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Ruby Shields says taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the pandemic helped her decide to pursue interior design professionally. She and her partner, Patrick, spent seven years renovating their early-1980s home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges; the project became a foundation for her design practice, Studio Shields.
Interior designer Ruby Shields says Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass helped prompt her to pursue design professionally, after she and partner Patrick spent seven years renovating their home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges. The house, which they bought in their early twenties, became the creative foundation for Studio Shields, Ruby’s design practice, according to a Livingetc profile.
The couple found the early-1980s home in the hills outside Melbourne while seeking a place of their own and room to experiment. Ruby was then an art director in advertising, while Patrick was a second-year carpentry apprentice. They named the property “The View” for its position above a canopy of gum trees. Ruby told Livingetc that they removed an entryway wall that had obstructed the outlook, so visitors could see the treetops when they entered.
The house needed substantial work. Its lower level had no connecting staircase and was largely an exposed frame cut into the hillside. The couple renovated it gradually while living there, designing and making details including custom joinery and brass handles. Ruby said they used reclaimed materials for bespoke pieces, describing the approach as a way to make limited funds go further and build more sustainably. Patrick’s carpentry skills shaped much of the work.
Ruby told Livingetc that during the Covid period, she took Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass and recognized that she wanted to spend her time on interior design. By the end of the home renovation, she had started Studio Shields. The reported details present the home as an expression of her approach: layered textures, distinctive objects, and a palette inspired by the surrounding landscape, including brown, rust and green tones with a blue ceiling.
How a Home Became a Design Practice
The report offers a concrete example of a personal renovation becoming professional work: the Shields’ home served both as a long-term project and as a demonstration of Ruby’s design ideas. For readers interested in interiors, the account links career development to practical choices made in one property, including working within a budget, repurposing materials and building custom elements with a partner’s carpentry skills.
It also shows the limits of what can be inferred from a design profile. Ruby credits the MasterClass as a turning point in her decision, but the source does not establish that the course alone caused her career change. Her earlier interest in interior design, the renovation itself and her existing creative work are all part of the reported story.
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Seven Years of Work at The View
The property’s hillside setting and treetop outlook informed the renovation from the start. Ruby told Livingetc that the house felt like a treehouse when they first entered. Opening the entry sightline to the gum trees became one of the changes that connected the interior more directly to its setting.
The design developed room by room rather than through a single, completed overhaul. Reported features include glossy green wall tiles, a bedroom headboard made from reclaimed wharf timbers, and a guest-room rug that continues up the timber headboard. Ruby described combining unusual objects as a way to create a narrative, and said the aim was for a home to feel like its inhabitants. The Livingetc feature identifies the photography as Martina Gemmola’s and credits the design to Studio Squire, while the career account refers to Ruby’s practice as Studio Shields; the source does not explain that naming difference.
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Details the Profile Does Not Establish
The Livingetc report does not give the renovation’s total cost, completion date or detailed timeline, beyond saying the work took seven years and that the career turning point came during the Covid period. It also does not provide independent evidence about the MasterClass’s effect on Ruby’s business or describe Studio Shields’ client work, size or current projects.
The source uses both Studio Shields and Studio Squire in connection with the home and design credits, without explaining whether the names refer to different practices or a crediting arrangement. Further details about that distinction are not provided.
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Studio Shields Beyond the Home
The report does not announce a forthcoming project or business milestone for Studio Shields. Its account ends with the home as a record of the Shields’ renovation and Ruby’s development as a designer. Any next steps for the practice, including new commissions or plans for the property, remain unreported.
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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 make interior design her career. The report also describes her earlier interest in design and the renovation she undertook with Patrick.
How long did the renovation take?
Ruby and Patrick spent seven years building and renovating their home, according to the Livingetc profile. The article does not provide a precise start or completion date.
Where is the home?
The house is in Australia’s Yarra Ranges, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, according to the report. It sits above a canopy of gum trees.
What design choices define the house?
The profile describes layered textures, reclaimed timber, custom joinery and a landscape-inspired palette of browns, rust and greens, accented by a blue ceiling. Ruby said the aim was to make the home feel personal to its inhabitants.
What remains unknown about Studio Shields?
The article does not detail the practice’s client list, current projects, business scale or future plans. It also does not explain why the home’s design credit uses the name Studio Squire while Ruby’s practice is identified as Studio Shields.
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