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Ruby Shields says taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the Covid period helped her decide to pursue interior design professionally. She and her partner, Patrick, spent seven years renovating their Yarra Ranges home, and Shields later launched Studio Shields; the home became a showcase for her approach to color, reclaimed materials and bespoke details.
Interior designer Ruby Shields says taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the Covid period helped prompt her to pursue design professionally, after years spent renovating a home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges with her partner, Patrick. A Livingetc profile describes how the seven-year project became a practical expression of Shields’ design approach and the foundation for her practice, Studio Shields.
The couple bought the early-1980s property while in their early twenties. At the time, Ruby worked as an art director in advertising, while Patrick was a second-year carpentry apprentice. They chose the house despite its unfinished lower level, which had no connecting staircase and included an exposed frame cut into the hillside. The renovation unfolded over evenings and weekends as they continued living in the home.
Shields told Livingetc that the property’s setting was central to its appeal: it sits among the gum trees, with views across the canopy. The couple removed a hallway wall that had obstructed the view from the entrance. The finished interior combines landscape-inspired colors, layered textures and custom-built features, including a sculptural timber vanity and a bedroom headboard made from reclaimed wharf timber.
Shields said she and Patrick made design choices with a limited budget, using reclaimed materials for bespoke elements. She described Patrick’s carpentry as an important part of their collaboration, while she directed the design. By the end of the renovation, she had started Studio Shields. The profile presents the home as the strongest example of the practice’s aesthetic, though it does not provide business figures or details about the firm’s project portfolio.
A Renovation Becomes a Design Practice
The profile connects a personal renovation to a professional change: Shields moved from advertising into interior design, using work on her own home to develop and demonstrate her ideas. The account offers a specific example of how a long-term residential project can serve as a portfolio, particularly when the owners take part in planning and making the finished details.
The house also shows how the couple worked within financial limits without treating every feature as a standard finish. Their use of reclaimed timber and custom joinery shaped the rooms and reflects Shields’ stated interest in sustainability and individual objects. The story is about one designer’s route into the field, not evidence that this approach guarantees commercial success or is accessible to every homeowner.
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Seven Years in the Yarra Ranges
The Shields bought the property in the hills about an hour’s drive from Melbourne. Ruby said it felt like a treehouse above the gum trees, and the couple named it The View. Its unfinished lower level made the project demanding, but the house offered space for Ruby to explore design and for Patrick to develop his carpentry skills.
The renovation proceeded one room at a time. The couple made details ranging from brass handles to larger pieces of joinery. Ruby described the palette as drawing on the surrounding landscape, with muddy browns, rust and greens offset by a bright blue ceiling. During the Covid period, she took Wearstler’s MasterClass and said it helped her recognize that she wanted to work in interior design full-time. Livingetc identifies the resulting business as Studio Shields.
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What the Profile Does Not Establish
Livingetc’s report does not give the exact dates the renovation began and ended, the total cost, or a detailed timeline for the launch of Studio Shields. It also does not specify how many clients the practice has served or describe its current workload. Shields’ account of the MasterClass as a turning point is her own; the report does not claim the class alone caused her career change.
The article focuses on the home and the couple’s design choices rather than independently documenting the business’s results. It provides no measures of the renovation’s environmental impact, including the volume of reclaimed material used, and does not compare costs with other construction methods.
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Studio Shields’ Work Beyond Home
The source report does not announce a forthcoming project or provide a schedule for additional work. The next developments for readers to watch are further details about Studio Shields’ client projects and how Shields’ residential renovation experience informs work for other homeowners. For now, the Yarra Ranges property remains the clearest example described in the profile of the practice’s approach.
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Key Questions
What prompted Ruby Shields to pursue interior design?
Shields told Livingetc that taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the Covid period helped her realize she wanted to follow a career in interior design.
Who renovated the Yarra Ranges home?
Ruby and Patrick Shields worked on the house together over seven years, designing and making features while living there. Ruby directed the design, and Patrick contributed his carpentry skills.
What is Studio Shields?
Studio Shields is the interior design practice Ruby launched by the end of the home renovation, according to Livingetc. The profile does not provide information about its size or number of projects.
What design features define the home?
The home combines a landscape-inspired palette, layered textures and bespoke details. Examples include a reclaimed-wharf-timber headboard, custom joinery and a bold blue ceiling.
How long did the renovation take?
Livingetc reports that the Shields spent seven years renovating the home. The article does not give exact start and completion dates.
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