The Style Segment with Bone + Blanc and BB Haus

This month on The Style Segment we had the pleasure of interviewing the talented design duo Court and Riss of Bone + Blanc Interiors, whose successful Interior Design Business has evolved into a second mentoring business BB Haus. Based in Newcastle and servicing the Hunter Region and beyond, let’s learn a little more about the creative entrepreneurs behind these two brands.

Amy: Tell us a bit about yourselves….

Court & Riss: We are Court and Riss and we own Bone + Blanc Interiors and BB Haus. We met about 6 years ago at a previous Interior Design job and became close friends shortly after. We are truly Ying and Yang, Chalk and Cheese – we boast very different personalities but complement each other perfectly and that is how our business runs so successfully.

Amy: You have two businesses, Bone + Blanc which is an Interior Design and Styling Studio, as well as BB Haus where you mentor creatives. Tell us a bit about your businesses, how they started and what services you offer.

Court & Riss: Yes we do have two businesses! Our baby is definitely Bone + Blanc Interiors, as it is our main business where we focus on the interior design for full architectural builds and renovations. We pride ourselves on purposeful and one of a kind design for all of our clients. We have also always run our business as a platform to educate and bring the design community together. That is where our new business BB Haus has branched from. We are now pulling back the curtain and giving all of our own business and design knowledge to other interiors based professionals (be that designers, decorators, stylists etc.) through group and 1:1 mentoring courses. The interiors industry can be very secretive and we want to change that. Our goal is to provide a safe space for other interiors based professionals to open up about their business struggles and to get the help they need to launch their business to the next level.

Amy: What’s the most common piece of advice that you offer to the creative that you mentor?

Court & Riss: The biggest piece of advice we give is to actively work on your mindset and self-growth. That’s the BASE of your business. Let’s be honest, running a business is hard work! If you don’t have the right mindset and tools to get through the hard times you will never be successful.

Amy: What do you know now that you wish you knew in the early days of business?

Court & Riss: There’s a lot we wish we knew when we were just starting out. But the biggest thing would have to be how to hold firm boundaries with clients and other people in the industry. Holding strong boundaries, not people pleasing and having amazing communication with the people around you will help you produce a business you truly love to work in everyday!

Amy: You have an upcoming mentoring course, Level Up. Can you tell us a bit about what the course involves and what the attendees will learn about?

Court & Riss: Our LEVEL UP program is a 12 week group mentoring course that includes a small amount of interiors based professionals who get to be mentored by us directly. It’s a really amazing and safe space where we open up about our own struggles, how we run our business and what has made us really successful. The course consists of 6 modules where we go through the roadmap of steps you need to actually run a successful business. We go through mindset, branding, finding your ideal client, legalities, pricing your services and how to deal with difficult clients. It honestly is so much fun for us getting to know all the creatives who join and for us to watch their businesses flourish as they implement the course into their own businesses. We always laugh and say “if only something like this existed for us when we started our business it would have saved us a lot of trouble”.

Amy: How would you describe your style?

Court & Riss: We produce a lot of different designs and styles for our clients. I think the great thing about us is that we are versatile and we do love doing different styles to accommodate our clients wants and lifestyle. We incorporate organic and earthy elements into all of our design regardless of the “style” so you could say that is our signature look!

Amy: Do you have a favourite white?

Court & Riss: Yes absolutely! Our absolute go to white is Dulux Snowy Mountain ¼. We probably use this in 90% of our clients homes. It’s the perfect white to fit into any palette whether it is warm or cool.

Amy: How do you stay creatively inspired?

Court & Riss: We both do different things, but I think the main principle is the same. Firstly, you can’t be creative if you aren’t filling your own cup and that’s something that we both do a lot. Secondly, creativity flows when it’s ready to. You can’t force yourself to sit down for eight hours in a day and expect yourself to be creative for eight hours. So leaving the space for that creativity to flow freely at any time of the day and not putting strict rules on that is something that is really important. And thirdly we definitely have interior design, architecture and anything design related embedded into our lives where we draw inspiration from other amazing creatives every day. Staying within that space is so important.

Amy: Where is your dream holiday destination?

Court & Riss: Take us anywhere there is a beach, cocktails and relaxation – we aren’t picky!

Amy: What are your favourite pieces from the Huntley + Co range?

To be honest Huntley + Co has the most beautiful range and everything you stock are things that we would personally specify for our clients to put into their homes. If we had to choose a few items that would be our absolute favourite they would be the Ada 3 Seat White Sofa, Chester Dining Chair in Oak, James Dining Table in Washed Oak and the Bisque Rug. They are all classics that we could style in any space no matter what the style.

Pictured above: Chester Dining Chair in Oak and James Dining Table in Washed Oak

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