Casual Elegance from a Melbourne Interior Designer

Today's blog post features an Australian designer who is sharing one of her recent projects, with her take on 'casual elegance'.

Jemden Interiors is run by Andrea Davison and based in Eltham, Victoria. Andrea is mainly hands on visiting clients in their homes in and around Donvale, Kangaroo Ground, Plenty, Lower Plenty etc but also works on the Mornington Peninsula on clients beach homes.

Today's blog post features one of Andrea's recent projects in Essendon. Andrea said "the client was a dream, which always means the end result is good" although personally I would say this project goes beyond good. The project was the renovation and total decoration of an older house in Essendon. The renovation was already under control when they hired Andrea who oversaw the kitchen/family area and total decoration. Items like mirrors and wall lights in the bathrooms were also chosen by Andrea, alongside furniture and soft furnishings. The only item the family chose to retain was their dining room table so everything else was completely new and as they are a busy family they allowed Andrea to choose everything, right down to tea towels and cutlery.

The client's brief was for a beautiful but comfortable family home with casual elegance. They also required plenty of storage which Andrea loves to provide. For example, in the kitchen/family area a rustic but elegant console was chosen with plenty of drawers for storing all the smaller items needed for a busy family. The blue and white lamps on the console add that touch of elegance. The entrance was another place that Andrea chose to provide more storage selecting a console with drawers and a wicker trunk that can store shoes, keeping the entrance tidy. I love this idea as shoes all over the floor really detracts from a welcoming but smart, entrance. 

Andrea says she "wanted to create a family home that is not only beautiful but an absolute pleasure to live in so it also needed to be comfortable and durable." Being a family home, Andrea wanted to make sure it was also child proof and she felt that she has achieved this without compromising this beautiful home.

Andrea describes the style of this particular project as "casual elegance", she says it is not a "particular style but definitely shows her signature style which she describes as timeless, elegant and comfortable." I feel Andrea has a fresh approach to a classic look which incorporates timeless pieces with a touch of country and Hamptons.

If you would like to contact Andrea about a particular project, I have placed a link to her website (above). Also if you are out of her locale, there is the possibility of on-line consultations via email:

Email:   jemdeninteriors@bigpond.com