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Ruby and Patrick Shields spent seven years renovating an early-1980s home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges. Ruby says taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the Covid period prompted her to pursue interior design professionally; she later launched Studio Shields, with the home serving as a showcase of the practice’s approach.
Ruby Shields says taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the Covid period helped prompt her to pursue interior design professionally, after years spent renovating a home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges with her partner, Patrick. The seven-year project became the basis for her design practice, Studio Shields, and a working example of the layered, personal interiors she advocates, according to a profile by Livingetc.
The couple bought the early-1980s house in their early twenties. At the time, Ruby worked as an advertising art director, while Patrick was a second-year carpentry apprentice. The property, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, had a lower level without a connecting staircase and an exposed frame cut into the hillside. They saw the unfinished house as an opportunity to make a home and develop their skills.
Ruby said the home’s position above a canopy of gum trees gave it a treehouse quality, inspiring the name The View. The couple removed a hallway wall that had obstructed the outlook so the treetops could be seen from the entrance. They renovated the house gradually while living in it, designing and making details including custom joinery and brass handles. Patrick’s carpentry shaped many of the bespoke elements.
Ruby told Livingetc that the MasterClass helped her recognize she wanted to work in interior design full-time. By the end of the renovation, she had launched Studio Shields. The home combines reclaimed timber, tactile finishes and a palette influenced by the surrounding landscape, including browns, rust, greens and a bright blue ceiling. Ruby described reclaimed materials as a way to make bespoke pieces while taking a more sustainable approach to construction.
A Renovation Became a Design Practice
The story illustrates how a personal renovation can serve as a portfolio and a practical test of a designer’s ideas. For Ruby, the house was not simply a finished project: its rooms and custom details helped articulate an approach she could carry into professional work through Studio Shields. The reported account also shows the role that collaboration played. Ruby described directing the design while Patrick brought the pieces to life through carpentry.
The project’s constraints shaped its outcome. The couple worked on the house over seven years and used reclaimed materials and bespoke construction to make the available budget go further, Ruby said. That combination of hands-on work, material choices and a strong sense of personal style is relevant to readers interested in how design practices develop from lived experience, rather than from a single formal project.
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From Tree-Canopy House to Studio Shields
The home’s original layout did not make the most of its setting. Ruby told Livingetc that a hallway blocked the view on entry; removing a wall opened the sightline to the trees. The kitchen also faces the canopy, giving the landscape a visible role in everyday use. The house’s hillside structure and unfinished lower level made the renovation substantial, while allowing the couple to work through the building room by room.
Ruby’s design decisions include a green tiled wall for added texture, an asymmetrical lighting arrangement in the main bedroom and a carved headboard made from reclaimed wharf timbers. In the guest room, she ran a rug up the timber headboard. These details reflect her stated interest in combining unusual objects and materials into a narrative. She told Livingetc that a home should feel like the people who live in it.
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What the Profile Does Not Establish
The Livingetc account does not give the renovation’s total cost, a detailed project timeline or the date Studio Shields launched. It also does not describe the MasterClass curriculum or establish that the course alone led to Ruby’s career decision; the turning-point account comes from her own recollection. The profile focuses on the couple’s home and their design process, rather than reporting on the practice’s client list, current projects or business performance.
The article identifies the renovation as a seven-year effort but does not specify the exact start and completion dates. It is also unclear from the report how much of the work was done by the couple themselves compared with outside tradespeople. Those details would be needed to assess the project’s full scope and cost.
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Studio Shields Beyond the Home
The profile does not announce a new project or business milestone. Its forward-looking significance is that the renovated house now serves as a visible expression of Ruby’s design practice. Readers seeking updates on Studio Shields will need to consult the practice’s own channels or later coverage; the Livingetc report does not set out a forthcoming project schedule.
For the couple, the home remains both a place to live and an example of their shared work. The account leaves open how the practice will develop beyond the house, what projects it is undertaking and whether the same design methods will be applied for clients. No additional announcements or dates are provided in the source report.
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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 presents this as her personal account of the turning point.
Where is the Shields’ home?
The house is in Australia’s Yarra Ranges, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne. The couple named it The View because of its position above a canopy of gum trees.
How long did the renovation take?
Ruby and Patrick Shields spent seven years renovating the house, working on it during evenings and weekends. The source does not provide exact start or completion dates.
What is Studio Shields?
Studio Shields is Ruby Shields’ design practice, which she launched by the end of the home renovation, according to Livingetc. The profile does not provide details about its client roster or current projects.
What design ideas define the home?
The house features a landscape-inspired palette, layered textures, custom carpentry and reclaimed materials. Ruby told Livingetc that she aims to make a home feel personal to the people who live in it.
Source: rss
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