Settling in the Blue Mountains and opening Blue Mountains Interiors with his wife Mandy in 2012 and subsequently co-founding Thornton & Blake with Mandy and Anne Hogarth gives Mike the opportunity to focus his energy on product design and placement, designing and manufacturing fireplaces, furniture and also finessing architectural layout.
Perhaps one of Mike’s greatest achievements was when a customer came to him with a pile of old wood – the remains of an old shed and timber fence – and asked him to turn it into a kitchen. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Mike went about turning it into an incredibly quirky, functional and inspiring space, reminiscent of old fruit boxes inside timber frames, complete with an old-fashioned plate rack across a window, making the most of the light to highlight an antique dinner set.
Whether you’re wanting a full makeover or a few tweaks, Mike will be able to turn your vision into a reality.

Before moving to the Blue Mountains, Mandy spent 10 years working in Sydney, honing her skills & creativity and working alongside great designers, architects and manufacturers. A proud achievement was as partner with the Peppers Hotel Group.
Mandy acted as Designer and Project Manager for many hotel and resort groups, developing, and refurbishing 5-star hotels. This role included total room fit out of up to 300 rooms per project, sourcing everything from furniture, bath towels… even the teaspoons!
Today, Mandy’s passion is product and business development, she is inspired and driven to source the best, the beautiful and the bespoke – basically anything that makes people go, “wow”!
If Mandy were to describe what makes her tick, it is being in the moment, working with like-minded, creative people, and transforming people’s homes. She would say the kitchen is the heart of the home, where family and friends gather to enjoy each other’s company and talk about food – another passion of hers. This is why she loves selling Esse cookers and demonstrating their capabilities. This feeling of coming together is probably why she also has a distaste for colourbond fences, the absolute pits of today’s home design with prison-like surrounds that she believes creates a division between people and community spirit.
When not busy working on exciting design projects, Mandy finds solace in nature, especially feeding three pet magpies at the studio where she loves to sit, feed and watch their antics. And of course, we can’t forget the beloved pet poodle “shop dog” Freddie, who loves to greet customers with a smile and a wagging tail!

Living and working in the Blue Mountains provides Anne with access to many highly talented local artisans including ceramicists, painters, weavers, glass blowers and lighting specialists, and the one-off pieces they produce feature in her interiors.
Anne translates her clients’ need into interiors that are tailored just for them. Her intuitive sense of colour and textiles creates a grounding elegance that characterises her work.
Combining the classic and contemporary, fine antiques and market treasures, she crafts warm, inviting spaces to be lived in and enjoyed, not simply looked at and admired.
Aside from the look of painted brick, Anne loves her two cats, Daphne & Niles (named after the characters in the comedy series Frasier) and food, so much so that her stomach often determines her travel itineraries with restaurants being booked before accommodation!