Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Melbourne Home - Kathee Gunn

The Caulfield home of Melbourne PR guru Kathee Gunn and family

Large painting on right by Gilles Terrier, Chocolate word of the day by Suki Ibbetson, Work on left of sideboard by Miriam Bereson, Small painting on the right by Kathee!

Bottom left photo - 'Lola' painting by Erica Jacobsen from Sweden 'G'Day' chair by local designer Chris Connell. Bottom right photo - 'It's easy being green' small artwork by Kathee Gunn!

'Ode to Rosalie Gascoigne' by Fysh Rutherford

After last week's little post about Australian modernist homes, I thought it would be nice this week to follow with a brilliant example of a local modernist gem! This is the Caulfield home of PR guru Kathee Gunn and her family.

Kathee and I have been in touch for a little while - her company, 360 Degrees Focus, looks after some brilliant local designers and creatives, and so Kathee often throws me press releases and feature ideas. In fact it was Kathee who introduced me to designer Nicola Cerini whose home I featured a little while ago.... and I guess it was only a matter of time before I got the chance to snoop in Kathee's own home!

When Kathee first laid eyes on this light-filled mid-century home, it was love at first sight! She instantly knew this would be home for her family. After many years living here, she's still retained most of it's original features... despite being tempted to switch a couple of questionable bathroom fittings! By and large though, Kathee loves the kooky 50's and 60's details - the incredible metallic wallpaper in the kid's bathroom, the fabulous deep blue tiles in the kitchen... and of course those stunning timber screen doors separating living and dining areas upstairs - have you ever seen such beautiful original doors?

In keeping with the home's unique design, Kathee and co have filled the space with mid-century pieces - sideboards sourced from auctions and deceased estates, and even the odd side-of-the-road find. (Man! I never find anything good in hard rubbish!) The result is a beautiful, bright and generous family home which feels totally relaxed and un-self-conscious... (is that a word?). It's the kind of home you feel instantly comfortable in - somewhere to kick your shoes off and make a bit of a mess. But no stickers on the bedroom doors. That's where Kathee draws the line. :)

Beautiful place Kathee! Thanks so much for sharing!

Kitchen. Love those blue tiles with the original white cabinetry. It is like living at Hellenic Republic.

OMG pink metallic wallpaper and lilac floor tiles in the kids bathroom... crazy good.

Original wall-to-wall cabinetry in Kathee's son's bedroom.

Kathee's daughter's room... love all her little collections... and of course the brilliant Marimekko blinds!

Kathee's bedroom.

Colour and pattern in the ensuite bathroom

Artwork in the stairwell made many moons ago by Kathee from Ikea mirror wall tiles!? Amazing!

Main hallway and front door... love the detail in the screen door!

9 comments:

  1. This home is perfectly edible! What is it with Caulfield and gorgeous Mid Century treasures? Must have been some fabulous dinner parties in the 50s /60s/ 70s in this suburb - imagine: luscious architecture, interesting interior design, great cocktails, surely the conversations were intellectually lofty too! Thanks for the images.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This home is super neat! I love all the furniture and all the special features such as the metallic wallpaper! Dream.

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. kathee launched our brand fiona kate & was super creative. No surprise that her house is stylish and homey too

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a gorgeous home - so funky! I'm really loving this style more and more!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love, love, love Kathee Gunns home - particularly love Fysh Rutherfords homage to Rosalie Gascoigne

    ReplyDelete
  6. someone's been to gordon mather industries - ie. love those chairs in the living room! yummy, delightful, so much fun. good one, lucy. thanks kathee!

    ReplyDelete
  7. OMG I love love love the sideboard in the loungeroom. amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. there is so much to envy here!! i love it. ditto to michelle.

    ReplyDelete