A Sydney Designer's Milan Design Week Diary

Sydney interior designer Shona McElroy of Smac Studio travels to Milan Design Week 2026 for the first time and returns with a renewed conviction: the best design doesn't chase what's next, it strengthens what already endures. Hosted by CDK Stone and est living as part of the Designer Lens series, Shona navigates the electric energy of Milan design week; from the frescoed grandeur of Alcova Villa Pestarini to the spectacle of EuroCucina, before venturing off the fairgrounds entirely, up the winding road to the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy. What Shona found there, standing at the face of a mountain carved open, surrounded by veining, colour, and geological scale, is the kind of thing no mood board can prepare you for. "The idea of being able to open a mountain, find all this colour, and utilise it in our day-to-day application... it's really, really cool." From understanding slab sizing and veining consistency to rethinking how she specifies stone for her Sydney projects, this is a rare behind-the-scenes look at how great interior design decisions are made — long before anything reaches a showroom floor. In this film, Shona explores the defining trend takeaway from Milan Design Week 2026 and why it's actually a shift away from trends, how Salone del Mobile is championing timeless furniture forms from the 60s, 70s and 80s, what a marble quarry tour in Carrara teaches you about quality stone selection, the design philosophy she's bringing back to her studio in Surry Hills, Sydney, and why layering, confidence and a considered edit are the new creative currency. Explore the full feature on estliving.com here: https://estliving.com/shona-mcelroy-i... Location: Milan and Carrara, Italy. Filmed and edited by Maciek Gilewski | https://mgilewskifilms.com/ Video Producer | Miffy Coady Editor Partnerships and Content Strategy | Megan Rawson Words | Megan Rawson Stay in touch with est: Visit our website - https://www.estliving.com/ Read our latest digital issue of est Magazine - https://estliving.com/est-magazine/ Your daily dose of design on Instagram -   / est_living   Join the conversation on Facebook -   / estemag   See what we're pinning on Pinterest - https://pin.it/5yxukQh Be inspired on TikTok -   / est.living   Connect with us on LinkedIn -   / est-living   Experience est in sound on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/user/6m7jaly... #estliving #MilanDesignWeek #InteriorDesign #SalonedelMobile #CDKStone #MarbleDesign #ShonaMcElroy #SMACStudio #CarraraMarble #AustralianDesign #TimelessDesign #InteriorDesigner #LuxuryInteriors #NaturalStone #DesignInspiration #MilanDesignWeek2026