Carla Middleton

This Sydney architect is driven by the simple but life-enhancing belief that your home should be your happy place.

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Studying architecture was both pure joy and the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. For the first few years at university they were training our brains to understand space. I realised that this was a huge world I just couldn’t get enough of.

Architecture is a profession that can be enjoyed late into life. I witnessed this at university with Glenn Murcutt. He was just as obsessed with architecture at the later end of his career as we were at the start of ours.

Throughout uni, I worked in small and large practices and found my passion was in residential design. After graduating from UNSW in 2009, I worked in a few different residential practices, gaining experience in all areas of running a practice.

When I became pregnant with my first child, I took one year’s maternity leave but within three months I was offered a commission that I couldn’t refuse. I worked like a maniac in between my baby’s naps and late at night. It was exhausting but I enjoyed doing two jobs. I slowly took on work as a sole practitioner, starting my practice in 2016. I loved working for myself and every aspect of it, but soon had more work than I could handle, so I engaged a team of people to develop the business and refine the brand. This was a game changer. I am now in a beautiful office with an amazing team of five and couldn’t be happier.