Knowledge Base

ST Design & Build is a principal led luxury architecture and interior design studio based in Alexandria, Sydney, founded and led by Stella Taleb. We design and deliver high end homes across Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and beyond, from considered renovations of period homes to new architectural houses and residential developments. The studio is built around a single idea, that a home should feel calm, considered and enduring, which we describe as quiet luxury.

Most projects pass through several hands, an architect, an interior designer, a documenter and a builder, each working in isolation. We bring all of that under one direction. From the first sketch to the finished house, the same studio directs the architecture, designs the interiors, and carries the documentation, approvals and construction, working with a trusted team of architects, builders and consultants. This continuity removes the gaps where quality and budget usually slip, and it means one studio is accountable for how the home looks, how it is built and how it feels to live in.

Stella Taleb is an interior architect and interior designer, not a registered architect, and that distinction matters to us. Where a project calls for architectural services, we work closely with trusted architects, with Stella creative directing the architecture and working alongside them to shape and prepare the design. The architecture and the interiors are developed together as a single vision, under one creative direction, while the registered architectural work is carried by qualified architects. You get one considered vision across the whole home, with the right expertise behind every part of it.

Yes. Stella is an interior architect and the creative director of the architecture on our projects, and she works closely with trusted architects to shape and prepare the design. This brings the architecture and the interiors together under one creative vision, while the registered architectural work is carried by qualified architects. It is a collaboration that gives our clients a single, consistent direction across the whole home.

Stella has practised in interior architecture and design since 2003, with international experience across Scandinavia and Europe before establishing the studio in Australia. ST Design & Build works today from its Alexandria studio, designing and delivering luxury residential projects across Sydney and selected locations overseas.

Our studio is at AR2, 252 Botany Road, Alexandria, in Sydney's inner city. It holds a by appointment showroom where clients view materials and finishes and build their mood boards in one considered setting.

Yes, by appointment. At our Alexandria showroom we sit with you over a curated collection of material and finish samples, so you can understand the options and the feel of each material in one place. Project specific samples are brought in for each job, and the final stone slabs are chosen in person with you at our suppliers, where the full slabs can be seen before anything is cut.

We offer a full interior architecture and design service, delivered through to construction. This spans floor plan optimisation, spatial planning, joinery, kitchens and wet areas, finishes and lighting design, along with the technical schedules that make a home work, including electrical, plumbing, finishes, joinery, appliances and fixtures, and door hardware. Alongside design we provide documentation and approvals, project management and construction, so a project can move from first idea to completed home within one studio. Styling and soft furnishings, which include loose furniture, curtains and artwork, are offered as a separate service.

Our interior architecture service reworks how a home is planned and built, not only how it looks. It includes optimising the floor plan and flow, designing joinery and built in cabinetry, planning kitchens, bathrooms and other wet areas, selecting finishes and materials, and designing the lighting. It also covers the detailed schedules that the trades build from, for electrical, plumbing, finishes, joinery, appliances and fixtures, and door hardware. The result is a home that is resolved down to the last detail before work begins on site.

Yes, as a separate service. Furniture curation and styling, which includes loose furniture, curtains, rugs, artwork and the final layering of a home, is offered on top of the core interior architecture. Many clients choose to have us carry the vision all the way through to the styled, finished home, so that every element sits comfortably together.

We provide both. ST Design & Build is a design and build studio, which means we can take a project from concept through documentation and approvals and into construction, delivered with the dedicated builders we work with. You can engage us for design alone, or for the full journey from first sketch to handover.

It means one studio holds the whole project, so you are not managing the handovers between an architect, a designer and a builder, and you are not left translating between them. The people who designed your home are the same people who document it, cost it and see it built. Decisions are made once, carried through faithfully, and nothing is lost in the gaps. For you that means fewer surprises, clearer communication and a finished home that matches the one you were shown.

Yes. We prepare the full set of drawings and documentation a project needs, from the design drawings through to the detailed construction documentation and schedules the builder and trades work from. Thorough documentation is where quality and budget are protected, so we invest heavily in getting it right before anything is built.

Yes. We prepare and manage the approval pathway for your project, whether that is a Complying Development Certificate or a Development Application, and we coordinate the consultants each path requires. We begin every project that changes a plan or a building by obtaining and reading the planning certificate, the title and any easements, and the survey, and we check the design against the relevant controls before anything is lodged or issued.

Yes. Lighting is treated as part of the architecture rather than an afterthought. We design the lighting layout and its layers, from the ambient light that shapes a room to the detail that lifts a stone wall or a joinery piece, and we document it fully for the electrician.

Yes. Kitchens, butler's pantries, wardrobes, vanities and bespoke cabinetry are a core part of what we do. We design joinery in detail and specify it precisely to the joiner, so the finish, the hardware and the proportions are exactly as intended.

The cost of engaging the studio depends on the scope, scale and complexity of your project, and on how far you take us, from design alone through to full construction. Rather than quote a single figure, we establish an understanding of your budget early and tailor the level of involvement to suit the ambitions and the realities of the work. We then keep cost visible and discussed throughout, rather than revealed only at the end.

Cost per square metre varies with site conditions, the level of structural change, the materials chosen and the depth of detail specified, so a single rate can mislead more than it helps. A considered renovation and a bespoke new build sit at very different points. We give you a meaningful and accurate estimate once the design direction and scope are clear enough to stand behind, rather than a number that has to be corrected later.

Early. We establish an initial understanding of cost in the first stages, once we have a feel for the scope and the site, and we refine and update it as the design develops. Our belief is that cost should be communicated consistently through the whole project, so you can make considered decisions from the beginning rather than discovering the number only when it is time to build.

We do not work to a fixed minimum, but the nature of what we do, bespoke design delivered to a high standard, suits clients for whom quality and enduring value are central to the brief. If you are considering a project, the best first step is a conversation, where we can quickly tell you whether the studio is the right fit.

The largest drivers are usually the extent of structural change, the site itself, the materials and finishes, and the level of bespoke detail. A difficult site, significant excavation, natural stone used generously, bespoke joinery throughout and a high standard of finish all add cost, and each is a choice. We help you understand where your budget delivers the most feeling and where it can be spent more quietly, so the money follows what matters to you.

Yes. We treat the budget as a design constraint from the outset, not as a correction made later. Materials, structure and detailing are chosen with both quality and cost in mind from the first stages, and where adjustments are needed we manage them carefully so the integrity of the design holds.

Yes, when it is needed, and as part of the design thinking rather than as a blunt cost cut. Where a budget needs to be met, we look for ways to hold the feeling and quality of the design while adjusting how it is built or what it is made from. The aim is always to protect what makes the home special.

Fees are tailored to the scope and the services you engage, and we set them out clearly before any work begins. Because we can deliver design alone or the full path through to construction, the structure depends on how far you take the studio. We will always explain what is included, so there are no surprises.

Timelines depend on the scale, the complexity, the approval pathway and the level of detail, so a small considered renovation and a new architectural home sit worlds apart. Because one studio holds the design, documentation, approvals and construction, decisions are made once and carried through, which removes much of the friction that slows projects down. We set out a realistic programme for your specific project early, and we protect the time that resolution and quality genuinely need.

It depends on the pathway and the council. A Complying Development Certificate can be considerably faster than a Development Application, which is one reason we assess the right pathway at the very start. We prepare thorough, well considered submissions and read the site controls carefully before lodging, which gives a project the best chance of a smooth approval.

We can begin the design process as soon as we are engaged. For projects that change a plan or a building, the practical starting point is a detailed survey of the site along with the planning certificate, title and any easements, which we obtain and read before designing. From there the design begins.

Sooner than many expect, because the project is structured from the outset for delivery. By resolving the key design decisions early, documenting thoroughly and settling the approval pathway, we reduce the delays that usually appear later. A fully resolved set of documents is what allows construction to begin with confidence and move without constant pauses.

In broad terms, a project moves through understanding and briefing, concept design, design development, documentation and approvals, and then construction and handover, with styling layered in where engaged. Because the studio holds all of these stages, each one builds cleanly on the last rather than being handed to a new party who has to start again.

Every project begins with understanding, your aspirations, the qualities of your home or site, and the way you want to live. From there the architecture and interiors are developed together, tested and refined, with the budget and the planning considered from the start rather than bolted on later. We keep you close to the process through clear conversations and visuals, and because the same studio carries the work into documentation and construction, the home you are shown is the home that gets built.

The first conversation is a focused discussion about your project, what you hope to achieve, the qualities of your home or land, and how you want to live in it. We explain how we work, how design, approvals and construction come together under one studio, and we form a shared sense of direction. The intention is clarity and alignment, not to resolve every detail on the first day.

A simple sense of your project is enough to begin, the location, your broad ambitions for the home, and any constraints you are aware of. It does not need to be fully formed. A clear sense of intent is often more useful at this stage than a detailed brief, and anything you already have, site details, photographs or references, helps us frame the conversation.

As involved as you wish to be. The home is yours, so we keep you close through the decisions that shape it, presenting the design clearly and walking you through the choices and what they mean. Some clients want to be part of every detail, others prefer to set the direction and trust us to carry it. We adapt to how you like to work.

By holding the whole project in one studio and by resolving it thoroughly before site. Cost and programme are considered from the first stages, the documentation is detailed enough to build from without guesswork, and because the designers, documenters and builders work together, decisions do not get lost or reworked. Most slippage happens in the gaps between parties, and we have removed those gaps.

Yes. While we place real value on understanding a site and a home in person, much of the design process is managed through clear communication, considered visuals and regular reviews. This lets us work closely with clients wherever they are, including those building in Sydney from overseas.

Yes. Many of our clients value privacy highly, and we treat every enquiry and every project with discretion throughout, from the first conversation to the finished home.

Our home is Sydney, with a particular depth of work across the Eastern Suburbs, and we also take on selected projects elsewhere in Sydney, regionally and overseas. Stella's background spans Norway, Sweden, France and Australia, including homes on the Côte d'Azur and in Paris, so the studio is comfortable working across different places and planning contexts while holding a consistent standard of design.

Yes, extensively. The Eastern Suburbs are at the heart of our work, including Darling Point, Point Piper, Bellevue Hill, Double Bay, Rose Bay, Vaucluse and Dover Heights. We understand the character of these neighbourhoods, their period homes and their planning context, including heritage considerations and the local councils, which allows us to design homes that belong to their setting.

Very likely, yes. We work throughout Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and the wider city, and we have dedicated pages for a number of the areas we work in most. If your suburb is not listed, it does not mean we cannot help. The studio regularly works across varied locations, so the best step is simply to ask.

Yes. We take on selected projects beyond Sydney, including regional and coastal locations, which call for a deeper engagement with landscape and site. Our approach travels well because it begins with understanding the specific place rather than applying a fixed formula.

Yes. Stella has designed homes internationally, including a house on the Côte d'Azur and an apartment in Paris, and has worked across Norway, Sweden and France. The studio is structured to work with clients and consultants in different locations while maintaining the same standard of design and oversight.

In most cases, yes, and where a project is in a new area for us, our experience across varied sites and councils lets us adapt quickly. We think about being local less as a fixed postcode and more as the ability to understand a place, its planning context and its character, and respond to it with precision.

It depends on your property and what you want to do. A Complying Development Certificate, or CDC, is a faster approval for work that meets a defined set of standards, while a Development Application, or DA, is assessed by council and suits work that falls outside those standards or sits on a more sensitive site. We assess the right pathway at the very start of your project, because it shapes the timeline, the process and often the design itself.

A CDC is a streamlined approval available when a project complies with the relevant codes, and it is typically faster and more certain. A DA is a merit based assessment by council, required when a project needs discretion, for example on a heritage property, a battle axe block or a site with particular constraints. Each path has implications for time, cost and what is possible, and choosing well at the outset matters.

Yes. Much of the Eastern Suburbs is made up of period and heritage homes, and working with them is a strength of the studio. We take the time to understand what can and cannot change, we engage with the relevant council and heritage requirements, and we design so that new work sits respectfully alongside the original while meeting the way people live today.

Yes. We regularly work within the planning frameworks of the Eastern Suburbs councils, including Woollahra, and we understand how to position a project thoughtfully within them. Even where a council is new to us, we approach it with care, reading the controls closely and engaging early.

A Section 10.7 planning certificate sets out the planning controls, zonings and constraints that apply to a property, and it is one of the first things we obtain and read before designing. It tells us what is permissible, what overlays or restrictions apply, and where the opportunities and the limits of a site lie. Reading it, along with the title, any easements and the survey, before a single line is drawn is a standing rule of the studio, because it protects you from designing something that cannot be approved.

For any project that changes a plan or a building, we start from a detailed survey of the site, the Section 10.7 planning certificate, the title search and any easement or restriction documents. We obtain and read these first, then run a careful check against the applicable controls and the site constraints. This groundwork is what lets the design proceed with confidence rather than being reworked later.

Both. We design and deliver considered renovations and extensions of existing homes, including period and heritage properties, as well as new architectural houses. Many of our Eastern Suburbs projects are the careful transformation of an existing home, bringing it up to a contemporary standard of living while respecting its character.

It depends on the home, the site and your goals, and it is one of the first questions worth answering well. A renovation can preserve the character and the value of a period home and often moves faster, while a new build offers complete freedom. We assess the structure, the planning context and your ambitions, and give you a clear, honest view of which path serves you best before any design begins.

Yes. We are experienced in reading an existing home, understanding what is worth keeping and where change will have the most effect, and reshaping it so it feels considered and current. The aim is a home that feels entirely resolved, not a series of additions.

We describe our approach as quiet luxury. It is warm, calm and enduring rather than loud or fashionable, built on natural light, generous proportion, honest materials and a deep attention to detail. The intention is a home that feels considered the moment you walk in, and that still feels right in ten years.

Quiet luxury is luxury you feel before you can name it. It is the warmth of natural stone, the fall of daylight through a room, the quality of a joinery detail and the calm of a well proportioned space, rather than anything showy. It favours honed and natural finishes over high polish, warm tones over cold, and a few beautiful materials used generously over many competing ones.

Light is the material we design with first. We plan orientation, openings, courtyards and framed views so that daylight moves through a home across the day, shaping how each room feels and supporting a calm, healthy way of living. Natural light is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to make a home feel luxurious.

Natural stone gives a home a sense of age, depth and permanence that no engineered surface can quite copy. We love travertine in particular for its warmth and texture, and stones such as marble and the more forgiving Taj Mahal quartzite for their quiet drama. Stone is one of the details that makes everything around it feel considered, which is why we select it carefully and use it with generosity.

By treating light, air, proportion and connection to the outside as fundamentals rather than extras. Homes that are well oriented, filled with natural light and calmly proportioned simply feel better to live in. We design with this in mind from the first stages, so the home supports how you want to live rather than something you have to adjust to.

We choose materials for how they feel, how they age and how they sit together, favouring natural, tactile and enduring finishes over trend. Selection happens with you at our Alexandria showroom over a curated set of samples, and for stone we go further and select the actual slabs in person at our suppliers, where the full slab and its movement can be seen before it is cut. No two slabs are the same, and that choice is often the difference between a good result and an exceptional one.

We design homes that are deeply connected to their outdoor spaces, including courtyards, terraces and pools, and we work with trusted landscape specialists where a project calls for it. The relationship between inside and outside is central to how a luxury home feels, so it is considered from the very beginning rather than added at the end.

Yes. Alongside private homes, the studio works on residential developments, bringing the same standard of design and detail to multiple residences. Our development concept Elysian, a complex of residences with curved travertine ribbon balconies and rooftop and podium pools, reflects how we think about luxury at this scale.

Casa Luma is the studio's signature architectural series, a set of houses built from the same five elements, earth, water, fire, air and light, shaped into a different home each time. The design language runs through curved glass block, oculus skylights, travertine, concrete, courtyards and pools, with light as the binding element. It is where we explore architecture as art.

Elysian is the studio's signature residential development concept, a complex of residences defined by curved travertine ribbon balconies, brick, and rooftop and podium pools. It carries the studio's quiet luxury into multi residence living.

Yes. Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and coastline, along with regional coastal sites, call for homes that open to their setting and stand up to it. We design coastal homes that connect to the water and the light while remaining calm, private and enduring.

The simplest way is to get in touch with a short note about your project, the location, your broad ambitions and anything you already know about the site. We will arrange a conversation to understand what you hope to achieve and explain how we would approach it. There is no need to have everything resolved first.

Yes. Early conversations are an important part of how we work and carry no obligation. They let you understand how the studio works, explore the potential of your project and decide whether there is a strong fit, before any commitment is made.

You can reach the studio by phone on 02 8964 9988 or 0420 404 488, or by email at contact@stellataleb.com.au. Our studio and by appointment showroom are at AR2, 252 Botany Road, Alexandria. We would love to hear about your project.