Fiona's Southern Australian Find: A Love Story

Fiona Dyer, owner of Fede Textiles, is a mother, wife, artist, crafter and interior designer -- whew! On a June day in 2008, she pulled up to this 1957 rancher, and though it was a bit overgrown and in need of TLC, she knew that she was just the person to give it the attention it needed. The location was perfect, and it was love at first sight. Ah, a house love story. Aren't they the best kind?

"When we finally secured the home, we referred to her as our 'diamond in the rough,'" she says. "It had great bones but needed a lot of work." Luckily, those great bones included some untouched character that was original to the 1950s design and structure of the home. She wanted to sympathetically update the house for modern family living while combining new with old.

Her and her husband are currently in the process of giving the landscape a much-needed overhaul. But she's been hard at work over the past year updating the interior of the home, which we're going to check out after the jump.
The living room is one of Fiona's favorite rooms in the house. She knew the moment she walked in that its original features could once again shine alongside her modern furniture. Although the marble fireplace was black with soot and the large picture windows were lost under a mass of pink velvet drapes, "the clean lines and original cabinetry got me very excited and the warmth of all the timber paneling and exposed brickwork suggested great character," she says.

After much cleaning, she and her husband added oak over the original concrete floor and added dual roller shades in charcoal gray. A few months ago, the pair purchased leather sofas, which were made in Melbourne by Jimmy Possum, a family owned furniture business. They were careful to select durable pieces. With two children, she knew the furniture would have to withstand the wear and tear of little feet. So far, Fiona says, these are doing the job just fine.

Also in the room are a few reproduction pieces, the Dandelion Lamp by Richard Hutton (which came flat packed, much unlike the original) and an Eames side table. The vinyl pouf is an eBay find. Other bits and pieces are from the couple's travels (Aboriginal oil painting from Northern Australia & timber sculpture from the Congo in Africa). The black woven chair is from IKEA.

She and her hubby didn't do too much to the bathroom. It is a true 1950's pink and blue style bathroom (the charm!). In order to make the bathroom more practical for a family of four, the couple installed new mirrored wall cabinets on the opposite wall, a new shower curtain (one of Fiona's faves), which is a Venice scene from Izola Shower, and new stainless steel towel rails (not seen in the photo). The original bath is in excellent condition and loved by her kids who thought it was a pool when they first moved in.

The kitchen was the first photo that I saw of Fiona's home. I originally thought I'd just do a post about her fabulous new kitchen, but when I saw the rest of her home, I knew it was worthy of a house-tour! Fiona was fortunate to have worked for both shopfitters and kitchen cabinetmakers in the first 3 years of her career as an interior designer, which enabled her some fundamental knowledge of of joinery detailing. The rest of her career has been in commercial design, but she enjoys residential projects and kitchens in particular.

Although she claims that it is still not quite finished because she still has black/copper square glass mosaic tiles for the backsplash, I'd say this kitchen is a winner. Fiona wanted her kitchen to be sunny and bold to contrast the large amounts of wood around the house. The wall cabinets are finished with Laminex "Licorice Linea" and have a timber grain running horizontally. A door painted with black chalkboard paint is used to keep a grocery list. Instead of knobs or handles, Fiona decided to use a continuous aluminum extrusion cut to lengths. You can't see it, but there's a laundry chute in this kitchen. Cool!

The pendant lights are from ISM Australia and have oversized compact fluorescent globes. The Harry Bertoia mesh bar stools are reproductions, but Fiona hopes that one day they will be replaced with the real things! She loves thrifting as much as she can, finding great vintage pieces such as the flowery bread bin & canisters. I love the mix of mid-century pieces, modern interior architecture and vintage finds.

The bedrooms are all huge in size and flooded with natural light on the south side of the house. Fiona's bedroom is less designed than the rest of the house. The silver framed mirror is actually for the bathroom -- it's waiting to be fixed to the wall above the handbasin. The white shelf unit is an old bedside table that now houses magazines and bits of unfiled paperwork. The large black & white photo on the drawers is a wedding photo from 1999. Fiona treasures the Philippe Starck weather station and atomic projection clock on the top of the drawers (yellow square face) -- It was a birthday gift from her husband.

The black willow sticks sit in a vintage glass jar. "I like the graphic element they create in the room," she says. Along with her love of thrifting, she has an addiction for vintage fabric and blankets, particularly striped blankets.

I'm grateful to Fiona for letting us into her home. Next time you drive by an old overgrown rancher for sale, pull up and check it out -- it just might be your diamond in the rough!