0:00:00 - (Linda Habak): Today on Build Beautiful, I'm joined by someone who understands how movement across oceans, disciplines, and decades can shape a life of beauty. Peter Mickic began in fashion, studying at RMIT in Melbourne before landing in London in the 1990s, a city that would become both his canvas and his home. Since transitioning into Interiors in 2006, his name has become synonymous with elegant risk, the kind of design that feels both composed and free.

0:00:31 - (Linda Habak): His studio's work spans Grant. His studio's work spans grand residences, hotels, restaurants, yachts, and private jets across the globe. Along the way, he has been recognized in architectural digests AD100, house and gardens top 100 and Elle decorations finest. A quiet nod to a body of work that speaks volumes. But it's not the accolades that define him. It's his eye, his feeling, the depth of craftsmanship that only comes from a life lived fully across borders and forms.

0:01:08 - (Linda Habak): This conversation is about that life, the bold move, the long game, the deep knowing of materials and meaning. It's about building something lasting and doing it with heart. Welcome to my conversation with Peter.

0:01:22 - (Peter Mikic): Oh, I love that introduction.

0:01:24 - (Linda Habak): I'm so.

0:01:25 - (Peter Mikic): That is the sweetest, nicest introduction I've heard in a very long time.

0:01:29 - (Linda Habak): I'm so glad you liked it.

0:01:30 - (Peter Mikic): Really.

0:01:32 - (Linda Habak): Thank you.

0:01:32 - (Peter Mikic): It's a pleasure.

0:01:33 - (Linda Habak): We're here in London. You're now hometown.

0:01:37 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

0:01:38 - (Linda Habak): And I'm really grateful for you to take time out of your super busy schedule. I know you just opened a hotel that you'd been working on.

0:01:46 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

0:01:49 - (Linda Habak): So it's been a busy time for you, so it means a lot that you've taken time out.

0:01:53 - (Peter Mikic): I just also want to say thank you very much for inviting me here. And also, this is my first podcast, so you have to bear with me because I'm a little bit nervous.

0:02:03 - (Linda Habak): You'll be. I know. But you're in good hands, I promise. We met last year in Milan.

0:02:09 - (Peter Mikic): We did.

0:02:10 - (Linda Habak): And I feel like before I met you, I'd known you for such a long time because our mutual friend Tonka had told me all about you. And. And when I met you, I think it was easy for me to think that you would be this elusive character, this, you know, big, bold person. But in fact, you were just this beautiful, calm, lovely, peaceful person and not at all what I expected. So I really enjoyed spending time with you last year.

0:02:39 - (Peter Mikic): That was so sweet. Me too. I felt so comfortable with you. And, you know, also, Tonka is just, you know, she's such a wonderful girl, and I love her dearly.

0:02:50 - (Linda Habak): Absolutely. But let's. Let's trace back to Queanbeyan.

0:02:55 - (Peter Mikic): So my hometown.

0:02:56 - (Linda Habak): Your hometown.

0:02:57 - (Peter Mikic): So my hometown. I mean, I have to say, you know, Queanbeyan doesn't have a great reputation, but I do kind of love it because in a way that sort of formed me and I'm kind of proud that I came from such a small town and, you know, back then, you know, I didn't really know much about the world. I was very much, you know, I had loving parents who were immigrants and so I was first generation, first generation Australian.

0:03:28 - (Peter Mikic): And so I just sort of went with the flow. I just, you know, I was a kid, I was very much into my bikes and. But from a very early age, and I don't know how and when this, when it started, but I do remember, you know, picking up, you know, sketch pads at a very early age way back then. I remember sort of aged four or five. But I, I remember the first sort of sketch that I showed my dad who was a builder and you know, how normally kids sort of drew used to draw sort of, you know, sketches of basic homes with the little chimney.

0:04:05 - (Peter Mikic): Mine was like a two story house with columns on the front with extensions on the side.

0:04:11 - (Linda Habak): Wow. And it's almost like it was in your DNA.

0:04:14 - (Peter Mikic): It was in my DNA and it was sort of like this weird thing and I kept on sketching, you know, house facades really. And so I had this deep fascination right from very early age and then I moved into painting. But gosh, it was just sort of, it was just all kind of, it was just sort of organic in its development.

0:04:37 - (Linda Habak): And do you, do you. Is it your parents influence, do you think, or is it because they were migrants from former Yugoslavia? Is there some sort of trace back to some connection to culture or. Yes. Okay.

0:05:18 - (Peter Mikic): Yes. Migrants from Yugoslavia.

0:05:21 - (Linda Habak): From former Yugoslavia, yes. Is there any, can you trace back that connection to design? Is it a cultural thing or do you think it was more your father because he was in construction?

0:05:32 - (Peter Mikic): I don't really have that sort of connection to that country particularly, but I. However, you know that my dad was a builder and my mom was very, you know, she was pretty glamorous and she did dress incredibly well. You know, gosh, I remember from a very early age, you know, I remember I noticed the way she dressed from a very early age and I noticed the way my dad worked from a very early age. And I think I just, honestly, I have a combination of the two of them.

0:06:02 - (Peter Mikic): I am 50% my dad, 50% my mom. And it's. I think about that all the time.

0:06:09 - (Linda Habak): What is it. What is it that you're thinking about when you reflect back on who you've become?

0:06:16 - (Peter Mikic): He was very humble. He, you know, he wasn't interested in. In any sort of accolades or anything like that. He was more interested in quality of work. I remember going to sites with him and I remember him checking things the way the bricks were laid or the way something was installed. And I remember him sort of. And he was never an angry person. So he always explained himself and what he wanted and how he wanted it, and that was really interesting.

0:06:48 - (Linda Habak): And do you think you've taken some of that approach into how you operate now?

0:06:54 - (Peter Mikic): I think so. I think if you do whatever you want, you've got to explain yourself. And it has taken me a long time. Obviously, there are moments where you're busy and you're running around and you're trying to sort of, you know, deal with design as, you know, what it's like, you know, on building sites. And, you know, there are moments where you obviously feel like, I just want it to sort of end. But.

0:07:22 - (Peter Mikic): But the truth is, on every job, I think I've over. Over my sort of stretch of interior design period, I find a very clear explanation is always best.

0:07:35 - (Linda Habak): Clear is kind.

0:07:36 - (Peter Mikic): Clear is kind of. And be calm. And I always sort of think to myself, you know, treat people the way you want to be treated, so, you know, what's in your head may not be in their head. So try and explain what you are thinking and the way you imagine this detail to be executed, because if you don't explain it, they will interpret it in a completely different way. And also, to be honest, sometimes when things like that happen, I am also pleasantly surprised because no one's perfect.

0:08:12 - (Peter Mikic): No one's perfect. And I quite like sort of just the discovering of a different way of achieving a final result.

0:08:27 - (Linda Habak): So did your upbringing in Australia influence your eye, do you think? Do you feel, feel. When you look at your body of work, do you trace any of it back to, so, the foundations?

0:08:41 - (Peter Mikic): I think so. I think that. I think for me, color was a big thing in my life. You know, my mom was always dressed in colors. You know, she was obsessed with yellows and reds, and she. She was always playing around with color. And I think the main thing is probably the light. In Australia, you know, the light was clear, and so the colors were vivid and I really do think that has played a huge part in my passion for color and light.

0:09:13 - (Linda Habak): I do think your work is very much defined by colour and pattern and that balance of the two. You do it so beautifully.

0:09:22 - (Peter Mikic): I wonder if that sort of leads me to that playfulness.

0:09:26 - (Linda Habak): Yes.

0:09:26 - (Peter Mikic): I wonder. I don't quite know, but I kind of like that. I think that when you look back, I think, because I was quite a playful child and I was always into sort of games and, you know, bikes and, you know, being outdoors. You know, we were always as. You know what it's like growing up in Australia.

0:09:45 - (Linda Habak): Absolutely.

0:09:46 - (Peter Mikic): Always outdoors.

0:09:47 - (Linda Habak): Always.

0:09:47 - (Peter Mikic): I remember the only sort of game, electric game I had was that tennis game that went. You know, that one, you know, that one. That sort of. Clearly, I'm much older.

0:09:59 - (Linda Habak): No, no.

0:10:02 - (Peter Mikic): And I think that whole playfulness. So maybe comes from that.

0:10:05 - (Linda Habak): Yeah, absolutely. So Queanbeyan led you to. Led you to Melbourne and Queen Ben.

0:10:13 - (Peter Mikic): Led me to Narrabunda College in Canberra and. Which I loved. And I remember I checked myself out of high school in Queen Bern.

0:10:23 - (Linda Habak): Really?

0:10:23 - (Peter Mikic): Yes. I was going on to college in Queen Ben into. At Carabao High. And I remember day one, I turned up, you know, it's like 11th, you know, sixth form, fifth form.

0:10:34 - (Linda Habak): Yes.

0:10:34 - (Peter Mikic): And I thought, oh, my God, what am I? And so, you know, after four years in the same school, and then I thought, do you know what? I'm going to get the bus, take the bus to across the border, go to Canberra and I'm going to go check myself into another college. And you did. Without telling my mom.

0:10:56 - (Linda Habak): How was that received?

0:10:58 - (Peter Mikic): And I went and enrolled myself. I went back to Extraordinary. I went back to Kalabahai, checked out, went home and told my mom, I've moved to another school. She said, how are you going to get there? And I said, I don't know, maybe by bus. I don't know, we'll find a way.

0:11:15 - (Linda Habak): And how did you get there?

0:11:17 - (Peter Mikic): By bus. Great. It was a very creative college. Narrabunda was quite a creative college. You know, had photography, had. Had industrial design. It had a really good art course, illustrations, and I loved all so good.

0:11:32 - (Linda Habak): So one would say you took your destiny into your own hands.

0:11:35 - (Peter Mikic): I did, did.

0:11:36 - (Linda Habak): And you've been doing it ever since.

0:11:38 - (Peter Mikic): And then I went down and then I remember. So my mom said, gosh, you know, now that you finished, you know what? I said, I want to do fashion. I know first I wanted to do. I wanted to. Graphic design. So I. I took a year off and I got a Job as a graphic designer, which I did and I love that. Halfway through that year I thought, do you know what I'm going to do? Fashion.

0:12:00 - (Linda Habak): What, what, what moved you towards fashion? Was there a particular moment?

0:12:07 - (Peter Mikic): I think I dressed in a very 80s way and I was quite into fashion and I think that was my mum's side first. I was very into fashion and I love my baggy trousers and I love my hair and I remember bleach my hair and I, I did all sorts of crazy things and you know, so I then just decided to go to, I applied to fashion college and my mom said go to Sydney because it means you're only three hours away. But to myself, oh dear, let's go to Melbourne. It's nine hours.

0:12:42 - (Peter Mikic): So. But I never told her this. So I actually, I never told her where I was going. But I did then sort of I got into the car, into my car and I drove to Melbourne. I booked myself into rmit. I went for an interview, I talked my way through this interview because my portfolio was terrible. And I was in there for 45 minutes chatting and chatting about fashion and all the things I loved and the people I loved and all the things.

0:13:11 - (Peter Mikic): And I left and went back home and then a couple weeks later received a letter saying that I got in. Then I told my mum, I'm moving to Melbourne, I'm moving to Melbourne. She goes, oh my God, that's amazing. When? Tomorrow.

0:13:26 - (Linda Habak): Oh, that's extraordinary. And when you, obviously you then finished your course in RMIT and is it at that point that you co founded your menswear label Stonewood and Bryce?

0:13:40 - (Peter Mikic): No. So straight from college, during college I entered this competition for the Australian Wool Corporation.

0:13:50 - (Linda Habak): I remember that competition.

0:13:51 - (Peter Mikic): And I won victorious Women's redesign of the year. And then from that a really lovely author and fashion journalist called Lee Tullock, who is hopefully still based in Australia, I'm not quite sure. But she put my name forward for a job with a designer called John Cavill. Remember him? He was a. Yes, he had at that stage, you know, had quite a lot of stores in Australia and he was like the most international designer that we had.

0:14:24 - (Peter Mikic): And I got a job with him straight away and it was great. And I was with him for like two years and I love John and his partner Charles and so that was great. And then I just decided again one day I woke up and thought, I'm going to go to London.

0:14:46 - (Linda Habak): Just like that, like that.

0:14:48 - (Peter Mikic): I went that day I booked a ticket, I booked a one way ticket.

0:14:52 - (Linda Habak): A one way Ticket. So you knew.

0:14:54 - (Peter Mikic): I just went and booked, booked a one way ticket or next, the week after.

0:14:58 - (Linda Habak): So have you made all your decisions like that? Just like that? I just sense of knowing and intuition.

0:15:04 - (Peter Mikic): Just sort of following my gut. Always extraordinary.

0:15:09 - (Linda Habak): So you, you came to London one way ticket. How did your mum take that?

0:15:14 - (Peter Mikic): She was like, I think by this stage they were just like, what? You know, he knows what he's doing. I mean, clearly she was sort of sad that I, you know, I was leaving Australia. But I think at that point she was like, you know, go do all your things, do everything you want to do. And you know, they were always really supportive and that was the most amazing thing. And I probably think that's why I was like that. I was very much like.

0:15:43 - (Peter Mikic): I knew they would, they would, they would have my back.

0:15:46 - (Linda Habak): I think when you're, you're supported in that way, it gives you a confidence to, to try.

0:15:51 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah.

0:15:52 - (Linda Habak): And yet there's no fear of failure because, you know, you have this soft landing.

0:15:55 - (Peter Mikic): Exactly. I love that. I love the soft landing. Because that is, that is true, right?

0:16:03 - (Linda Habak): Absolutely. I feel that too, with my life and decisions. It's like I could try things. Even though sometimes, you know, you're never sure, but you could, you have to try. Otherwise, what's the point in living really? I want to ask you about your years in fashion. What do you think it taught you about storytelling through material? Because I think your work now as a designer is very much storytelling.

0:16:27 - (Linda Habak): So what do you think those years in fashion sort of taught you?

0:16:31 - (Peter Mikic): I'm so pleased you said that. I'm so pleased you taught you brought the storytelling up. Because I always sort of felt like design is about storytelling. I think you need to see something through design, whether it's someone's quiet retreat at home, whether it's someone's nightclub in their basement, whether it's a child's playroom or a formal dining room. I think there needs to be something there that makes it interesting and also relatable to either mostly the clients, but also they do, you know, it's up to, you know, you and I to interpret. That is their, their vision.

0:17:19 - (Peter Mikic): And so I find sort of storytelling important. And recently on this hotel that I worked on in New York called the Faina, I worked with Alan Faina, who is a great storyteller. And he said, peter, nothing is valid without a story. And what's the point of saying anything if you don't have a story behind it? And that just, you know, it really resonated with me. And so I think I always had it in. Had it in me, but I think he brought it out in me.

0:17:53 - (Linda Habak): It's almost like he articulated it. Correct, because your work very much to me is telling a story. Every room, every space. So I. Yeah, so maybe just hearing it articulated sort of.

0:18:09 - (Peter Mikic): I do. I think it. I think it brought it to life. And I think the other thing is, I think fashion and interiors go so well together. You know, obviously, you know, they're both creative industries. And I think what I really, really learned from fashion is, you know, you could. You can always push the boundaries in fashion because you were sort of expected to sort of create something new all the time.

0:18:37 - (Peter Mikic): And I think that is what I try and do with every project. I try and make every project slightly different. It may have a thread to it, I'm not quite sure, but I sort of always love having a, you know, just sort of pushing myself that little bit more, you know, be a little bit more adventurous with colors and textures and sort of style as well. I think you want to. I think you want to progress. You want to move forward.

0:19:08 - (Peter Mikic): You get bored.

0:19:09 - (Linda Habak): I want to stay in fashion for a moment because your. Your label, Stonewood and Bryce, was very successful.

0:19:16 - (Peter Mikic): It was. I loved it.

0:19:18 - (Linda Habak): Like, when I read about it, your collections were shown in Milan, sold at Harvey Nichols, Barney's, New York, Bergdorf Goodman. You had clients such as David Beckham and Jude Law.

0:19:29 - (Peter Mikic): Correct? Yes.

0:19:31 - (Linda Habak): Is that right? David Beckham, Yeah, Jude Law. Anyone else?

0:19:35 - (Peter Mikic): Robbie Williams.

0:19:37 - (Linda Habak): I think I saw him on the streets of London.

0:19:39 - (Peter Mikic): Westlife. We used to dress Westlife for their. For their concerts.

0:19:43 - (Linda Habak): That's amazing. So clearly that was a very successful venture.

0:19:48 - (Peter Mikic): It was, again, it was very playful. You know, it was sort of, you know, we did design the collections and we did, you know, I sketched them up and I did it with. I did it with a very dear friend of mine called Theo van der Zaam. And we set this brand up together. And we were both in fashion college together.

0:20:06 - (Linda Habak): Oh, right. @ RMIT and came to London together.

0:20:09 - (Peter Mikic): No, he was. He came. He arrived here before me, and we did have a lot of fun. We sort of didn't really know what we were doing, and it just sort of. We thought, let's just start a fashion brand. Because we kind of couldn't really find what we wanted. And it just sort of developed and, you know, we. I made the patterns and he did a lot of the styling, and, you know, we created these things together and we used to sort of play with.

0:20:39 - (Peter Mikic): So we'd receive Fabrics. And then we used to sort of play with prints on the fabrics, you know, try and sort of develop those a bit more. So. So it was also quite a creative. It was a lovely kind of journey that we were having together. It was great. And then someone said, gosh, you should think about having a show in Milan. Hey, let's just do it. And so it was another one of those sort of weird moments, like, let's just go for it this season. Let's just do it.

0:21:13 - (Peter Mikic): And bizarrely, I don't know how this happened, but we managed to get onto the Milan Fashion Council.

0:21:21 - (Linda Habak): How do you do that?

0:21:22 - (Peter Mikic): Young Australian boys in Milan with Dolce Gabbana, with Prada, with Gucci. Here we are showing in Milan. I mean, we were on the schedule.

0:21:36 - (Linda Habak): That's what dreams are made of. Peter. Peter.

0:21:37 - (Peter Mikic): And we are like sort of two kids doing this brand. We got ourselves agents and we. It was. It was just sort of. It was kind of great. You know, again, it felt like we had nothing to lose. But, you know, this. We had this sort of Both had this sort of soft landing. So it's kind of great. But we both, I think, because we didn't really have any sort of pressures on us back then. We were sort of playing around with various things, like trying to be as adventurous as we could possibly be.

0:22:13 - (Peter Mikic): So for example, we would show in underground snooker halls. We managed to get permission from the Milan City Council to do a catwalk show at the central station. Really the train central stations, which was amazing. I mean, various kind of weird venues and sort of. We were like. We were sort of known for being slightly quirky and a bit old fashioned.

0:22:41 - (Linda Habak): Forward.

0:22:41 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah.

0:22:42 - (Linda Habak): So why transition to interiors then? Because I know you got a commission by Candy Brothers.

0:22:48 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah.

0:22:48 - (Linda Habak): To. To design the, I think their yacht uniforms. Is that right?

0:22:53 - (Peter Mikic): That's right. We were commissioned to do uniforms for a boat they were working on and on the girls cocktail hour jackets, I thought instead of doing. Because they said to us, you knew they have these sort of shirts and these things to wear during cocktail hour. We thought it'd be kind of cool to have these very kind of relaxed little kimono jackets. Like very sort of 1970s Yves Saint Laurent. And on the back we thought it'd be kind of pretty to have these Japanese flying cranes hand embroidered on the back.

0:23:34 - (Peter Mikic): They looked so beautiful with the cranes on the back of these silk kimonos. And they asked us to do the entire dining room wall in this embroidered motif, which is. And that's how it sort of started.

0:23:55 - (Linda Habak): So when you took that job on at that point, were you envisioning a. A life as an interior designer, or do you think it just sort of happened organically, or.

0:24:07 - (Peter Mikic): I think it just happened organically. It was. It was like an. It was like. It's like a natural kind of progression. And I think that it's funny because I sort of felt like that part of my life was my mum coming out to me, and then I felt like the next part was my dad. So I kind of loved that. That transition. You know, I have to say I got quite excited. And I remember I was working on that project with Candy and they, you know, gave me more and more work. I never actually worked for them. I was very independent and I then was asked by another friend of mine to work on project for her, so.

0:24:57 - (Peter Mikic): And I thought to myself, gosh, I've never actually done a project outside Candy, so I really didn't have any idea what I was doing. And. And I said, yes, gosh, I'd love to do it. And that's how I got my very first commission.

0:25:12 - (Linda Habak): And how do you navigate the shift? Because starting something new can be daunting. So did you, obviously, if you build your network of suppliers, how did you navigate that process?

0:25:28 - (Peter Mikic): I was so lucky on that very first project because she had a. She already had a team together. So there was an architect, there's a project manager, there was a fantastic team. And they all knew this was my very first project. And they were very, very, very supportive. They explained how things were done. No one tried to, you know, undermine me or belittle me or, you know, because of my lack of experience and knowledge, they were all really supportive and I found that kind of amazing and inspiring and I felt so supported in that role.

0:26:16 - (Peter Mikic): And, you know, I remember sort of, because I didn't really have any interior design experience. I mean, literally on, I was just sort of coming up with ideas. You know, we didn't have Pinterest back then at all.

0:26:31 - (Linda Habak): Nothing.

0:26:31 - (Peter Mikic): I remember. There's nothing like that. It was just sort of. Just anything that would come into my head. I used to sketch, I used to put things together, I used to put fabrics together. Go to Chelsea Harbour, one might say.

0:26:44 - (Linda Habak): You'Re the true traditional interior designer.

0:26:48 - (Peter Mikic): And so. And then I had these presentations and I remember sort of bizarrely, kind of trying to explain myself to the client first and explaining what I wanted to do. And she was like, oh, my God, that's actually fantastic. I really love it. And, you know, please, go ahead and do it. And she Sort of said yes to almost everything. And I remember. Sort of. I remember I found an artist somewhere. I don't even know where I found this person. But they drilled sort of holes and they created this kind of, like, scene, like a de. Gone scene, but on wood paneling. And they drill the hole so the negative.

0:27:26 - (Peter Mikic): And they backlit the back. They backlit it and they gave you the pattern through the millions and millions of little drill holes of a. Of a woodland scene. So it was kind of like. And then I said, gosh, wouldn't it be really nice to do that whole scene inside the wc, this project? And going, oh, my God, you're. That would be really fantastic. And they actually did it. They contacted the artist, they got the thing done, they installed it. It looked beautiful.

0:27:59 - (Peter Mikic): I still love the photographs.

0:28:00 - (Linda Habak): So going back to that time, sort of pre Pinterest, pre imagery, which we're inundated with now, do you think there was a reliance on words and communication?

0:28:12 - (Peter Mikic): Yes, I think.

0:28:13 - (Linda Habak): How did you communicate those concepts and ideas?

0:28:16 - (Peter Mikic): I think it's. I think I was lucky because I did the fashion, because I did a fashion course and I did. And I did fashion and. Because fashion is all about sketching, all about sort of. It's about how you feel and what comes through at that moment in time and what you think looks good. And. And I really, truly. I mean, honestly, I really didn't look very much at fashion magazines. And even today, do you know, I don't really look at many magazines today because I sort of feel like I don't want anything to sort of stop the creativity or influence me too much. You know, I like looking at designers work who. Designers who sort of manufacture products.

0:29:03 - (Peter Mikic): I think that's quite inspiring. I love artists works, you know, people.

0:29:08 - (Linda Habak): You know, with the designers who manufacture. I know you do some product development as well, a little bit. And is that something you wanted?

0:29:18 - (Peter Mikic): I do. I do.

0:29:19 - (Linda Habak): Jumping ahead a little bit. A little bit. Since we're there.

0:29:22 - (Peter Mikic): I do love it. You know, I do love product design because I did do product design at Narrabund College, and I. So I do have a passion for it and I do. I think it's the sketching part. And, you know, honestly, 90% of the things I sketch go nowhere, honestly. They're in the top of my drawers, actually, to be honest, probably in the bottom of my drawer. But, you know, sometimes one or two things do make it through.

0:29:51 - (Peter Mikic): And I always say to the people in my office, I always say to them, look, you know, when you come and work here, I want you to be as creative as you can possibly be. Okay? Feel free to take time to sketch, to do all the things, research, you know, do whatever you can to be as creative as you can. You know, I don't want you to sit on Pinterest. Although Pinterest is a great tool, I'm not. I think Pinterest is a great tool. And also it just quickly. Talking about Pinterest, I mean, I think that it helps our clients visualize what you're trying to explain.

0:30:27 - (Peter Mikic): So absolutely, it has a valid place in design. The only thing is, I always say to people, if you are going to use Pinterest, try and look at the detailed images of Pinterest. So instead of going, wow, this is a great room, and look, it's all been done up and no room will ever look like that room. I mean, it's. It will just never happen. However, if you show a client a sofa, you know, in a red fabric with a green cushion, you can explain, this is how a green cushion looks on a red sofa.

0:31:03 - (Peter Mikic): You know what I mean?

0:31:04 - (Linda Habak): Explain a concept.

0:31:05 - (Peter Mikic): It can explain a concept, it can explain the detail really well. Anyway, going back to people in my office who are, you know, try and encourage them to be like, as creative as they can be. And I always say to them, look, not everything I do makes it through. And please do not be offended if not everything you do makes it through, because that is just the way things work. And we can't always guess what the client wants in the end. You know, they may like it or they may not like it, but the point is that you've created something.

0:31:42 - (Peter Mikic): So.

0:31:43 - (Linda Habak): And how do you manage that process of client feedback when it's not received the way you imagine it to be received? How do you deal with, let's call it failure, rejection?

0:31:58 - (Peter Mikic): Can I say something? It happens all the time.

0:32:02 - (Linda Habak): Are you surprised? Because I imagine when you're at the level that you're at and you've done the projects that you've done over the years that you almost feel. And it's a. It's a perception of a perception, but you almost feel like you've earned the right to put a concept together and for that to just be approved first. Go. But it doesn't happen, does it?

0:32:27 - (Peter Mikic): What I do, Colin, tell you what I do. And this is, excuse me, what I do, which I love. I have backups all the time, all the time. So when I present, I always make sure I've got a second option and a third option. And in the past, I Used to do that terrible thing, which was like, I'd have a really good option, a not so good option, and a bad option. And always thinking to myself, surely they won't go for the bad option. And sometimes they did go for the bad.

0:33:03 - (Peter Mikic): So I learned that pretty quickly, way back when. But now I have three good options. And so not everyone will like my shade of pink, which I love. And I know the pink I love, and I know the yellow I love, and not everyone likes it. So I always have my backups. And do you know what? This is their project. This is their home. Give them what they want and make sure it looks fantastic. No matter what, no matter what piece they choose.

0:33:38 - (Peter Mikic): Make it look great, because that is your job. It's good advice, really good advice. And make sure. Do things which are right so they don't have to think about it. Make sure those wall lights are at the correct height. Make sure the sofa is the correct seat height. Make sure the coffee table is correct. They don't really need to know all of those things, but if they want to change the color of the pink, change the color of the pink.

0:34:06 - (Peter Mikic): Don't fight it.

0:34:07 - (Linda Habak): Do you learn to almost not decompartmentalize, but you just pull yourself out of the equation a little and really guide the client to achieve?

0:34:19 - (Peter Mikic): I've learned not to be offended. I've learned, you know, in the grand scheme of things, this. This is something which is so personal. And I think also, you know, to be honest, they taught me a lot as well. I had a client recently. Well, not recently, a few years ago. And she had this really wonderful project. And I was up against three other people. And I remember she called me, she goes, peter, you know, I just love you so much.

0:34:58 - (Peter Mikic): You know, we met a few times. I love you. You're so good to be with, and you're so calm and you're so. You love what you. I can see you love what you do. I said, oh, gosh, that's great, but where's the bot? I didn't get the job. And I said. And then she goes, but you know what? I don't like all your color. I think it's just too much for me. So would you be willing to work with me and make sure that it's much calmer?

0:35:26 - (Peter Mikic): We work with textures. We work with sort of much softer colors. And I go, gosh, yes, I'd love to, because A, I love you, and B, I love the project, and I think it's going to look fantastic. She taught me so much about Restraint, you know, restraining yourself, sort of really thinking about. It was a house with lots of beige. We managed to get a little bit of soft pinks and soft sort of blues in there, but it was all about texture.

0:35:54 - (Linda Habak): And would you say that was the first project?

0:35:56 - (Peter Mikic): She taught me a lot.

0:35:57 - (Linda Habak): Yeah. First project where you focused on texture over color and pattern?

0:36:03 - (Peter Mikic): First project, yes. It was kind of. And so going back to my thing, you know, clients can teach you a lot. And I honestly believe, no matter who it is, your clients, your friends, people you meet on the street, people you see on the street, I honestly believe there's something you can learn from everyone. I look at people and see how they dress, what color shoe they're wearing on the street, with what skirt, what trouser.

0:36:32 - (Peter Mikic): I look at their hair, I look at their sunglasses. I like observing, so. And I truly believe you can learn from other people.

0:36:43 - (Linda Habak): I agree completely. That's why this whole podcast exists. So I love that. I love that. I want to talk about your practice.

0:36:52 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

0:36:52 - (Linda Habak): Because it's a global practice. It's extraordinary. It is. You've worked everywhere. You've worked all over the world. And I. I think it's amazing. It's so inspiring to me. And I truly. That's really one of the big reasons why I. I wanted to do and create, Build Beautiful was to listen to these beautiful stories of courage and entrepreneurism and creativity and what. When you look back at this business that you've created, what do you. Do you ever stop and reflect and think, I did this.

0:37:31 - (Linda Habak): Can we.

0:37:32 - (Peter Mikic): Now, Is that terrible?

0:37:33 - (Linda Habak): Well, I mean, I. I don't think it's terrible. I think it's very normal. But I'd love you to take a moment. What. What do you think? What are your thoughts about your journey so far and the opportunities that I think come your way or you've created?

0:37:50 - (Peter Mikic): I feel like, as you know, you know, being creative, it's a very emotional feeling you have inside. And I do honestly find. I find it. I have moments where I find it really daunting, you know, trying to sort of. There are moments where I just sort of can't quite put it together, and there are moments where it just sort of comes together.

0:38:23 - (Linda Habak): You're talking conceptually when you're working on a project.

0:38:25 - (Peter Mikic): Yes. And so it's the creative process. I think I'm also quite hard on myself because I always want everything to be just perfect. I think everyone does. And so there are moments when, you know, during a project installation where I think, gosh, that looks really good. Or, gosh, you know, that could have been better. And so then I sort of, I get, I'm quite hard on myself in that respect, but I do kind of.

0:38:54 - (Peter Mikic): I've lost my train of thought now about the question, but I just want to continue on with this one because I find that when I finish a project, I don't always love it.

0:39:08 - (Linda Habak): Initially.

0:39:09 - (Peter Mikic): When it's initially, I don't because it's not about the project. The client always, always gives touch wood, is always happy, which is great. It's more about me, you know, inside thinking I could have done better and next time I will do better.

0:39:28 - (Linda Habak): So where do you think that comes from? That sense of it's not quite right, it's not quite perfect, I must do better, must do better.

0:39:37 - (Peter Mikic): That all the time, must do better. Which is why I have a drawer filled with sketches of tables and chairs. I must do better. I feel ex. I don't want to be exposed for something that's not good.

0:39:52 - (Linda Habak): So this brings me to my next question, which we've talked about, this recording about imposter syndrome. Let's talk about that because I think it's interesting because I think I was saying to you that, you know, I speak to lots of women and women always say, you know, don't have imposter syndrome. They always sort of just walk through life and there's confidence there. But. But actually, I think you tell a very different story.

0:40:19 - (Peter Mikic): I do have it. I. I do have it. And I feel like, I feel like sometimes I think to myself, gosh, I feel like I'm lucky to be there. I remember my first meeting in New York for the hotel, and I walk into the room and there's about sort of 30 people in a boardroom table. And I sort of had to explain myself and explain the hotel to them, and they're all sitting there going, but you haven't done a hotel before. And I said, no, but I will, I promise you, I will put everything I have into this hotel.

0:40:55 - (Peter Mikic): And I sat down, I thought, oh my God, what are you doing here? This is, this is. I'm way beyond my expertise and way beyond anything. And I felt so insecure and I thought, someone's going to discover I know nothing. And. But in a way, I kind of like that. I kind of like, I like the self doubt. Sometimes I think it's a good thing.

0:41:21 - (Linda Habak): It's almost healthy.

0:41:22 - (Peter Mikic): It's healthy and I think it makes you want to do better. And I think it keeps going back to that. I think when I feel like A. I've achieved something so great that I. That's the end of that road. I always. I always want to feel like there's something better. I can always do a little bit better than that previous project.

0:41:45 - (Linda Habak): Well, that's.

0:41:45 - (Peter Mikic): Or differently.

0:41:46 - (Linda Habak): Yeah, well, it's growth. Right. Because it's where the fear is, is where the growth is.

0:41:52 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

0:41:52 - (Linda Habak): So when you're in a situation where you're in a boardroom filled with multiple different disciplines, I'm sure it was.

0:42:01 - (Peter Mikic): So I could only imagine it was. It should have been in a film. Honestly, it was crazy.

0:42:09 - (Linda Habak): But you did it. And you. And that hotel has now launched. I've seen it all over Instagram.

0:42:13 - (Peter Mikic): Just opened. Yeah. It's funny. Do you know, the other thing I like doing is. I tell you what I do like doing is I. I first. I never think of myself as you were going back to. Your question about.

0:42:30 - (Linda Habak): To you was about how do you ever look back at your career and this incredible business that you've created? And do you stop and reflect and think, I've done this. This is extraordinary. So what are your thoughts on that?

0:42:44 - (Peter Mikic): I sort of feel like, you know, I. I should be completely honest. Yes, of course. You know, I think there's. There are times when I think, gosh, we opened the hotel, our first hotel in New York City. I mean, I'm from Queen beyond, if you, you know, you know, queue beyond. I am from Queanbeyan, which is population of 20,000 people. So I am from there and I've opened a hotel in New York City. Yes. I honestly, I felt proud.

0:43:21 - (Linda Habak): You need a moment?

0:43:21 - (Peter Mikic): I left last week. I walked out that front door. I did feel proud, honestly. It was like probably the first time ever I've sort of felt like, oh, my God, it's done. And then I left and I got into the taxi and I remember on the way to the airport thinking, gosh, I should have done that a different way. But you know what? Next time.

0:43:46 - (Linda Habak): There will be a next time.

0:43:47 - (Peter Mikic): But I do, I do. Only recently I've sort of stopped and sort of thought about where I am and where I want to be.

0:43:57 - (Linda Habak): That is one of my questions, by.

0:43:59 - (Peter Mikic): The way, and where I want to go. Because, you know, people often say, you know, gosh, you've done so many different projects and so many nice things. Do you want to stop and retire? And I think, do, you know, retire nothing, you know, it's not. I've never thought about that. I want to just sort of keep on sort of creating it as much as I Can until I can. And so, yes, I have moments where I do. Recently, I have sort of stopped and reflected, and I think I needed to stop and think about it and just sort of.

0:44:35 - (Peter Mikic): Just for that moment, just appreciate where I am at that moment. Because I can't be too hard on myself all the time.

0:44:44 - (Linda Habak): It's exhausting, and I think.

0:44:46 - (Peter Mikic): It is exhausting. And I think you're going to burn yourself out if you just keep on going. I can do better. I can do better. I can do better. But if you don't stop and go, actually, that was good. You don't. You can't. You can't. You will. You will lose who you are. You will. You. You will lose that sense of yourself. Because, you know, gosh, we're only here for a very short period of time. When you do what we love for a very short period of time.

0:45:20 - (Peter Mikic): Just appreciate that moment and then you can change, you can do something afterwards.

0:45:24 - (Linda Habak): Absolutely.

0:45:25 - (Peter Mikic): I appreciate that very moment. Just stop and breathe. And someone said to me, really recently, just take a deep breath before you leave your project. Take a deep breath, inhale it, and then you can leave.

0:45:39 - (Linda Habak): Because you. Once a project is birthed, it really isn't ours anymore. You work on this project.

0:45:47 - (Peter Mikic): It is. You're so right. It's like a child.

0:45:51 - (Linda Habak): It really is. I mean, every project, I feel like it's my baby.

0:45:55 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

0:45:55 - (Linda Habak): And I've worked on it and sometimes for, you know, two or three years. And then when the. I mean, I just do residential. But when the client then moves into the house, suddenly it's not my baby anymore. And it's a really.

0:46:09 - (Peter Mikic): And all their things go in, and their personal things. They think, why is that lamp there? Exactly. Why is that photo frame? That.

0:46:17 - (Linda Habak): That's right. So it is important to take a moment to take stock, because design is transformative.

0:46:23 - (Peter Mikic): Yes. And.

0:46:24 - (Linda Habak): And I think when you work on a project like a hotel, it's even more theatrical and exciting. So it is important to take stock and enjoy it, be present with it.

0:46:38 - (Peter Mikic): I think it's all. Yes, it's, you know, it's. Everything that we do is passion. It's all passionate. It's all about feelings, you know, how we look at things and how, you know, things touch. You know, I love the sense of touch and not only that, but also the sense of smell and, you know, you know, even hearing, you know, sometimes when you do sort of, you know, padded walls in dining rooms, I like that. That sound that, you know, those things give or, you know, it sort of makes you Think completely differently. I kind of like, you know, kind of interacting with all my senses.

0:47:23 - (Linda Habak): So when you approach a project, are you thinking about it holistically from all the elements?

0:47:29 - (Peter Mikic): I am, yes. Always. Always. How? You know, movement, walking through.

0:47:38 - (Linda Habak): Do you think that links back to your days in fashion, the way fabric forms and moves?

0:47:44 - (Peter Mikic): Oh, you're so on it. Yes. You know, I remember sort of looking at things, you know, you do the entire collection and there's like 100 and something pieces, and you look and you think, gosh, I need to edit 30%, need to get rid of 30%. And I remember sort of looking at things and putting things together and the layering was really important. And I remember being, you know, gosh, you got to be your harshest critic in fashion. So you've got to know which pieces to remove.

0:48:15 - (Peter Mikic): And so it feels a bit like that. Interiors, you've got to sort of throw everything at it. You got to be. You got to have some restraint.

0:48:25 - (Linda Habak): Definitely. I want to circle back again to the practice and stay there just a little bit longer. Studio now. You team of 32, 33.

0:48:37 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah.

0:48:38 - (Linda Habak): Are you, as a leader, how do you lead people? Because it's very different to be an interior designer and be creative and come up with concepts and sell concepts and storytell, but then to run a business, a successful business at that, takes a whole different set of skills. So how are you at running a business and leading?

0:49:00 - (Peter Mikic): I like to understand what their skills are, the team, the team skills, because everyone has different skill set. So trying to sort of understand what, you know, what their skills are and also what their passion is, you know, I discovered sort of, there's a new junior who started recently and she was very quiet, very gentle, kind of hid from the team, and I sat with her. And I quite like walking. Firstly, I like walking around and sitting with everyone because if we have a very open office, my desk is the same as everyone else's. It's not closed off.

0:49:38 - (Peter Mikic): We're all together and we all communicate, which is great. But I like walking around and I like sort of sitting with them. I like sort of seeing what they're doing, what they're working. We draw together, we sketch together, you know, I like all of that. Anyway, so I sat with her and, you know, talking about rug designs and about, you know, trying to get. Trying to understand, trying to explain to her about how rug designs work. Because rug design is actually quite difficult. It's not just about.

0:50:07 - (Peter Mikic): It's a plain color. If you want something that's different, you know, it takes a lot of thought and takes a long time to create. And what's it like with the furniture on top? What do you see? What you don't see, what are the negative spaces of the design? Is the color too strong, et cetera, et cetera. Anyway, so I left her with that thought, and I came back a few days later, and she was like, I was thinking about what you said, and I sort of did a few sketches, and she produced all these amazing things, and now she's my sort of star rug designer.

0:50:42 - (Peter Mikic): She's amazing.

0:50:43 - (Linda Habak): And that all came from that.

0:50:44 - (Peter Mikic): Just one little conversation. And she came out of a shell, and she created all these things, and she was fantastic.

0:50:54 - (Linda Habak): I have goosebumps. And you know why she's fantastic? Because you gave her a soft place to land.

0:50:59 - (Peter Mikic): I hope so, because you've.

0:51:02 - (Linda Habak): You enlightened her, but you also gave her confidence to. To try and to be. Because being creative is so confronting. Yes, it is. It's actually super hard to be creative. It's very easy to. To check PNLs and check if a business is doing well. But to. To foster a space, a safe space for a team to try things I think is special. You do that for people.

0:51:31 - (Peter Mikic): I hope so. I hope so. I mean, people did that with me, so I hope. I hope that resonates with people. The other thing I really enjoy doing, which probably does drive them a little bit crazy, is I do like. I do like my own time to myself in the studio. I like looking at the projects on the boards. Like, I like rearranging things. So with the floor plans in the middle and the images above and the fabrics, and I quite like rearranging stuff as well. And, you know, I think any design gets developed over time, and it does.

0:52:07 - (Linda Habak): I've had to learn to allow things to live in the chaos of design.

0:52:14 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

0:52:14 - (Linda Habak): And that's. It's okay to be in the chaos of it, and from the chaos comes the clarity. But that needs time. You can't rush it.

0:52:22 - (Peter Mikic): You can't rush it, and you can change things many, many times. You know what it's like, even with installation, even though you have it all planned. Everything's planned. Every side table, every lamp, every lampshade. During an installation, you know what it's like. It's pretty close, but there are moments when I walk in and go, do you know what? That lamp's not right there. This is better there. Let's move the table from here to there. Let's bring up the dining table.

0:52:54 - (Peter Mikic): And that's kind of fine too. I like, I like that.

0:52:59 - (Linda Habak): I, I say to clients all the time, the space tells you what it needs. So there's only so much planning you can do in 2D and even 3D. When you're in the space, you have to feel it, you have to. That's why I love being on site.

0:53:14 - (Peter Mikic): It's another sense.

0:53:15 - (Linda Habak): It's another sense. Exactly. That spatial sense, that spatial awareness.

0:53:19 - (Peter Mikic): So spatial awareness is great. It's all about, you know, and then when you walk into that house, when you finish the project. And sometimes I quite like going in on my own without the clients and just, just taking in the feeling that room gives me.

0:53:42 - (Linda Habak): Do you want someone to feel.

0:53:46 - (Peter Mikic): Honestly, it could be. This might sound cheesy, but I want them to feel relaxed and feel enlightened. I want them to feel.

0:54:00 - (Linda Habak): I love that. What is that?

0:54:02 - (Peter Mikic): It feels like. I want them to be able to feel when they walk in, to feel like they can be who they want to be and feel like they can think how they want to think. And that for me is the number one thing. It's like when a bedroom, for example, is cozy and soft and calm. I love that feeling. You know, I'm a bit of an introvert, so I quite like my own space and my own time. And often I would go to my room and I'm very happy just to, just to lay on my bed, maybe with my dogs, but just have a moment to absorb and to think and that was.

0:54:53 - (Peter Mikic): That's okay. And you know, having a moment to, you know, stop to absorb and to think about that day or what I'm going to do or that moment or, you know, even nothing. But I think rooms should give you that ability to feel those things.

0:55:16 - (Linda Habak): That's so beautiful. Let's talk about evolution. How do you think your style has evolved over time from when it first began?

0:55:28 - (Peter Mikic): It's so interesting. Gosh, you know, when I first started, I used to go to this place called Kempton Park Markets, which is on A three in South London. It's like an antique fair and you know, you've got to get there very early, like at 7am and you're often with a torch trying to sort of rummage through trucks of stuff which is coming from Europe. And I used to sort of love, and I still love doing those things and I like that sort of quirky mix of old and new.

0:56:03 - (Peter Mikic): And I, I remember sort of way back when, when I first started looking at interiors, I, I was beginning, I had this sort of overwhelming love for mid century furniture. Which everyone, a lot of people have. So there's nothing unique about that. But for me it was something like a new discovery because in Australia we didn't have mid century furniture. We didn't grow up with mid century furniture. No one talked about mid century furniture.

0:56:35 - (Linda Habak): Back in all the rage now, 1970s, you know.

0:56:38 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah, no one. And so for me it was like a, just a new discovery, even though it already been discovered. But for me it was a new discovery. And so I had this weird kind of obsession with it and really started to research a lot about mid century and the designers of mid century furniture. But at the same time I was still going to Campden Park Antique Racecourse for the antique markets and I had this sort of weird juxtaposition of, you know, mid century pieces versus kind of flea market fines.

0:57:17 - (Linda Habak): Love that.

0:57:18 - (Peter Mikic): And I don't know how or where or when this will happen, but I started putting the two together and I kind of trained my eye in a way to learn how to put, to make those things work together.

0:57:32 - (Linda Habak): It's very hard to do and quite.

0:57:34 - (Peter Mikic): Hard to do and things. Look, it took a long time. I really, I promise you there are a lot of failures. There are a lot of failures where I sort of bought things in the markets and I put them in. I thought oh my God, they look terrible. And, and then sort of over time I sort of learned to, I trained myself to find particular things and to put those things in a particular way and curate them in a particular way.

0:58:06 - (Linda Habak): What, what are your top three things that you, you look for in vintage furniture, for instance, or antiques? What are you looking for when you're looking for those pieces first?

0:58:18 - (Peter Mikic): I mean, things I sort of look at is I look at the refinement of the design. So for example, I'm going to give you examples are great. You know, you look at sideboards, for example, you know, like a rosewood sideboard. There are many, many, many different versions. I often look for something which has got very sort of, which has been very well considered. So firstly the design of the door fronts. Not overly designed.

0:58:48 - (Peter Mikic): I like it when it's got like clean edges. It's like a very kind of very thoughtful piece, you know, not overly detailed with handles and whatnot. And then I look at veneers, you know, and the way the veneers have been cut. So sometimes the veneers are so beautifully book matched that it just. The veneers for them, the veneers speak for themselves. So it's a lot of, there are a lot of different things I Look at.

0:59:15 - (Peter Mikic): When I start looking at individual pieces, you know, for example, you know, I love Gioponti and I think there are many things about Giamponte that I absolutely love, but not everything. Sometimes it's a bit over Italian, over sort of over designed and a bit too pointy and a bit too something. So it's not everything. And the same for my own things, you know, it's not for everyone. You know, sometimes it's too much, sometimes it's not enough, and that's all fine. You know, it's about.

0:59:48 - (Peter Mikic): And the same for antiques, you know, same for flea market finds. It's not everything is great. Some things work really beautifully, some things don't. I think, honestly, I think once you sort of train your own eye and you sort of believe in what you believe in, things sort of come together.

1:00:09 - (Linda Habak): I want to talk about home now. Yes, and your home and your sanctuary. You have a beautiful farm. Keepers Farm.

1:00:17 - (Peter Mikic): Yes, with my husband, Sebastian Scott.

1:00:19 - (Linda Habak): Your husband Sebastian.

1:00:20 - (Peter Mikic): My two dogs.

1:00:22 - (Linda Habak): I got to meet Sebastian last year. We had a fun time in Milan. What does home mean to you?

1:00:30 - (Peter Mikic): It's sanctuary. It's a place I can feel free, I can feel relaxed. I love cooking. Oh, my God. I mean, you know, I'm very happy to spend two hours cooking, to eat in three minutes. There's nothing more satisfying. I'm. Because I'm very methodic. I like it all to be very methodic. And I have the music playing. I can do a bit of a dance in front of the oven. I kind of love that I can play with my dogs. They will often sit because they want the. Obviously the meat off the kitchen counter.

1:01:13 - (Peter Mikic): I kind of like the whole thing of being yourself, isn't it? You know, that is like, that is such a. Is such a treasure and a privilege to have moments where you can just be yourself.

1:01:26 - (Linda Habak): It's freedom.

1:01:26 - (Peter Mikic): It's freedom.

1:01:27 - (Linda Habak): The ultimate freedom.

1:01:28 - (Peter Mikic): And you know, like you, what we do is you're, you're. You. You're creating these, these spaces for your clients to give them that. And everything that you do is different. So, for example, you know, a house is so different to the hotel. The hotel people want to go out in the hotel. They want to live in a place which they don't live in, in their home, you know, don't live like at home. They want to, they want to be entertained and they want to have fun.

1:01:59 - (Peter Mikic): And so make it fun, you know, make it fantastic, you know, do things that they would never do in their home.

1:02:06 - (Linda Habak): What a wonderful project, though, to Be able to do that, to have that level of expression, of free freedom. I think as a designer, it's. It's probably the greatest joy to be able to have. Did you have constraints on that project or did you have a level of creative freedom that you could exercise?

1:02:24 - (Peter Mikic): You know what's interesting? I had no constraints.

1:02:28 - (Linda Habak): It's like the ultimate.

1:02:30 - (Peter Mikic): None at all. It was like. You know, the other thing that Alan always said to me is that, Peter, you don't want to be tea with milk. Don't be ordinary. He said, you can be ordinary at home, but don't be ordinary here.

1:02:47 - (Linda Habak): Tea with milk.

1:02:48 - (Peter Mikic): Don't be tea with milk.

1:02:51 - (Linda Habak): I'm trying to process that. Don't be tea.

1:02:53 - (Peter Mikic): Tea with milk. It's great. It was such a great thing.

1:02:56 - (Linda Habak): He sounds like a wonderful character.

1:02:59 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah, he's great. And so, you know, the rooms are fabulous and people only spend three or four nights in a hotel room or one night. I mean, make it great. Make it so different to your home because it's a little bit of a fantasy.

1:03:15 - (Linda Habak): It is a fantasy, yes.

1:03:17 - (Peter Mikic): So it does sort of. There weren't any constraints. They were very much like, go as far as you can possibly go, and then let's see where we end up. And then we can always go back a bit.

1:03:32 - (Linda Habak): Going back to Keepers Farm. How do you think that's shaped your identity as a designer? Has it had an influence, do you think?

1:03:39 - (Peter Mikic): I think so. I think that. I think. Look, I think one of the best things that anyone can do, no matter where they live or how they live, is walking. And I think walking gives you. I often walk alone. I don't really like walking. I mean, of course, I do walk with other people, but I like walking on my own because I think of things when I walk on my own. And I think you got to walk far enough away from where you are to start thinking of different things. And it can be anything, but it helps me think.

1:04:20 - (Peter Mikic): And so the farm does this. It gives me the freedom to walk, to take the dogs and go for long walks on my own. And that is as such a. It's such a. For me, it's such a privilege.

1:04:38 - (Linda Habak): But I have a place to escape to, too.

1:04:40 - (Peter Mikic): Yeah.

1:04:41 - (Linda Habak): London is frenetic.

1:04:42 - (Peter Mikic): London is busy. And, you know what's amazing about London is that the countryside is so close. So, you know, you could take. I often take the bus from London to the farm and you could. Where my bus stop is, you can just get out the bus and you can go on these incredible, incredible walks along the chilterns, and they're incredibly beautiful. So it's open to everyone. Everyone should take one day, go take the bus out or wherever they are and go for a walk.

1:05:16 - (Linda Habak): Would you say nature informs you or inspires you?

1:05:20 - (Peter Mikic): Always.

1:05:21 - (Linda Habak): Always.

1:05:21 - (Peter Mikic): You know, gosh, the seasons. I love seasons. I love winter. So do I. I love winter. I don't know what people go. Winter, for me, is so great, you know, gosh, because everything's been stripped, nothing's left, you know, everything's exposed.

1:05:41 - (Linda Habak): What is it about things being exposed that that excites you or inspires you?

1:05:50 - (Peter Mikic): You know, the roots of the trees, the bark, the, you know, the rocks, the gravel, you know, everything's sort of exposed. It's like, you know, and then when spring comes along, it's that fresh layer. It's like that. It's like another new beginning. And it sort of feels like that in design, because you're always trying to be fresh and new and trying to sort of recreate and trying to. Or trying to create something new.

1:06:16 - (Peter Mikic): And so I sort of like. I like that about seasons because it's sort of. It reflects very much about what we do as well.

1:06:29 - (Linda Habak): So they're not quite the end. Because I could be here, honestly, forever. I want to talk about legacy and wisdom. What. What would you whisper to your younger self in that moment when you left. When you left Melbourne, but on that flight to London, if you could go back to him, what would you say?

1:06:55 - (Peter Mikic): I would say. I would say, well, only because I didn't think too much about any consequences. I just sort of felt like I had to follow something and I had to. I trusted myself completely and I had to do something. And a lot of people do this, you know, a lot of people. Nothing new about it. So I like, just sort of following my gut, you know, go do what you want to do. And like you said, if it all goes horribly wrong, what's the worst that can happen?

1:07:39 - (Peter Mikic): I was lucky enough to go home. I could always go home or, you know, anything. You know, look, it wasn't easy. Nothing was easy. It was. I worked as. I did lots of terrible jobs just to make some money cleaning and, you know, painting walls. And I did whatever I had to do to make survive. So it wasn't easy, but, gosh, you know, if I didn't put myself out there, none of this would have happened.

1:08:12 - (Linda Habak): What was. Looking back at your journey, what do you think was the. What did you need the most courage for to achieve? Looking back.

1:08:27 - (Peter Mikic): Sort of being away from home was quite tough. Being away from your family, who were always supportive, but in a way, I guess just because they were always there for me, I sort of felt lucky for that reason, but felt. I don't know, I sort of. I guess I sort of. I did have a sort of. I don't explain this properly, but you're going to edit this part out. But let me have a think about it. It's. I sort of create, you know, just sort of believing in yourself and just sort of just at that, you know, particular moments in your life, because I think it's difficult to think what you're going to do or where you're going to end up and all those things. So I felt like I had to be sort of courageous at that very moment in time.

1:09:37 - (Peter Mikic): So whatever I was doing, I worked quite hard at that moment because I didn't know where it was going to lead.

1:09:44 - (Linda Habak): Yeah. So did you ever have moments of fear? Like, did you ever have moments of doubt or moments where you thought, why am I doing this? I can't do it.

1:09:54 - (Peter Mikic): I didn't have those moments. However, I did have moments of doubt. And I always have moments of doubt. And I don't mind that, you know, I don't mind the doubt. Doubt is good. You know, you can't. I think it's good to go up and down and up and down and, you know, so doubt is good. But I. I always believed in what I was sort of doing at that moment, and I always believed in. I think I did believe in myself, but I still sort of doubted myself in a way.

1:10:27 - (Peter Mikic): I know that sounds very contradictory, but I still doubted sometimes what I was doing. Not every day, but certain points in projects is probably the most. I sort of felt where I doubted myself. Does that make sense?

1:10:42 - (Linda Habak): It does, because that's the true creative process.

1:10:45 - (Peter Mikic): Sometimes I had weeks of greatness.

1:10:47 - (Linda Habak): Yeah.

1:10:48 - (Peter Mikic): And then suddenly I had sort of weeks of, you know, just nothing sort of worked well. Nothing sort of fell into place. And then it would. And then it wouldn't. And then it. And so obviously. Yes. So I had. It was like a. It was like a wavelength up and down and up and down. So I quite like. I don't mind that, you know, And I remember that, you know that moment where you're sort of low.

1:11:11 - (Linda Habak): Yes.

1:11:12 - (Peter Mikic): And then you sort of. You feel like, oh, my gosh, I think I'm coming out of this. And you sort of come up a bit. That was the best feeling. That was like such a good feeling. And you think, gosh, I'm now thinking.

1:11:23 - (Linda Habak): Of Things again and you're inspired again, you look at things differently again.

1:11:29 - (Peter Mikic): And I think also, I think as you sort of develop as you know, as you, as your business develops, not only have. Do you have to be creative, but also you've got to run a business, you've got to deal with contracts, you've got to deal with all this other stuff. That. Which is honestly, like about 90% of the business.

1:11:51 - (Linda Habak): It's 10% creativity.

1:11:52 - (Peter Mikic): 10% creativity.

1:11:54 - (Linda Habak): How do you deal with the business side of things? Do you have. That helps you, supports you or.

1:12:00 - (Peter Mikic): I got a very good team of people around me, which is great. And also Sebastian helps me a lot. So he gives me some, you know, always gives me great advice. And you know, my mom also, also gave me great advice when I was little. You know, she always said to, she always said to me, just remember that no one's business is yours. Your business is not your business. So meaning that don't get involved in other people's, you know, business because it's not your thing.

1:12:33 - (Peter Mikic): Make sure, you know, it's. You don't want to get you to get caught up in other people's sort of negativity. Basically.

1:12:46 - (Linda Habak): Business is not your business.

1:12:49 - (Peter Mikic): Not yours.

1:12:50 - (Linda Habak): Just want a couple more questions on, on the business. We talked about leadership before.

1:12:57 - (Peter Mikic): Yes.

1:12:57 - (Linda Habak): And do you, do you ever feel overwhelmed with the fact that such a big team or does. Do you think it comes naturally that you've grown to the size that you have?

1:13:09 - (Peter Mikic): Yes. No. I have had moments where I feel overwhelmed. I feel like, gosh, it's a lot to deal with. And also every person is a person, so you've got to, you know, and they all have characters and they've got, they all have personalities. So you're also trying to sort of navigate your own way around them and to get the best out of them. You know, you've got to really understand them. So it's a lot. And it is a lot.

1:13:45 - (Peter Mikic): It's an enormous thing to, to, to sort of run. I don't know where I'm going, honestly.

1:13:54 - (Linda Habak): That was my next question. What does the future look like for you? And do you have any grand visions or things that you haven't quite achieved yet that are still.

1:14:07 - (Peter Mikic): So, I mean, we got some nice things going on. We have a few more of the hotels to do, which is great.

1:14:15 - (Linda Habak): Have you enjoyed working on. On a hotel?

1:14:18 - (Peter Mikic): Oh, it was great. I was lucky because it was so such a creative hotel. So that was good. And then we have some nice residential projects and all. So all of that site is kind of good. Personally, I think I need to stop and just sort of take a bit more time on myself now that that's big things over with and I think I'm going to pick up my sketchbook again and I've got all that ready. But I feel like I don't want to sort of over plan it.

1:14:58 - (Peter Mikic): Really know. I don't think anyone really knows where they're going. I'm really happy with where I am at the moment. That's a good thing.

1:15:06 - (Linda Habak): That's a great thing. That's the proof.

1:15:08 - (Peter Mikic): But it's not always like that. You know, a few months ago I wasn't. Because you're in the middle of an installation and it's like, oh my gosh. And there are like a million people involved in the installing of a hotel. So it's quite a stressful thing. And so, you know, I. Like I said, you know, that wave is good.

1:15:29 - (Linda Habak): Actually. Surrendering to the wave is good.

1:15:32 - (Peter Mikic): Surrender to the wave. Yeah, it's good.

1:15:40 - (Linda Habak): Seriously, I loved it.

1:15:41 - (Peter Mikic): It's my first podcast. I loved it.

1:15:45 - (Linda Habak): My very last question is our signature question to every guest. What does Build Beautiful mean to you?

1:15:52 - (Peter Mikic): I think Build Beautiful means to me it means build. So I like sort of, I think creating a space that you feel safe in and a place that you can think in. And I kind of like that. You know, it's just all about trying to make what you have around you as nice as you can possibly have it. And no matter how big or small the room is, or how big or small your garden is, or how big or small your terrace is, if you can put a nice chair on your balcony and look out, that for me is just as precious as a big sitting room or whatever it is, you know, and just be humble and be happy with what you have at that very moment.

1:16:51 - (Linda Habak): That was amazing.

1:16:52 - (Peter Mikic): Thank you so much. I really, really loved it. So thank you so, so much.

1:16:56 - (Linda Habak): So glad you enjoyed it. And you.

1:16:57 - (Peter Mikic): I hope I didn't waffle on too much.

1:16:59 - (Linda Habak): No, not at all. It was so. Honestly, it was a wonderful. I always have more questions than when I start, but I am conscious of time and. Yeah, no, but thank you.

1:17:10 - (Peter Mikic): It was a pleasure.

1:17:11 - (Linda Habak): So grateful, truly.