Saunaura is Tim Neve’s new wellness centre flagship in Newcastle, NSW. The brief was simple: to create a space that felt elevated and beautifully designed, while still being approachable and easy to enjoy. Somewhere people could slow down, switch off and experience wellness at their own pace.
Known for his warmer interiors and homewares designs in recent years, Saunaura gave Tim the opportunity to explore the cooler side of the colour wheel. The brand itself led much of the interior direction, with an earthy, calm and tactile feel at its core. Green became a natural starting point for its freshness, layered throughout the space alongside complementary materials, colours and details. The intention was never for the interiors to feel overly themed, but rather as though every element naturally belonged together.
The space was designed to feel cocooning and a little escapist - somewhere that encourages an exhale the moment you walk through the door, allowing the rest of the day to stay outside. At the same time, Tim wanted Saunaura to feel distinctly modern and unlike a typical wellness experience. Sprinkles of nostalgia appear throughout, with the steam room in particular taking cues from the fantastical Emerald City and its pamper parlour.
Green was always going to be the hero, appearing in different iterations from sage and olive through to deeper forest tones. These hues are layered with stone, textured tiles, warm neutrals and gunmetal. Tim’s love of mixing finishes is also evident throughout, balancing raw, tactile surfaces against more refined and sculptural pieces.The result is a palette that feels cohesive without becoming one-note. Variations in tone, scale and texture give the interiors depth, while the contrast between natural, tactile surfaces and more polished elements keeps the space feeling fresh and contemporary
For Tim, the smaller bathroom spaces presented an opportunity to have a little more fun. Rather than paring things back, he embraced layers of visual interest, combining different scales and textures of tile to make the compact spaces feel dynamic and memorable. Tim leaned into detail. Layered tiles, contrasting textures and sculptural forms turn otherwise functional areas into memorable moments within the wider Saunaura experience.
One of the project’s most playful design risks was pairing the Luna Freestanding Basin with a dramatic ceiling-mounted tap. The two-metre gunmetal spout descends from above almost like a sculptural drop of water or stalactite, transforming what could have been a purely functional chilled and filtered water station into something far more considered. It’s a detail that captures the broader approach to Saunaura perfectly: taking something inherently functional and reconsidering how it can contribute to the experience of the space. The dramatic ceiling-mounted spout and freestanding basin transform a simple water station into a sculptural focal point.
Having specified Nood Co. across a number of previous projects, Tim was drawn to the way the pieces introduce colour and personality to a space. For Saunaura, the Luna Freestanding Basin in Olive felt almost made for the project, sculptural, compact and completely at home within the surrounding palette. So much so that Tim chose to use two.
The Luna Freestanding Basins in Olive sit naturally within Saunaura’s layered green palette, while its sculptural form gives the functional element a presence of its own. Used twice throughout the project, the basin reinforces the balance of colour, tactility and form that runs through the entire space.
Saunaura demonstrates how wellness design can move beyond the expected. Through rich colour, tactile surfaces and moments of playful experimentation, Tim has created a space that feels restorative without losing its personality, somewhere designed not only to look beautiful, but to encourage people to slow down, switch off and stay awhile.
Saunaura is officially open this week, bookings available via the link HERE!
Saunaura Wellness
281-293 Brunker Road, Adamstown, New South Wales, Australia 2289
Interior Designer: Tim Neve
August 27, 2026
Nood Co
