There’s a certain magic about stepping into a space that has a story to tell. For Kate Finazzi, her therapy rooms in Brisbane’s Ballow Chambers are more than just a place for psychoanalytic therapy. They’re a carefully curated environment where history, design and purpose come together to create an extraordinary space for healing.
Here’s how Kate transformed these intimate spaces, blending bold design choices with the building’s storied past – and how we captured every thoughtful detail to bring her vision to life.
A heritage story retold
Stepping into Ballow Chambers is like stepping back in time. Built in the 1920s, the heritage-listed building in Brisbane’s Spring Hill has historically housed medical suites. Kate, a long-time occupant of the building, recently expanded her practice into a larger suite by merging two adjoining rooms. It was a transformation not just about space, but about honoring the building’s legacy.
“I love the history of the building,” Kate shares. “It’s really not that easy to come across spaces like this in Brisbane. It has an atmosphere that I love. There’s something about practicing psychoanalytic therapy – a deeply historical practice – in a space that carries so much story and character. It feels aligned, almost poetic.”
Unlike many modern therapy spaces that emulate spas or wellness retreats, Kate’s rooms embrace a more grounded and evocative atmosphere. “Psychoanalytic therapy is gritty and intense,” she explains. “It’s about your childhood and the story of your life. I didn’t want it to feel clinical or overly polished. It needed to feel cosy, yet have a sense of occasion and purpose.”
The design journey
Designing the therapy rooms was a deeply personal process. With no formal interior designer involved, Kate and her husband took the reins, guided by intuition and a shared respect for the building’s heritage. They enlisted a builder experienced with the Ballow Chambers building to ensure the renovation celebrated the 1920s charm, preserving classical features like window frames and door trims while introducing modern functionality.
“There’s been a lot of work done in the building over the years, and we really tried to honour the classical 1920s feel,” Kate says. “A lot of the suites in the building have leant into contemporary updates, but we wanted to preserve and celebrate the original features.”
The design choices were bold and intentional. “The color choices were the most nerve-wracking part,” Kate recalls. “I probably tested over 25 paint samples before deciding on duck-egg blue walls and a deep red ceiling for my office. It was such an act of courage, allowing myself to go so bold and say, ‘Yes, this is okay.’ So much of design is about giving yourself permission.”
Even the furniture tells a story. A 1950s daybed, reimagined as a bespoke psychoanalytic couch, anchors the space with its striking red upholstery. “It’s such a pivotal piece,” Kate notes. “It was originally made in an Ipswich timber mill, and I had it reupholstered to suit the room. It’s a big deal to lie on a couch for therapy. If it’s not quite right, people won’t use it.”
The renovation came with its share of challenges, from navigating heritage restrictions to managing construction in a busy building. Kate continued seeing clients throughout the process, often eating lunch amid the dust and noise. “I spent so much time just standing in the space, letting it tell me what it needed,” she says. “It was almost meditative – a conversation between me and the rooms.”
There was also the stress of choosing the right team for the project. A last-minute decision to switch builders proved pivotal. “At the eleventh hour, I pulled the pin on one builder and went back to someone I trusted. It was such a big lesson – if you don’t trust the person you’re working with, the project won’t go well.
“Our builder wasn’t just following instructions. He cared about the building as much as we did, and that emotional investment made all the difference.”
A space with soul(s)
The expanded practice now includes four therapy rooms – one for Kate and the others available for rent to like-minded clinicians.
“Psychology can be a lonely profession,” Kate explains. “Traditional private practices often have rigid setups or take significant cuts of clinician’s income. I wanted to create a space where therapists could run their own practices independently while still feeling part of a supportive environment.”
The result is a small, vibrant community of practitioners who enjoy the flexibility of renting by the day or hour, enjoying the autonomy and collegial atmosphere Kate sought to create.
“It’s been a deeply rewarding experience to see how people respond to the space,” Kate reflects. “For clients, it feels significant and special – a space that holds meaning. For therapists, it’s a place where they can practice independently but never feel alone.”
Ballow Chambers is even rumored to be haunted, with tales of ghostly inhabitants from its storied past. “There’s something comforting about their presence,” Kate says. “The building has seen so much over the decades. It’s like the walls themselves carry the weight of all those stories.”
For Kate, these quirks only add to the building’s character. “When I interview prospective tenants, I always ask, ‘Are you okay with ghosts?’” she laughs. “I find the ghosts to be largely friendly and aligned with my interests. They just feel like another layer of history.”
Honouring the past, designing for the present
For Kate, enlisting The Content Division to capture photos of the therapy rooms was about more than just showcasing the design – it was a way to preserve the story of the transformation and to celebrate the realisation of her vision.
“The photos act as a historical record of the long journey,” Kate says, “but they’re also an invitation to prospective tenants to see how unique this space is. It’s not a typical therapy space for Brisbane. I wanted to showcase what makes it different.”
With the practice active during the shoot, our team worked efficiently to photograph each room without disrupting its use. The intimate nature of the rooms required a creative approach – stitching panoramas and using wide-angle lenses to showcase the full space while maintaining its characters.
To honour the natural ambience of the rooms, we chose to work with natural light rather than artificial strobes or flash. By employing bracketed HDR exposures and carefully blending these in post-production, we highlighted the warmth and thoughtful details of the design while staying true to the atmosphere Kate so carefully created.
Through her thoughtful choices, Kate has created a space where past, present and future coexist – and it’s an environment that feels as much a part of the therapeutic process as the work itself.
