Meet Our Team of Experts

We are a team of creative and dedicated professionals with over 25 years’ experience in creating living spaces that complement the personality of the people who love them.

It’s our goal to ensure that our clients feel confident that the choices they are making will result in the best possible outcome for their personal needs.

That’s why we give you the same advice we would give our friends, because when you work with us, you become one.

MEET OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS

We are a team of creative and dedicated professionals with over 25 years’ experience in creating living spaces that complement the personality of the people who love them.

It’s our goal to ensure that our clients feel confident that the choices they are making will result in the best possible outcome for their personal needs.

That’s why we give you the same advice we would give our friends, because when you work with us, you become one.

Anne Hogarth

Director, Design & Decoration

A few years ago, Anne had a significant birthday and decided the time was right to change careers to something she truly loved. Trading in her corporate job and enrolling at the prestigious Sydney Design School, Anne graduated with a Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration. It was then that she embarked on the journey of sourcing pieces & developing relationships with suppliers in pursuit of providing a beautiful showroom that inspires and warms the homes of the Blue Mountains region.

And so, Thornton & Blake was born.

Anne considers her role as Interior Designer a ‘facilitator’ of her client’s vision, choosing to work with a client in a collaborative manner, supporting with as little or as much direction as the client feels they would like, whilst simultaneously sharing her knowledge, expertise and network of suppliers and artisans to deliver their very own unique design.

Focussed on a goal of delivering a space which reflects her client and their own personal story, Anne enjoys creating spaces that make her clients smile, where they enjoy spending time and most importantly, where they can truly feel ‘at home’. As the design process unfolds, Anne takes great pleasure in exploring her client’s collection of meaningful pieces, ensuring these items are thoughtfully included in the interior specification.

Guided by the bones of the house and what it dictates, overlaid with the clients’ preferences in look, feel, colour, texture and pattern, Anne’s portfolio reflects the diversity of the properties she works in, the clients that she works with and her affinity for timeless design.

 

Ellisha Gronlund

Colour Design & Fire Consultant

An experienced paint and colour consultant, Ellisha is inspired by the infinite world of colour, firstly and foremost considering the feeling of a space, the personality of her clients and the intended use of the area being repainted. She then considers the light, furnishings, flooring and surroundings to ensure a cohesive design with the colour selected.

Ellisha loves mixing paints and custom eye matching to create unique colours, ensuring the perfect fit for your project. When it comes to paint – both the product itself and its technical aspects – you’d be hard pressed to find someone more knowledgeable than Ellisha. Having spent the last 20 years working with paint, Ellisha has been called ‘The Paint Guru’ on more than one occasion!

Besides paint, Ellisha’s other area of expertise is fireplaces. Her deep product knowledge means she can easily help you identify a fireplace that will suit your home, budget and keep you warm on those chilly Mountain nights.

Originally trained in Graphic Design, composition is important in considering paint colours, application as well as fireplace selection for her clients. Ellisha also loves to share her wealth of knowledge in the areas of textiles and the Molmic lounge range at T&B.

Gillian Williams

Interior Decorator

A lifelong love of fabric and interiors encouraged Gill to seek out a job in this field over 15 years ago. A first degree in Art History and languages was an excellent starting point, as was growing up in Virginia in the US which is a state full of beautifully decorated historic homes and towns.

Courses over the years in interior decorating and soft furnishings fed her love. Like Anne, a significant birthday prompted her to act on her passion. She has since developed and owned her own interior decorating business in rural NSW and has worked in the Blue Mountains as a decorator for the past six years. Gill loves to help clients make their homes flow better and give them more joy.Her special area is window coverings, and she loves to work out appropriate and efficient solutions, both internal and external.This includes all types of blinds and awnings, shutters and curtains.She also has plenty of experience helping decorate the rest of the room with rugs, furniture, lighting and other accessories. Having been connected with the upper Blue Mountains since the early 80s, Gill loves the area and its natural beauty, architectural history and weather.

Jess Hassen

Design Assistant

In 2014, Jess studied interior design at the Commercial Arts Training College CATC where she not only gained invaluable design skills, but also an understanding of how to create stunning, yet practical spaces. Known for her creativity and ability to come up with effective design solutions for any sized-project, Jess has a knack for leaving her customers with a happy smile on their face and feeling inspired thanks to 10 years’ of customer service experience.

Fiona Harding

Interior Designer

Creativity has always been the driving force in Fiona’s life, first as a choreographer, and dance teacher and most recently as an Interior Designer. After making a “tree change” to the Blue Mountains, Fiona gained her diploma in Interior Design and Decoration while working in event management and styling, retail styling and product sourcing & buying. But her heart firmly belonged to interiors, so she started her own business working with clients near and far.

Fiona’s passion for design goes beyond aesthetics; she firmly believes home is a place that should evoke feeling, reflect the owner’s story, and enhance life through beauty and practicality. Fiona starts each new design based on elements that elicit positive emotion be it colour, texture, pattern, shape, simplicity, glamour, nature, warmth, humour, irregularity, or all of the above, applying consideration to every component of a project so that the elements in a space coalesce with harmony and style.

Years of experience in retail (Fiona has worked in, and decorated, some of the Mountains most beloved homewares emporiums) has given her special insight into product sourcing and she thrives on finding unique pieces that surprise and delight her clients.

Fiona’s love of dance remains, and she continues to be inspired by live performance, ballet, and music.

Jess Roche

Flooring Specialist

Jess has been specialising in flooring for 20 years, originally working in the Sydney based family business before making the Blue Mountains her home. Bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge in carpets, timber flooring, engineered flooring as well as vinyl alternatives, Jess understands all too well the importance of durability and practicality as well as aesthetic when selecting the right floors for your home. Jess is available for flooring consults at the Thornton & Blake showroom on Mondays and Fridays.

DO YOU NEED ADVICE FROM OUR EXPERTS?

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