, I was living in South Africa and working as a graphic designer. I made the change to interior design when I was in my late 20s.

Moving to Australia from South Africa in 1988 was a huge challenge. I had an established career and my own design practice and we had to start from scratch in Sydney. The Covid pandemic has been incredibly difficult for everyone and will shape the way we work in the future. But change can be a good thing!

My workday usually begins at 9am, unless I have an early site meeting. Most days include client meetings, reviewing designs with the team and hopefully some fun along the way. I’m usually home by about 6.30pm.