A childhood New York souvenir turns into a full-blown compass, and for Marcus Hay it points straight to a 20 year creative career in the US. We’re talking Manhattan apartments, the magazine years, and what it’s really like to build visual worlds for major lifestyle brands when the industry shifts under your feet. Now Marcus is back in Sydney, living with a view of a park instead of a brick wall, and he’s entering a new chapter with fresh eyes and a much calmer nervous system.

We chat about how place shapes taste and how your interior style quietly gathers clues from movies, travel and the objects you can’t throw away. Marcus shares a grounded approach to authentic interiors and styling: the reason a home feels “real” is rarely the perfect sofa. It’s the history, the patina, the personal touches and the small architectural oddities that suggest people have actually lived there. If you love layered, colour filled, lived in spaces, this one is packed with practical thinking you can apply to your own rooms and your client work.

We also get honest about the business side: the post GFC budget crunch, the constant flights, the not-so-glamorous hotels, and why slowing down can be the most radical creative decision. Marcus tells us about teaching creative direction and styling, and his new venture Annex 3000 in Alexandria, built around curation, collaboration and more community with less gatekeeping in the design industry.

Please follow along with Marcus Hay on his socials.

@marcushay , @annex.3000, Studio Marcus Hay

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