LIFE & STYLE
Kate shares some firsts and favourite things.
MY FIRST (ADULT) HOME I moved to Sydney from Toowoomba, Queensland, in 2004 after Tim and I were married. We rented a sweet little one-bedder in Balmain [in Sydney’s inner west]. It had a lovely leafy courtyard off the living room and bedroom that opened onto a common garden full of enormous fig trees. FIRST CAR Ah, Bertie. A yellow 1982 Datsun my parents bought back in the day. I invested all my weekend-waitressing savings in a new engine to get him on the road. He retired to Tim’s family farm in Gunnedah, NSW, in 2006. DREAM CAR I am obsessed with the new Mercedes Marco Polo. It’s like the cutest Barbie campervan you’ve ever seen! GREAT READ The Big Book of Chic by Miles Redd is a visual feast with entertaining quotes and anecdotes throughout. NEXT PURCHASE FOR YOUR HOME I have loved the Tobi-Ishi table (below) by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for B&B Italia since its release in 2012.
WHO INSPIRES YOU IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN? I’m a big fan of classic US designers like Thomas O’Brien, Steven Gambrel and Nate Berkus. Closer to home, I love Nicci Green of Articolo Lighting. FAVOURITE PROJECT? The interior of the new HQ for Hordern House antiquarian booksellers [in Sydney’s Surry Hills, below left] was a dream commission (and bagged us a few awards too!) NEXT TRAVEL DESTINATION? Anghiari in Tuscany, home of the beautiful Busatti fabric mill and the Busattis, our surrogate family. I have travelled to Anghiari every year since discovering Busatti and opening our store in Sydney in 2007. I am always inspired by the authenticity and passion behind this very special product and its people. FAVOURITE ARTIST I commissioned Matilda Michell to paint a still-life for our kitchen with some favourite family objects which I’ll treasure forever.
NEXT HOME PROJECT Tools down (for now) and enjoy our home with our lovely little family.