Lucky Charm
A long-held wish came true when designer Kate Walker secured a 1930s charmer in coastal Victoria for her family.
Designer Kate Walker revives a 1930s sandstone beauty on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
After moving from Melbourne to Mount Martha as a young mum 10 years ago, Kate Walker would stroll through the streets of this Mornington Peninsula town with toddler Charlie and baby Jemima in a double pram. Over the years, as the family moved from house to house in the area, she kept an eye on her favourite pocket and in 2015 was rewarded with the chance to buy her ideal home there, just a short walk from the local beach and its colourful bathing huts.
In the meantime, Kate had established KWD, her own design practice, and could see past the property’s superficial disadvantages – the drab grey exterior and untended garden, pink interior walls and green carpet – to the 1150m2 corner block and elegant bones of the 1930s sandstone house. “It’s one of the oldest in the area,” she says. “I loved the uniqueness of its architecture and the potential to create an English-style garden, so I jumped at the chance.”
Postponing structural changes, bar the removal of one wall, Kate reinvented the interior within the existing envelope. “As I’m in the business of making homes beautiful for my clients, I wanted something highly designed,” she explains.
To balance the project with her client workload, Kate enlisted the help of her sister, Amy Spargo of Maine House Interiors design studio. Together, they’ve created an inviting coastal haven that is elegant but relaxed. The blue front door opens to a bright, sunsplashed interior filled with a mix of classic design references.
“I definitely didn’t want to follow a trend, but I love British colonial, American coastal and Chinoiserie styles, so elements of those are present throughout the house,” says Kate.
The entry hall gives access to interconnected dining, living and kitchen spaces on one side, with a bedroom, bathroom and laundry on the other. Upstairs are two additional bedrooms, a multi-purpose space, study nook and bathroom.
Personalising each space is a harmonious composition of designer pieces and garage-sale finds, family pieces rich in meaning and muchloved collectables, as well as a number of specially commissioned artworks — Kate’s biggest splurge – along with beautiful rugs.
Sea breezes waft in through french doors and sash windows, while the landscaped grounds are a magnet for extended family. Charlie, now 13, and Jemima, 10, can be found playing in the pool or on an inground trampoline with their cousins, while adults tend the barbecue or enjoy a G&T under the jacaranda. A self-contained flat that Kate used as her first KWD studio now makes a fine poolhouse and children’s retreat.
On the agenda for this year is a major addition at the front of the home. With her typical devotion to detail, Kate has already tracked down original moulds to replicate the exterior’s reconstituted sandstone blocks. “They will look like they’ve always been there,” she says. “I’m committed to keeping the character of the house.”
KWD, Mount Martha, Victoria; (03) 5974 1800 or katewalkerdesign.com.au.