Industry experts at the Caroline Simpson Library discuss different approaches to creating interiors for house museums and film and television productions.

Join award winning production designer Melinda Doring; Craig McPherson, Senior Curator at the National Trust of Australia (NSW); and Joanna Nicholas from Museums of History NSW as they discuss different approaches to creating interiors for house museums and film and television productions.

Whether working on film and TV productions or historic houses and museums, what are the narratives that drive these interior designs and inspire the designers themselves? Melinda has sought inspiration from the collection of the Caroline Simpson Library when designing TV productions, including the recent Amazon Prime Video series 'The lost flowers of Alice Hart.' Craig worked with the library in the reinterpretation of Everglades House, Leura, while Joanna used the library’s collection in the revitalisation of the drawing room at Vaucluse House.

Talks & webinars

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Photo of children in dress up clothes

Unlocking Past Lives

Join Matthew Stephens, research librarian at the Caroline Simpson Library, as he uses the library’s specialist collection to explore the contexts of a selection of historic family photographs

Vivienne Chaffer : Colour [interior design student workbook]

Phyllis Shillito and her colour curriculum 1945–1979

This event focused on the colour curriculum of pioneering Sydney-based colour designer and educator Phyllis Shillito (1895–1980) of the 1940s to the 1970s

Watercolour of a group of people landing ashore

The Extraordinary Story of Rose de Freycinet

Hear the story of Rose de Freycinet, the first woman to write an account of a global circumnavigation, with Suzanne Falkiner

Vivienne Chaffer : Colour [interior design student workbook]

Experiencing a Technical Difficulty

Join Dr Catriona Quinn on a journey through Australia’s rich interior design heritage and a deep dive into the studios of design educators in Sydney in the 1940s, 50s and 60s