Bower Architecture & Interiors is a Melbourne residential practice known for warm, light-filled homes that are calm and restrained in form yet often ambitious and unexpected in concept. Founded in 2005 by co-directors Chema Bould and Anna Dutton, the practice works from a studio in Richmond, where a team of nine designs new homes, major renovations, beach houses and rural retreats across Melbourne and coastal and country Victoria, with architecture and interiors considered together.

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Office D.SHARP worked with the directors to develop a marketing and brand strategy built on the practice's considerable strengths and on the qualities its clients value most. The strategy has since informed refreshed website copy by writer Rebecca Gross and the presentation of three newly completed houses, one of which has been shortlisted for two national awards.

Office D.SHARP had advised Bower on its marketing since 2023, and in early 2024 the directors asked for a more complete strategy to guide the practice's communications over the following year, with the completed plan presented that August. The practice already had an established identity and website by Self-titled, a large portfolio of completed houses and a loyal group of past clients.

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The directors wanted to build on that foundation. Their aim was to present the practice at a level consistent with its most ambitious work, and to become better known for substantial primary residences in Melbourne's inner suburbs, alongside the coastal and country houses that feature prominently in its portfolio.

We began by holding workshops with Chema Bould and Anna Dutton to understand the practice's values, goals and preferred projects. We then assessed its website, branding, imagery, written material and social media, comparing them with a group of peer practices in Victoria and interstate.

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Bower's identity and website were distinctive and professional, its project descriptions were engaging, and its directors and team came across as open and approachable. The client portraits and stories that appear across the site were a particularly appealing and unusual feature.

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The opportunities lay in the consistency of the practice's imagery, the curation of its portfolio and the focus of its social media, so that each would reflect more closely the work the practice most wanted to attract.

We interviewed three recent clients about how they had chosen an architect and how they would describe the practice. None followed the architecture industry closely, which made their impressions a useful indication of how the practice is seen by a wider audience.

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Their accounts were remarkably consistent. They recognised an identifiable approach across Bower's houses while feeling that each had been designed for its owners and brief, and they described the process as organised and clear. All three spoke of the complementary skills of the two directors, and warmth came up repeatedly, both in the team and in the buildings.

Building on what the research had confirmed, we worked with the directors to develop positioning that would elevate the practice's presentation while staying authentic to the existing brand. It rests on four ideas: warmth, in a welcoming practice and light-filled homes; elegance, in calm, restrained spaces and a well-honed process; empathy, in attention to the connections between clients, their homes and their surroundings; and expressiveness, in ambitious and unexpected design concepts.

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The objectives for the first year focused on increasing awareness of the practice in the Victorian market, growing consideration for high-end residential projects in inner Melbourne, and strengthening repeat and referral work from existing relationships.

Project content and messaging received particular attention in the plan. We recommended a refined and emotive direction for photography of forthcoming projects, professional visualisation for unbuilt work, journal articles drawn from client stories, and a copywriter to restate the practice's messaging around the new positioning.

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On the website, we recommended a more closely curated portfolio and a simpler structure, together with a welcome document for prospective clients of primary residences. On media, we recommended offering new projects first to architectural titles, and on relationships, a structured programme for staying in contact with past clients and referrers.

Once the plan was in place, the practice commissioned Rebecca Gross to refresh its website copy, with work beginning in early 2025. The practice's statement now describes expressive, light-filled homes and a calm, clear and well-honed process, language that closely reflects the positioning.

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Three completed houses have since been added to the portfolio: Ernest House in Brighton, Kalorama, and Cheshunt House in Point Lonsdale. Ernest House, the restoration of a mid-century home in one of the inner suburbs identified in the objectives, was shortlisted in the 2026 Houses Awards and the 2026 Australian Interior Design Awards and published by The Local Project.

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Bower is a practice whose warmth is felt as much in its relationships as in its buildings. We are proud to have helped give its writing, imagery and project selection a shared foundation that reflects both.

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Brand identity and website by Self-titled. Images by Nikole Ramsay, Martina Gemmola and John Gollings.