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Ruby Shields says taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the COVID period helped her decide to pursue interior design professionally. She and her husband, Patrick, spent seven years renovating their early-1980s home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges, a project that became the foundation for her practice, Studio Shields.
Ruby Shields says a Kelly Wearstler MasterClass helped prompt her to pursue interior design, a career change that took shape while she and her husband, Patrick, spent seven years renovating their home in Australia’s Yarra Ranges. The house became the basis for her design practice, Studio Shields, according to a Livingetc profile.
The couple bought the early-1980s property in their early twenties. Ruby was then working as an art director in advertising, while Patrick was a second-year carpentry apprentice. They chose the house despite its unfinished lower level, which had no connecting staircase and was largely an exposed frame cut into the hillside. They saw the work as a chance to shape a home and develop their respective skills.
One early change was removing a hallway wall that blocked the view from the entrance. Ruby told Livingetc that the alteration opened the sightline to the gum-tree canopy. The couple worked on the house during evenings and weekends, designing and making features ranging from brass handles to bespoke joinery. The report says they renovated it room by room while living there.
Ruby said the project reached a career turning point during the COVID period, when she took Wearstler’s online MasterClass. She later launched Studio Shields, using the home as a strong expression of her approach. The Livingetc story describes a palette inspired by the surrounding landscape, reclaimed timber, layered textures and custom-made pieces. It identifies the home’s design as Studio Squire, while describing Ruby’s practice as Studio Shields.
A Renovation Became a Design Career
The story links a personal renovation to a professional change: the home was not simply a finished project, but a place where Ruby developed and tested her design ideas. Her account offers a specific example of how a long-term creative project can help someone decide to pursue a new line of work, though the source does not present the experience as a general rule or measure its wider effects.
The renovation also illustrates how the couple handled limits in budget and construction. Ruby said they used reclaimed materials for bespoke pieces, and Patrick’s carpentry skills shaped the execution. Their choices—such as reworking the entrance view and adding custom details—show how their own home served as both a practical renovation and a portfolio of their work.
Kelly Wearstler MasterClass interior design
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Seven Years in the Yarra Ranges
The property is in the hills of the Yarra Ranges, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, according to Livingetc. Ruby recalled that the house felt like a treehouse above the gum trees, prompting the couple to name it The View. The unfinished lower level and the blocked entrance sightline presented substantial design and building tasks.
Ruby and Patrick approached the work as collaborators. Ruby described giving design direction, while Patrick brought carpentry and attention to construction detail. Their material and styling decisions included reclaimed wharf timber for a carved bedroom headboard, green wall tiles, and a bold mix of earthy colors with a blue ceiling. These details are reported as features of this particular house, not as a broader design trend.
What the Profile Does Not Specify
Livingetc’s report does not give a publication date, the exact year Ruby took the MasterClass, or when Studio Shields formally launched. It also does not provide information about the practice’s current projects, client list, size or commercial performance. The source describes Ruby’s account of the course and career decision; it does not establish that the MasterClass alone caused the change.
The report identifies the home with Studio Squire while saying Ruby launched Studio Shields. It does not explain the relationship, if any, between those names. The article also does not give renovation costs, permits, or a detailed construction timeline beyond the couple’s seven years of work.
The Studio’s Work Beyond Home
The source does not announce a new project, business milestone or forthcoming development for Studio Shields. Its focus is the completed home and the role Ruby says it played in shaping her work. Any update on the practice’s projects or the next stage of the renovation story would require further information from Ruby, Patrick or the studio.
Key Questions
What prompted Ruby Shields to pursue interior design?
Ruby told Livingetc that taking Kelly Wearstler’s MasterClass during the COVID period helped her realize she wanted to work in interior design. The report does not specify the course date.
How long did the renovation take?
Ruby and Patrick Shields spent seven years working on the house, often during evenings and weekends, according to Livingetc.
Where is the home?
The house is in Australia’s Yarra Ranges, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the report says.
What is Studio Shields?
Studio Shields is the interior design practice Ruby says she launched after the renovation. Livingetc describes the couple’s home as a central expression of her design approach but provides no details about the studio’s current business or projects.
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