Elements Interiors and Constructions join in on mission to help bushfire victims

Phillipa "Pip" Batten from Elements Interiors and Constructions is donating her design time to help people, who have suffered the loss of, or damage to, their homes due to the bushfires. She's helping them plan to rebuild their homes.

Mrs Batten said she was inspired to help after seeing the bravery of men and women who had to fight to protect their homes and communities, some who inevitably saw tragedy imposed on their efforts.

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"2019 saw the catastrophic bushfires, long predicted by scientists and ignored by politicians, decimate Australian landscapes, towns, businesses and homes," Mrs Batten said.

"The bravery of those men and women fighting the fires and protecting their communities left many of us with a sense of awe, sadness but also, powerlessness.

"I said to my husband, Damian, 'how can I help people plan to rebuild?' A couple of days later I found the Design Donated platform that is connecting the Australian design community to do just that."

The platform enabled Mrs Batten to provide help in the best way she knows how to.

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Mrs Batten said the design community was one of "generosity".

"There was a consensus amongst us that there must be something we could do to help those who had lost everything," Mrs Batten said.

"It became clear with the ongoing news coverage that the sheer number of homes destroyed, would also need to be rebuilt. As designers, we know first hand how daunting that prospect can be."

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Design donated is a platform for interior designers around Australia to offer their expertise to those who are trying to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Design donated was conceived by Melbourne interior designer Nickolas Gurtler with the goal of offering aid in the only way he knew how - design.

The platform connects victims of the bushfires with interior designers who have pledged their services on a pro bono basis (it does not provide any design services itself).