Passion project: The Block judge Darren Palmer

Jan. 29, 2014, midnight

He's now a sought-after interior designer and a judge on The Block, but Darren Palmer jokes that he can hardly credit his childhood in 1980s country Queensland with his taste.

He's now a sought-after interior designer and a judge on The Block, but Darren Palmer jokes that he can hardly credit his childhood in 1980s country Queensland with his taste.

What do you reckon? My mum and dad had an apricot leather lounge suite, he says, laughing.

Maybe this is where it all started. Maybe I sort of saw that and went 'urgh, there's got to be better than this'.

Palmer grew up in Gladstone, about six hours north of Brisbane, and at 17 hightailed it to Rockhampton to study fine art and design. Straight after university he moved to Brisbane to start work in graphic design and advertising.

Chasing the big city lights, he took his talents to Sydney, eventually starting his own graphic design firm.

I did some decent work and it was all OK but I'm about 10 times better an interior designer than I was a graphic designer, says Palmer, 36.

It was while renovating a one-bedroom apartment at age 27 spending every spare minute of his weekends on the project that Palmer's flair attracted the attention of an interior designer friend who offered to show him the ropes.

When Belle magazine published photos of his renovated apartment, Palmer's star began to shine.

See the article here:
Passion project: The Block judge Darren Palmer