sneak peak: katie quinn davies

i’ve heard so many wonderful things about australia, but have never been myself, so it’s always a treat to have an incredible sneak peek to take us down under. but in fact, katie quinn davies is originally from ireland and she blends that with her training in graphic design and recent work in food styling and photography to create a style of her own. this melbourne home she created is the result of a labor of love and major renovation that encouraged her to scale back a bit to minimize stuff, and maximize style. enjoy the full post below, and click here for additional, full-sized images. and don’t miss her delectable blog right here! {thanks, katie!} -anne

[above: This is the living-room fireplace which I recently remodeled – a huge  improvement from  the  ugly 1960s brown brick monstrosity. The overall refurbishment of the fireplace has made a huge difference in feel to the room, as before the fireplace felt twice the size and very imposing as you walked into what is essentially not a huge room. The hearth is constructed from concrete I poured into a wooden frame and used dark charcoal, Italian slate tiles on top, which were leftovers from the bathroom floor renovation. The mantel is one large piece of reclaimed Oregon Pine which I stained and treated and had fixed to the chimney breast. ]

The rug and little table are from Ikea. The orange toy on sofa is from Ugly Dolls . Books – which I collect a LOT of – various design books I have bought over the years.  Pictures in the background on the floor are from Ink Posters in the U.K. and Stanley Donwood.

This is the Master bedroom. I wanted to create a softer feel for this room  so we laid Australian pure wool carpet in a light ivory shade down in both bedrooms and small office (as sometimes this doubles as a guest bedroom). The colour scheme is again all white walls and ceilings accented with; dark olive green, soft browns and duck egg blue for soft furnishings. We felt this complimented the wooden framed bed pretty well and paired with crisp white, organic cotton bedsheets. The lamp  and bedside tables are from IKEA.

Door handles are from  Rejuvenation. The cushions on the bed are custom made using fabric from Mokum Textiles.  The pattern is called ‘Firewheel’. The duvet cover  was designed by Stuart Russell from Spacecraft Australia.

CLICK HERE for the rest of katie’s sneak peek after the jump!

The cat was rescued from RSPCA  and the bowl is from Alessi.

For the bathroom, I wanted to go for a NYC Subway /industrial feel. The mirror is from Ikea and was a good idea as space saving as it has an in-built shelf. The taps, which I saw on a website and instantly fell in love with them, but I had no clue where to find them and searched for weeks and weeks, finally discovering they were from Roger Sellers in Melbourne. The shelves in bathroom are reclaimed timber which I stained and husband put up and hold towels,  and rattan baskets for storing bottles and such. The poster on wall above toilet again from Ink Posters. The floor is Italian slate.

The bathroom  [again]  is very small and was smaller – the area where the toilet now is was actually originally and outside toilet (which we never used) but we bricked up the outside entrance and knocked into it from the inside. It created a fantastic new area to put our loo into and made the room feel twice the size. In creating this larger space for our bathroom, it also meant we could add a full-length bath. I wanted to keep the room all white as this would visually look larger and added a wall-mounted sink to again add the feeling of space.

This shot  gives a good idea of the new open-plan kitchen/diner. The floor is hardwood Tasmanian Oak.  The table is a solid Oak and was  bought from Southwood Home in South Melbourne . The dining chairs are Eames DSR.

The old white cupboard in the corner is from Izzy and Pop again and is a 19th Century French cabinet which holds all my good glassware/linens etc.  The old Elcon fan was picked up in a vintage store in Melbourne.

The large frames picture is from International Poster Gallery and is an original “Atelier Populaire” print from the late 1960’s which I bought last year.

The kitchen cupboards are from Ikea. Art Deco style and bin pull  Handle on cupboards are from Rejuvenation . The fridge is a cream Smeg .Floating shelves in the kitchen are again Oregon Pine which I stained a dark mahogany colour. The subway tiles underneath run around the kitchen and I (proudly) did all the kitchen tiling myself.

Little espresso cups (which I collect) were bought in Dublin in Avoca handweavers.

My office area -  desk and lamp are from Ikea. The chair is a Hans Wegner Wishbone. The cushion on top is from Jonathan Adler.  The Guinness print was a present from a mate in Dublin.  The T-square on picture rail, my husband made in woodwork class when he was a kid.  The metal letters on rail from David Met Nicole in Sydney.

Bed and chest of drawers in second/guest bedroom are both from Ikea.  The  letterpressed framed print from Objectified.

Garden plant markers from Anthropologie.