Today we meet Royston Wilson from Royston Wilson Design. A heavyweight in the design industry, Royston is also known for his connection to KBDi – first as a founding member then as a board member and President, and most recently as the (now retired) Executive Director – as well as his time spent on the HIA (Vic) Kitchen & Bathroom Committee and his impressive swag of local, national and international awards.
Royston’s journey into the design world was not straightforward; his career has spanned such diverse industries as butchery, hairdressing and painting. Eventually, though, he discovered interior design and soon thereafter started winning awards and making a name for himself on the local and international scene.
After leaving school at 15, Royston worked a number of odd jobs before, incredibly, travelling to Australia on his own when he was 16 through the Big Brother scheme. He eventually worked all over the country, even (literally) running away with the circus for a stint before he ended up on the Mornington Peninsula where he settled for a longer period.
His odd-jobbing saw him involved in a number of renovations and remodelling projects. “I was always very handy,” he recalls. “I’d spend my pocket money on things I could pull apart and remake. I was fascinated with the technical nature of ‘things’ and I always wanted to know how they worked”.
Having met and married his wife Pamela, Royston was encouraged to attend adult education classes which he admits was daunting as someone who had never achieved well at school. But it was here that he connected with a teacher who was able to provide him with techniques to handle challenges such as dyslexia, which he now realised was one of the reasons he had always found schooling so difficult.
Following some time as a hairdresser – also a good fit as this is a very technically-minded profession – Royston decided he wanted to go continue his education. “I was always interested in colour,” he says. “In school, I was part of a national study into colour. All my classmates were tested to see how much of the colour spectrum we could see. Generally, women can see a much broader colour spectrum than men, but one in every hundred men can see the same range as women and I am one of those men”.
Originally Royston had his heart set on undertaking an Interior Design course at RMIT but this was not to be. But the story of how Royston was accepted into a Diploma of Interior Design and Decoration course at his local TAFE exemplifies his determined approach.
“I found out about the course and was told enrolment day was taking place in the near future. So, on the day, I went down and joined the queue. As I progressed through the queue, I chose my subjects, filled in forms and eventually paid my enrolment fee. When I reached the end of the queue they couldn’t find my name on the list – I was supposed to have submitted a folio and attended an interview! But, as I had all my other paperwork ready they stamped my form and let me in,” he says with a laugh.
After Royston graduated, he decided to start his own business. It took cleaning offices and shops at night while he was building up his own practice, but around 5 years later he was finally in a position to say he was a full-time designer. Then, in a move that would prove to be hugely impactful, he decided to enter an awards program.
Royston’s first success was with SIDA (Society for Interior Designers – now part of the DIA) where he was named “Best Kitchen – Runner Up”. His first national award was with HIA in 2001 which set in motion a cascade of awards all the way through to 2015 when he decided to “retire” from entering. In 2005, Royston was honoured with an SBID international award which he says was such an exciting, and humbling, experience.
In Royston’s career he has mostly been associated with bathroom design but his skill set has seen him involved with a wide variety of projects across building and interior design. As he became more well-known he was also invited to participate in industry events, as well as attending overseas design shows. He sat on the HIA (Vic) Kitchen & Bathroom Committee for almost 10 years and joined KBDi in 2007 before joining the national board in 2008, sitting as its President and being promoted to Executive Director in 2020.
“It was an honour to be asked to serve KBDi in this way,” he says. “I tried to use my time in these roles to foster ongoing education and establish connections with training organisations. As well as forging new and enduring relationships, I also worked on mending relationships where needed and I’m really proud of the work we’ve done”.
When asked what is on the horizon for the newly-retired Royston, he mentions catch-up lunches with industry associates and a renewed focus on private projects. “I’m looking to build the design practice back up but I’m very happy to make time to do other things,” he points out. “I’m lucky that I can be a bit more choosy about what projects I take on and I can focus more on those that are meaningful and interesting”.
When asked what advice he would give to anyone starting out this industry he is quick to answer with a laugh: “Don’t be too precious,” he says. “Stay humble and keep your head. Know when to ask for help and don’t be an island”.
If you’re interested in seeing more of Royston’s work, check out his Instagram @RoystonWilsonDesign and drop him a line.
