Adriel Lack and Rau Underhill, Creative Directors of Raven & Lack (image supplied)
There’s a certain kind of creative duo who leave the Coast, cut their teeth on the global stage, and return with a sharper, more refined point of view. Rae Underhill and Adriel Lack are exactly that.
As co-founders and creative directors of Raven & Lack, the Burleigh Heads-based studio with London roots, the pair are helping shape a new standard of luxury living on the Gold Coast. With an international portfolio spanning the UK, Middle East and South East Queensland, their work blends elevated, design-led thinking with the relaxed rhythm of coastal life.
Hedges Kitchen, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)
We caught up with Rae and Adriel to talk coming home, the evolution of the local aesthetic, and why true luxury is as much about how a space feels as how it looks.
Tell us about Raven & Lack and your roles there.
Raven and Lack is dynamic and super creative interior design studio, based in Burleigh Heads, founded in London. With project spanning the UK, Middle East, and SEQ , we specialise in the luxury residential interior design sector.  We are working on a variety of projects from stand alone trophy homes to multi unit residential developments and furniture packages for ultra – boutique apartments. We are the co-founders and creative directors, supported by our talented team of interior architects and interior designers.
Sovereign Island Villa, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)
You both worked internationally for years, particularly in London. What pulled you back to the Gold Coast, and how has it influenced your creative direction?
Ultimately it was for the Gold Coast Lifestyle, both Adriel and I are from the Gold Coast and after an incredible decade plus spent in London it was time to come home, we were ready for barefoot luxury after the life in the big city!
The Gold Coast has really come into its own design-wise. How would you describe the local aesthetic right now?
The Gold Coast’s luxury aesthetic has undergone a quiet but significant shift — moving beyond its signature sun-drenched glamour into something far more discerning. Shaped by international travel, interstate migration, and a growing appetite for considered design, the region’s interiors now speak a more global language. Think the restraint of European minimalism, the warmth of Mediterranean living, and the organic textures of high-end coastal design from California to the Amalfi Coast — all filtered through a distinctly Queensland light. The result is an elevated coastal aesthetic that feels worldly without losing its sense of the vernacular.
Principal Bedroom, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)
How do you balance that relaxed, coastal lifestyle with the level of luxury your clients expect?
We think about it as designing for how people actually live. Our clients entertain, they have families, they want to walk in from the beach and feel like they’re in the most beautiful place in the world — without feeling like they can’t touch anything. That balance is everything. It’s what separates a luxurious home from just an expensive one.
What are Gold Coast clients asking for in 2026 that they weren’t five or ten years ago?
The conversation around wellness has completely transformed. Five or ten years ago, a home gym was considered a luxury addition — now our clients are asking for dedicated wellness suites that rival boutique studios. Infrared saunas, cold plunge pools, steam rooms — these aren’t wish-list items anymore, they’re being designed into the brief from day one, with the same level of intention we’d bring to a kitchen or master suite.
Sovereign Villa, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)
But what’s equally significant is the shift happening at the material level. Clients are far more informed now — they’re asking where things come from, how they’re made, what’s off-gassing into their home. There’s a real demand for natural, low-toxic materials: lime plasters, raw timbers, natural stone, wool and linen textiles, clay-based paints. And interestingly, that pursuit of healthier materials aligns beautifully with the aesthetic direction we’re seeing — because those materials also happen to be the most beautiful, the most tactile, and the most enduring.
In three words, how would you describe the future of Gold Coast interiors?
Considered. Elevated. Lifestyle Driven – (that’s 4!)
What’s one design mistake you see people consistently making?
The biggest mistake made in luxury homes is treating interiors as an afterthought. When natural light, spatial arrangements, and material selections aren’t considered from the very beginning of a project, the result is a home that never quite coheres — beautiful in parts, but lacking that seamless, resolved quality that defines truly exceptional design. The architecture and interiors have to be in conversation from day one.
Hedges Rooftop, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)
Are there any local designers, artists or spaces on the Gold Coast inspiring you right now?
The Gold Coast has some seriously talented architects and designers — Jayson Pate, Joe Snell, Reece Kiel, Bayden Goddard, Paul Uhlmann — each with a signature aesthetic and a real following. The projects coming out of the Coast at the moment are exceptional, and it shows in the results — suburb records are being broken consistently. It’s a genuinely exciting time, and it’s a real testament to what happens when you back a strong interiors and architecture team – investing in a strong consultant team from the outset doesn’t just elevate the design, it delivers real, measurable return on investment.
There’s a really exciting art scene emerging on the Gold Coast right now. 19Karen and the collective of artists working out of Mint Art House are consistently producing genuinely exciting work — bold, fresh, and increasingly hard to ignore. It’s a creative community that’s growing in both confidence and recognition, and one that’s absolutely worth watching closely.
Sovereign Villa, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)
What are your Gold Coast favourites:
Cafe: Bam Bam Bakehouse
Restaurant: NorteÂ
Bar: Rick Shores for a glass of champagne. Never sick of that view!
Furniture store: Tigmi Trading
Beach:Â North Burleigh to Burleigh Heads
How do you choose to spend your day off?
Beach days with family, dinner with friends, simple Gold Coast life!
Hedges Rooftop, Interior Raven & Lack (image supplied)