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Koala’s Progressive Design Vision
With a progressive vision for pieces that reflect the Australian way of life and a pioneering approach to developing new fabrics and materials, Koala is creating a distinctive niche in the furniture and homewares market.
Koala began with a simple premise: to make a premium mattress that was not only comfortable and sustainable but affordable. In the near-decade since, the company has grown to become a whole-of-home furniture creator whose design philosophy reflects and embodies the needs and ideals of modern Australian life, with innovation at the heart of all it does. Central to Koala’s progressive vision is its design team’s considered approach to sourcing, creating and manufacturing the fabrics used in its products, which covers every facet from colour and texture to eco-credentials.
At the Treehouse, the company’s aptly named headquarters, the team is developing new materials, fabrics and fabrications not only inspired by the Australian landscape but designed to endure its rigours. “At Koala, we develop our textiles from scratch in order to create sustainable, unique, high-performance, premium fabrics at affordable prices,” says design director Alexandra Owen. “We embed our textiles with Australian-landscape-inspired textures, colours and patterns to give them meaning and uniqueness.”
That process is beautifully embodied in pieces like the Shear Bliss rug, made from Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) wool sourced from New Zealand and with a form echoing the ripples of sand found in the Australian desert. Its subtle colour, Paperbark, reflects Koala’s refined palette of hues, which range from Blushing, Sand and Sunshine tones to Eucalypts and Sea-Foam greens. Similarly, the Byron sofa bed – available in evocative shades like Currawong Grey and Blush Sunset – marks the brand’s deeper dive into textured fabrics. The demi bouclé has a subtle texture reminiscent of beach sand and, being yarn-dyed and recycled, reinforces Koala’s commitment to products that not only look good but are good for the planet, too.
Bespoke materials and fabrics mean that the brand has control over production from the very beginning. “Because the design team create all of our products from scratch, we are able to shape every part of the process, optimising for quality and sustainability,” says Owen. “Our dedication to in-house R&D and our direct-to-consumer model also enable us to pursue solutions that other retailers and manufacturers aren’t incentivised to do.”
Those solutions are myriad and include pioneering performance materials like CoolTouch, a sleep surface that enables the body to respond to the heat of summer more effectively, and the use of recycled plastic bottles in products such as the Beauty Bottler Rug, made from a 100 per cent rPET yarn. Koala also prioritises certified organic and responsibly sourced cottons and wools and, in the near future, the majority of its products will feature removable and washable covers. “This will vastly improve durability and circularity, enabling customers to replace elements rather than discarding whole furniture pieces.”
“Because the design team creates all of our products from scratch, we are able to shape every part of the process, optimising for quality and sustainability.”
Never content to rest on its laurels, Koala has a range of groundbreaking furniture and homewares in the pipeline. “This extensive roadmap of innovative products is designed to realise Koala’s belief that high-quality furniture should be accessible to everybody, at a reasonable price – and that every product should be designed to successfully achieve utility, useability, durability and sustainability, while being crafted to be a stylish statement in any home,” says Owen.
Ultimately, “We think that Australia is uniquely placed to lead a revolution in furniture and product design in terms of quality, durability and sustainability. We are positioned close to innovative hubs of manufacturing, with untapped access to fibres and materials which are proven to perform and reduce impact on the planet.”
