MY DESIGN JOURNEY

Modern kitchen with white cabinets, black wall cabinets, wooden floor, and a white countertop mill with a bar area with two white barstools.
Part of a bedroom with green wall, navy velvet headboard, white bedding, wooden closet doors, bookshelf, and a potted plant near the closet.

Minus One Studio (MOS) is a Melbourne-based Spatial Storyteller for Brands & Homes pioneered by Natalie Ma — a designer (RMIT Master of Architecture), solo parent, and full-time wrangler of chaos (both in her studio and at home). Through the beautiful mess of balancing Lego sculptures and mood boards, Natalie discovered that great design, like parenting, thrives in harmony: between spilled cereal and serene spaces, bold accents and bedtime stories, surviving and living vibrantly.

At MOS, we don’t just design rooms; we sculpt experiences that invite light, energy, and life to thrive, proving that less isn’t absence — it’s the canvas for extraordinary living.

A woman in a white top and black pants sitting on a large stone ledge at an ancient Egyptian temple with hieroglyphics and carved statues.

SERVICES

INTERIOR DESIGN
INTERIOR STYLING
ARCHITECTURE EXTENSION/RENOVATION
CREATIVE ADVISORY
BRANDING/MARKETING STRATOGY JOINERY DESIGN
CUSTOM FURNITURE DESIGN
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

THE MOS METHOD

Subtraction as a Love Language

1. Empathy with Teeth
We start by dissecting your rituals — how you burn toast at 7am, where sunlight abandons your living room by 3pm, why your café’s regulars linger near the third table. For renovations, we autopsy the existing: cracked tiles become clues; awkward corridors confess their sins.
“To design a space that breathes, you must first learn how its occupants choke.”

2. Material Sorcery
Born from a family legacy of joinery workshops and stone quarries, we wield materials like second languages. Timber grain isn’t just aesthetic — it’s a roadmap for minimizing waste. Stone veins aren’t “patterns” — they’re battle plans against budget blowouts.
Our edge? We speak factory floor and 3D render with equal fluency.

3. Rebellion in Three Acts

  • Spatial Choreography: When we remove a wall, it’s not demolition — it’s liberation.

  • Light as a Co-Conspirator: We weaponize shadows to hide HVAC vents and highlight your heirloom whiskey shelf.

  • The Final Provocation: A blood-red joinery handle. A travertine sink carved like an asteroid.

The MOS Promise

Less Fluff, More Bloody Miracles

We don’t do “pretty spaces.” We craft environments that:

  • Bleed your personality into every grout line

  • Breathe with the rhythm of your actual life (not a Pinterest board)

  • Bend reality to make 25sqm feel like a cathedral

Ready to subtract the ordinary?

Collaborative Alchemy

Allies in the War Against Generic

MOS thrives in the liminal space between lone wolf and wolfpack. Our network of like-minded architects, engineers, builders, manufacturers, and artisan misfits share one creed: “Perfection is the enemy, but excellence is non-negotiable.”

Why this matters for you:

  • Seamless Execution: When our joinery designer argues with your structural engineer over a 3mm tolerance, your project wins.

  • Budget as a Creative Partner: We know what’s worth splurging on (hand-forged brass door pulls) and where to cheat (illusionary ceiling heights).

  • No “Lost in Translation”: We brief builders like poets — precise, obsessive, borderline annoying.

Interested in starting a project? Feel free to contact me for more information.