‘Sausage and Sizzle Must Align’: Zahava Elenberg

Zahava Elenberg dreams in spreadsheets. 

She began her property career envisioning and designing skyscrapers and establishing the eponymous Elenberg Fraser in 1998. 

Then, in 2002, Elenberg applied her laser focus to the minutiae of those buildings, creating the FF&E (fixtures, furniture and equipment) business Move-In. 

“It’s funny when I look at the arc of my career, it used to be about the big things, but now it’s very much about the small things,” Elenberg said. 

Elenberg is a panellist on The Urban Developer’s Women’s Leadership Lunch in Sydney next month alongside Decode chief executive Divya Mehta, acting building commissioner Elizabeth Stewart and MA Financial managing director Cathy Houston. 

Elenberg said she had worked to keep Move-In at a boutique scale to ensure they could service their repeat customers, which were increasingly moving into the community living sectors of build-to-rent, student accommodation and senior living. 

That’s not to say that it’s a small business by any means. 

▲ Move-In undertook the FF&E for Home Richmond, a build-to-rent project in Victoria.

With companies such as Scape and Gurner on the books, there are some very big jobs under way.

“People have this view that much of what we do is design. It’s actually about 20 per cent of the job, the rest is logistics,” she said. 

“It’s a big job when you might have 20,000 items you have to procure, quality control, pick and pack, and then install onsite under tight time constraints.

“I dream in spreadsheets now.”

Australia’s growing build-to-rent sector is squarely set on the luxury, amenity-packed products that also attract a premium rent, which is proving to be a growth market for FF&E businesses. 

From private gyms and cold plunge pools to dog-walking and podcast studios, the services baked into these assets are increasingly raising the bar.

But when it comes to the nation’s design-savvy renters, the experience of these big buildings hinges on the smallest of details, according to Elenberg.

“The sausage and sizzle have to align,” she said. 

“When build-to-rent was being considered I guess developers and operators didn’t understand what the uptake might look like. How they were furnished was still being considered. 

“We’re seeing a big shift in focus to how people will be living in these communities, and a focus on high-end design and fitout … it’s redefining how people live.

“It’s great to be able to contribute to the development of these bespoke brands from the front-end of the process… there’s a real humanness to FF&E.”

Elenberg said they were doing jobs all over Australia, but predominantly in Victoria where Move-In is headquartered. 

Elenberg has recently collaborated with Australian fashion designer Lisa Gorman to create a line of fabrics that will be adopted within future Move-In projects. 

For more details on The Urban Developer’s boardroom lunch with Zahava Elenberg, click here.