Welcome to Design for Hope!

Design for Hope was born from the belief that our physical environment has a profound effect on how we feel, think, and behave. From colour to layout, texture to light, every element of a space sends subtle signals to our body and mind - shaping how safe, valued, and at ease we feel.

I see this truth playing out time and again - in my work with clients and in my own life.

Many years ago, when my youngest daughter was just 3 years old, she became critically ill. Hospital stays, surgeries, uncertainty, fear while trying to maintain a job and a sense of normalcy for my other two young children, took it’s toll. It was a traumatic time for the whole family.

In the midst of this chaos, I was gifted a reading chair - a beautiful, velvet, green chair. It was soft and comfortable and offered a moment here and there of much needed reprieve.

This chair offered something I hadn’t realised I was missing: a sense of being cared for. It was my first glimpse of how my physical surroundings could shape my ability to cope and to recover from a significant personal challenge.

That experience, 16 years ago now, planted the seed for Design for Hope. Over the last 5 years, Design for Hope has grown from that little seed into a force for good. We have been honoured to have been trusted with the redesign of spaces for organisations that are truly changing lives.

Our first major trauma-informed design project was Erin’s Place, a 5 bedroom, multi-living space refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence. What a wild ride that was! Between covid lockdowns and working with an incredible team of dedicated volunteers from Dulux, Luxaflex, Bunnings and more, this project was more inspiring and rewarding and exhausting than we could have ever imagined! It was The Block on steroids!

But our goal wasn’t to win a styling competition. Our goal for Erin’s place was to transform a bland, institutional house into a warm and welcoming home. We wanted to help the residents feel worthy so they could start to hope for a better future. And we did - after the renovation, one resident said “When I walked into my bedroom, I felt worthy. I was thinking is this really for me?”

There is no doubt in my mind that design has the power to restore self-worth and a sense of possibility.

Today, Design for Hope works with health and community services, and corporate leaders to bring trauma-informed design into the spaces where people live, work, and heal. Guided by our Hope Hierarchy™ framework, we’re helping organisations move beyond good intentions and create evidence-based environments that actively reduce psychosocial risk, rebuild dignity, and restore hope.

I believe in the power of business to drive social change and I love to collaborate with like-minded leaders to make a meaningful difference.