This 1950s Devonport house proved to be the blank slate interior stylist Kate Alexander had been searching for to transform into her dream family home
Who lives here?
Kate Alexander (interior stylist and owner of Places & Graces), Matt Kardos (enterprise architect for Electric Kiwi), Harry, and Molly, plus Mindy the Jack Russell.
Style secrets
- Do a seasonal change. Move things around – it’s healthy and combats a sense of stagnation or inertia in your own personal life.
- Invest in feather cushion inners. They sit properly on your couch and bounce back to life after being squashed.
- Re-purposing is so satisfying. One night we decided to pull up the carpet in the lounge. We cut it into three pieces and made rugs: one edged in grey for the lounge, one edged in pink for the play room and one for a friend. Three rugs for the price of $300 for edging – bargain!
- Ask for advice to get you going then practise, practise. I was a novice gardener when we moved here so I asked a green-fingered friend to spend time with me, getting the basics in place. That set me off on the right path.
- Don’t pull down your pelmets – use them as display ledges.
Love this house? Now get the look!
Story by: Debbie Harrison. Photography by: Helen Bankers.
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Kate says her home is an expression of her personal creativity and how she’s feeling. “Matt’s not too precious about there being changes – he really enjoys projects.”
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When the family purchased the house, nothing had been done to it since the 1990s so it was a blank slate, which suited interior stylist Kate down to the ground.
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The family knocked down a wall between the lounge and the kitchen to open the living area up.
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The old kitchen was ripped out (part of it is now the bench in Matt’s workshop) and in went a new DIY version from Mitre 10.
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The couple painted the lounge wall green one weekend when they didn’t have anything else on!
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The green wall provides a great background for the ever-evolving gallery of artwork.
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The entire interior was treated to a lick of white paint and immediately the home started to look a little more loved and usable.
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The family use the lounge a lot in winter because of the cosy fireplace. The black leather suite – an original Danske Mobler piece – was Matt’s grandma’s.
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The custom-built desk and cabinetry fits perfectly into a nook in the main bedroom.
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Because the main bedroom is so large, the couple use a set of drawers as their bedhead (as well as for storage).
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The double bed on Harry and Molly’s bunks is ideal for when guests stay. Matt attached a shelf to the top bunk for Harry and used cable ties to hang the pegboard below.
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Drawers decorated in washi tape and lots of hooks feature in the play room.
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The family use the hot outdoor shower every day – no matter how cold it is.
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Kate’s studio is jam-packed with props for her styling business, most of them found in vintage stores far and wide. “I grew up with parents who were art collectors. I grew up with stuff around us; it’s in my blood. My brother’s house is similar, especially now he’s surrounded with art with his store, Endemicworld.”
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A boardwalk connecting the outdoor spaces is the couple’s latest project.
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The enclosed deck off the lounge was usable but sparse and ugly, plus the painted bitumen got really hot in summer, so the couple added fake grass to make it cool underfoot and painted the deck wall in the same soft green as the lounge for cohesion.
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