Tell us about a client presentation that you still think about. What made it stay with you?

Melanie & Micaela:

Rather than a single presentation, what actually stays with us is the satisfaction of really connecting with a client about the design in an immersive way — and that comes down to how we are now leading client presentations. Over the years we have kept refining how to best present our ideas and it's been great to feel like we now have a shared benchmark across our London & Milan studios that has been working well.

For Finishes sign-off presentations, we set up every finish, along with tap and hardware samples, laid out beautifully on tables and sitting on timber trays. We pin up printed plans and presentation to a good scale and have a screen to flip through room schemes. We mainly focus on the in-person aspect, the conversation, the interaction with the physical materials, while the prints and screen play a supporting role.

If we're meeting a client at their space, we pack everything beautifully in cases and bags and even have arranged for tables and covers to be delivered ahead. This kind of curated experience, while a lot of work, has been successful with our clients. We recently presented our Mayfair Penthouse and Palazzo Belgioioso projects in this manner, and in both cases it really helped capture the clients' attention and secure most of the significant decisions in one comprehensive meeting.

Olivia:

A client presentation that I still think about today was for a couple who had recently purchased a historic loft in New York City. We were leading both the renovation and the art curation, and rather than presenting in an office, we decided to meet in the home itself. My team brought in a table and chairs and essentially created a temporary studio within the space. Being surrounded by the loft’s incredible bones allowed everyone to better visualize what we were trying to achieve architecturally, from an interior's perspective, and through the art collection.

Over the course of the day, we made major decisions with the architects regarding the layout and architectural details, finalized kitchen renderings, reviewed limewash and paint colors, and discussed key furniture and lighting pieces. It was an incredibly productive session, but what made it truly memorable was an unexpected surprise. We had commissioned a large-scale artwork for the living room, and we weren’t sure whether the artist would be able to attend the presentation. At the very last minute, he was able to join us. The piece was going to be highly personal to the clients and having the opportunity for them to meet the artist, hear about his inspiration, and discuss the vision for the work transformed the conversation.

Suddenly, it wasn’t just about designing a room—it was about creating an experience and a home that reflected who they were. What has stayed with me is how collaborative the entire day felt. Architects, designers, clients, and artist all came together in the space that would eventually become their home. Everyone left feeling inspired and excited, and there was a real sense that we weren’t simply making design decisions—we were helping shape the next chapter of our clients’ lives.

Manon & Ulisses:

One presentation that we still think about was for White Coffee on Rue Vieille du Temple in Paris. What made that project particularly memorable was the level of trust involved. For the first time, we were given almost complete creative freedom, which allowed us to fully develop our approach without compromise. The concept was carefully resolved and reflected something that continues to define our work today: a narrative approach to design.

We are always interested in creating spaces that tell a story and evoke a specific atmosphere rather than simply assembling materials, colours and furniture. For White Coffee, every design decision contributed to a coherent vision and a distinct identity. What stayed with us was the client’s reaction. The presentation quickly moved beyond the practical aspects of the project and became a conversation about the experience of the space and the emotions it would evoke. There was an immediate understanding of the story we were proposing, and a genuine excitement about bringing it to life.

We still think about that presentation because it marked an important moment for our studio. It showed us the value of trust in the creative process and reinforced our belief that the strongest projects emerge when clients connect with the narrative behind a space as much as with the design itself.

Will:

Among a long list of peculiar and profound presentations - boardrooms full of suits, midnight in a Jakarta coffee shop, a presentation in the hilly rice fields of Bali, and many in my early days from my bedroom - the most memorable was with a very special family on their hilltop property in the Byron Bay hinterland overlooking Mount Wollumbin.

We were presenting the final concept design and decided to follow the formal presentation with an augmented reality demonstration of the project. After some time awaiting a reprieve from the unrelenting torrential rain, we opted to take our chances, put on the headset and head into the chaos.

For the next half hour, we took turns wandering through the design, frolicking through the wet grass, completely soaked and exhausted from laughing. It was a powerful moment in a beautiful project, and one that has stayed with me ever since.

Before a client walks in for the presentation meeting, do you set the scene at all — lighting, scent, music, for example? What atmosphere are you trying to create?

Melanie & Micaela:

We are always looking to create a comfortable, positive, and effortless environment for our clients, so that they come away from a presentation feeling inspired and taken care of. In some cases, yes — this could be scent, lighting, sound levels, a favourite drink or snack — but it's also often just being thoughtful. That might mean arriving early to set things out just so, sending a courtesy reminder beforehand, or keeping time during the meeting. Above all, we aim to create an atmosphere of calm, ease, and wonder.

Olivia:

We don’t try to overdo it, but we’re definitely perfectionists, so every detail is considered. The atmosphere is always calm and welcoming. We might have bossa nova playing quietly in the background, a Perfumer H Orange Blossom candle burning, and coffee and green tea available alongside a small tray of almonds and dark chocolate. Nothing is meant to be distracting—the goal is simply to create an environment where clients feel comfortable, relaxed, and excited to spend a few hours making decisions.

That said, I think the real scene isn’t the music or the candle. It’s the preparation. By the time a client walks into a presentation, we’ve thought through every detail of the project. What they see on the table is our vision for how the space should look and feel, informed by everything they’ve shared with us. But we’re also prepared for the conversation to evolve. We have additional samples, swatch books, references, and alternatives ready to go because clients often discover new preferences when they see everything together. I’m the type of designer who likes to have a visual dictionary at my fingertips. If a client suddenly wants to explore a lighter white for a sofa, a different stone, or another finish, we can have that conversation in real time rather than circling back weeks later.

Ultimately, the atmosphere we’re trying to create is one of confidence. We want our clients to feel that they’ve been heard that we’re prepared for every question, and that they’re in good hands. The candle and the music are lovely, but delivering a thoughtful, organized presentation and helping clients make meaningful decisions is what creates a truly memorable experience.

Manon & Ulisses:

Not really. We don’t tend to stage presentations with specific lighting, music or scent. In fact, many of our presentation meetings happen in cafés rather than formal meeting rooms. We’ve always preferred environments that feel relaxed and familiar. A café creates a different kind of conversation: it’s less formal, less performative, and often more conducive to honest exchanges.

People tend to speak more freely and react more intuitively than they would around a boardroom table. For us, a presentation is not about creating a spectacle around the project. It’s about creating a connection. Interior design is ultimately something very personal, even intimate, because it shapes the way people live, work, gather and experience a place.

We try to create an atmosphere where clients feel comfortable enough to share their instincts, emotions and doubts as well as their expectations. The goal is not to impress them with a presentation, but to build a genuine dialogue around the project.

Will:

Through our space, we want to embody the work we produce and share not only our identity as a practice, but also the personalities of the people within it. We tend to live in the studio much the same way we present it when clients, suppliers or friends visit - there's no set formula, nor carefully staged atmosphere.

There is always music playing and often a scent, but these things tend to reflect the mood of the day rather than being deliberately curated. More than anything, we try to create an environment that feels warm, relaxed and authentic, where conversation comes naturally and clients feel comfortable being themselves.

There are more places than ever for clients to pull references from now. How would you steer a client away from a direction you knew wasn't right, without making them feel their idea was being dismissed?

Melanie & Micaela:

Our clients enjoy how genuinely collaborative we are. It's true that a client might pose an idea or piece that feels completely out of context with the design direction we've established — but it's sometimes these surprises that can make a project feel very personal. We always take on board their curiosity, even if it proves to be a fleeting interest, to understand whether the idea can be integrated or interpreted. And if it doesn't feel right, we don't shy away from saying so.

Recently at our Kensington Apartment project, our client insisted on veering from the streamlined contemporary style for the master ensuite at the very last minute — she had seen a new reference that had got her thinking, and asked us to mix and match a few different marble profiles on the same vanity. We were sceptical, but lucky enough to have the budget to prototype the look — and in the end the result was lovely. The unconventional pairing worked perfectly, and really felt like it expressed her personal style: grounded in tradition, with a dash of feminine softness.

Olivia:

It’s funny because I’ve been doing this for quite a while now, and I can remember having to navigate this exact situation with some of my very first clients. It’s something that comes up on every project, and over the years I’ve learned that the key is not to dismiss the reference, but to understand what’s behind it. When a client hires us, it’s a serious commitment. At the end of the day, it’s their home, and our job is to deliver something that makes them happy.

But they also hired us for our perspective, our experience, and our ability to see the bigger picture. The best projects are a true partnership, and I don’t think it can work any other way. I would never immediately steer a client away from an idea. Instead, I try to understand what they’re really responding to. Sometimes a reference doesn’t make sense to us at first glance, but it makes perfect sense to them. Maybe they’re responding to a feeling, a material, a sense of comfort, or a memory associated with the image. My job is to dissect that and translate it into something that works within the context of the home and the overall design vision.

There are certainly times when I may disagree with a specific direction, but that doesn’t mean the conversation stops there. Often, those are the most productive discussions because they force us to dig deeper and arrive at a better solution. Sometimes I’ll even say, “Let me sit with this for a week and come back to you.” Not because I’m avoiding the question, but because I want to give them a thoughtful answer rather than a reactive one.

Manon & Ulisses:

References are incredibly valuable because they reveal what a client is responding to, even when the image itself isn’t the right solution. Rather than explaining why a reference doesn’t work, we try to understand what the client likes about it. Is it the materiality? The sense of calm? The proportions? The social atmosphere? Once we’ve identified the underlying quality, we can explore ways of achieving the same feeling through a design that is more appropriate to the project.

Clients rarely become attached to a reference because of the reference itself. They become attached to what it represents. If we focus on that, the conversation becomes collaborative rather than corrective. Our role is not to dismiss ideas, but to translate them. Often, the most interesting projects come from looking beyond the image itself and understanding the intention behind.

Will:

It can be difficult to navigate, but we generally try to avoid the mindset that we know better than the client, or that we're inherently 'right'. Of course, we bring experience and a trained perspective to the table, but the greatest risk is dismissing an idea with haste.

Rather than steering clients away, rather, we try to milk the idea. Often it's not the reference itself that's most valuable, but the feeling, quality or experience behind it. Our projects are littered with powerful ideas pitched by the client - ideas that could have easily been snubbed.

What's something you used to do in presentations that you've stopped doing, and why?

Melanie & Micaela:

We used to try to fit too much into a single session — longer meetings, denser content — on the assumption that more thorough meant more productive. What we learned is that our real goal is to capture quality attention, and that's a different thing entirely. So we stopped overloading presentations.

Now we keep content precise and a pleasure to review. Online sessions are capped at around 1.5 hours to avoid fatigue, and we break up longer in-person sessions with a mix of physical samples, spatial walk-through and printed materials pinned up around the room — even snack and lunch breaks, of course. Smooth, natural transitions between each part are key. Getting this right took a lot of practice, and we're constantly comparing notes and refining.

Olivia:

I think the better question for me is the opposite: what’s something I never used to do in presentations that I now consider essential? Early in my career, presentations were often much more open-ended. We’d have a discussion, explore ideas, and see where the conversation took us. As our projects have become larger and more complex, I’ve learned that structure is incredibly important.

Today, every presentation has a clear agenda, a timeline, and a list of decisions that need to be made before we leave the room. Most of our meetings are around two hours, and there are often critical approvals that need to happen for the project to move forward. If those decisions aren’t made, it can impact architects, contractors, fabricators, and ultimately the project’s schedule.

What I’ve learned is that creativity thrives within structure. We still create a beautiful presentation environment with samples, materials, drawings, and opportunities to explore new ideas, but we’re also very disciplined about keeping the conversation focused. It’s easy on a large project to spend fifteen minutes discussing something that ultimately has very little impact, while a major decision that affects the construction schedule gets pushed aside. So, while our presentations are always creative and collaborative, they’re also highly organized. We come in knowing exactly what needs to be accomplished, what approvals we’re seeking, and what deadlines we’re working toward.

My goal is for clients to leave feeling inspired, but also confident that the project is moving forward efficiently and that everyone is aligned on the next steps.

Manon & Ulisses:

Smoking!

In the early days of the studio, many of our presentations happened on café terraces, usually accompanied by an unreasonable number of cigarettes. At some point, we realised that not every client necessarily wanted to spend an hour sitting in a cloud of second-hand smoke while discussing floor plans and materials… so, we gradually retired that part of the process.

On a more serious note, we’ve also learned to simplify the way we present projects. We used to explain every decision in great detail. Today, we’re more interested in communicating the core idea clearly and leaving room for conversation. The most successful presentations are usually the ones that feel like a dialogue rather than a lecture.

Will:

Lately we’ve been placing less emphasis on typical milestone presentations. While they still have their place - particularly on larger projects with multiple stakeholders and consultant teams - we generally tend for a more fluid and collaborative process where it feels right.

We try to create an exciting and safe environment throughout the project where the client feels heard and valued, free to share ideas, test options and grow as an active participant in the design process - particularly for those new to design, it can take time to warm up and find your groove in being part of the team.

Of course, this approach comes with its challenges - it requires a degree of trust and openness from both client and designer, and without discernment can introduce greater susceptibility for change. However, with gentle guidance, we find that capturing input more frequently leads to better-informed decisions, fewer surprises, and ultimately a stronger outcome.

Ultimately, these moments should become fond memories for the client, the process is perhaps the most important part - in the words of a pivotal figure in my early career: ‘what if the purpose is the process? Maybe it doesn’t need to be built’, Greg Burgess.

Headshot Credits:

Duelle Studio / Giorgio Lattanzi
Olivia Stutz Design / Carina Lammers
aus / Matteo Verzini