A Melbourne-based interior designer and artist who has worked with WOWOWA, Studio Co & Co and Danielle Brustman has struck out on her own, officially launching with the completion of a small bookstore project in Melbourne.

Chiara Hunwick always knew that starting her own studio was on the cards. She just assumed it would develop within a more traditional interior design practice structure, one where object design and art happened “on the side”.

“Realising that my interiors work could be both art and design has allowed me to build a practice that truly fits how I work: mixing process with play and prioritising intellect and intuition in equal measure,” she tells Australian Design Review.

With an educational background in fine art, literary and cultural theory, and interior design, Hunwick has worked across an eclectic mix of practices since landing her first job at Baldasso Cortese as an interior design student in 2015. Others include BAR Studio, ClarkeHopkinsClarke, Danielle Brustman’s studio, WOWOWA and Studio Co & Co, where Hunwick led the design of Melbourne restaurant Elio’s Place up until contract administration.

“Large architectural studios shaped my interest in education design and neuroinclusive environments, while later experience in high-end hospitality, exhibition design and small practice taught me both creative confidence and the value of close client relationships,” she says.

In 2024, Hunwick took the leap and started Hunney Studio, a small interiors practice with “bright ideas, a big heart and a playful curiosity across disciplines”, she says. As an emerging practice, Hunney crafts interiors that “work hard, feel good, tell stories and never play it safe”. 

The studio moniker is a riff on Hunwick’s surname, which literally means ‘honey farm’. “It doubles as a term of endearment,” she explains, “which felt right for a practice interested in creating spaces that are warm, generous and lasting.”

With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that Hunwick has chosen Ramona Bookstore on High Street, Northcote, as the official first project credited to her studio. Drenched in buttery and jammy hues – layered with caramel gradient floor tiles and unexpected moments of art – the independent neighbourhood bookshop heroes its product and echoes the warmth of its staff.

Developing the concept for Ramona Bookstore

Ramona Bookstore occupies the building that previously housed Neighbourhood Books. New owners Katie Smith and Anthony Zaccaria stepped in to save the shop when they learned it was closing. 

According to Hunwick, their brief was to design a community hub that would feel inclusive and welcoming, defined by a sense of warmth, ease and discovery. “The Ramona brand needed to feel fresh and quietly unexpected,” she says.

Smith and Zaccaria were both friends and clients. Hunwick had worked with them before, so they shared a pre-exisiting trust and shorthand. 

“I spent my teens and early twenties working in bookshops before moving into interiors, so when Katie texted to say, ‘We’ve got your next project. It’s a bookstore,’ the concept came together in a blink,” Hunwick says.

The name ‘Ramona’ was set from the start. Originally chosen for Smith’s future baby girl, it became the name for the bookshop when Smith’s home study was converted into a nursery for her third son. “The bookshop is designed as a literal extension of their house, allowing the space to take on the function of the lost private room and a name without a home,” Hunwick says. “This prompted a deep dive into the parlour as a visual reference point.”

The project was delivered in two key stages. Stage one was a light-touch transformation – a case of “putting a bit of lipstick on and trying to sell some books”, Hunwick says. The palette developed during this phase carried through into stage two, avoiding unnecessary repainting.  

Stage two was more expansive. “The site conditions were tricky. We needed the space to perform hard, and bookselling is a low-margin retail model,” Hunwick says. “Rather than throwing money at the challenging site conditions, we designed around the constraints. For example, the large rusty red curtain is a defining feature, but also discreetly conceals electrical and plumbing services that couldn’t be relocated or recessed. There are countless small moments where this dual way of thinking plays out. Nothing is purely decorative.”

Championing product and colour

Hunney Studio took cues from the original site and the colour palette emerged from there. The caramel gradient floor tiles had been painted white, and Hunney Studio had them carefully scrubbed back to reveal their character. 

“We offset this base with buttery, jammy and citrus paint selections,” Hunwick says. “The hints of chartreuse and lilac were drawn from a custom fabric we’d featured in the clients’ home, helping visually bridge the two spaces.”

Moments of intentional contrast were introduced to keep the space from feeling “overly nostalgic”. Monolith forms, including the point of sale and new release walls, sit alongside unexpected material choices such as orange cork, drawing the eye to key moments and product areas throughout the space. 

The interior is dotted by commissioned still-life oil paintings and a custom hand-painted pendant light. But, according to Hunwick, “the books are the real artwork”.

“People really do judge a book by its cover, so face-out display was prioritised throughout the store,” Hunwick says. “From the window display and new release wall to key sections within the shop, each zone includes dedicated face-out moments to support browsing and discovery.

“Ultimately, the most important way the design supports the product is by encouraging people to linger. From our first briefing conversation, it was clear that events and community would be central to Ramona’s identity. Book clubs, launches and conversations are as much a part of the offering as the books themselves, and the space was designed to support gathering, conversation, return visits.”

What’s next from Hunney Studio?

Ramona Bookstore may be modest in scale, but it offers a strong indication of Hunney Studio’s evolving design language. According to Hunwick, the space signals the studio’s broader direction, a precursor to its residential projects scheduled for completion in 2026, as well as a collection of objects and furniture in development, which are “grounded in iconography of sentimental keepsakes”.

“We approached Ramona the way we approach every project,” Hunwick says. “It is personal and layered, drenched in colour and texture, and shaped by pragmatic design decisions, but grounded in cultural thinking as much as colour theory. That balance between intuition and intent is central to how we work and why we love doing this.”

Related: Read ADR’s feature on Elio’s Place from 2025.