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Designer profile: Alexandra from Decus Interiors

July 9, 2018 Leave a Comment

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โ€œMy first job out of high school was as a receptionist for SJB. I was 17 and I moved on to become a design assistant there,โ€ says Decus Interiors managing director Alexandra Donohoe Church. It was a fitting beginning for the talented interior architect who went on to do a stint at Bates Smart and worked for Paul Kelly and Luigi Rosselli before launching her own Sydney-based practice, Decus Interiors, in 2009.

Alexandra Donohoe Church
Alexandra Donohoe Church

โ€œI started my company at the tail-end of the GFC which is obviously a really excellent time to start a business. I was retrenched from a small firm that worked on hospitality work (pubs) and I thought Iโ€™ve always wanted to do my own thing and work on houses so it was now or never. I didnโ€™t have a business bone in my body though,โ€ says Alexandra who now has ten full-time employees. โ€œI wouldnโ€™t want the company to be any bigger as I interface directly with all of our clients. Iโ€™d rather do low volume, high quality work as you get to do more of each job properly,โ€ says Alexandra.

Woollahra project bathroom
Woollahra project – bathroom

The details oriented designer certainly is across every element and admits her last client handover was a ten day process. โ€œWe made all the beds, hung all the artwork and put all the plates in the cupboards. Not every client can afford or wants that but we found it particularly rewarding. We work collectively and when it all comes together everyone has a great sense of satisfaction about their involvement,โ€ says Alexandra.

Hastings project dining room
North Bondi project – dining room

As for defining her aesthetic, Alexandra describes it as having an element of tension. โ€œI like spaces that arenโ€™t matchy matchy, where not everything fits together like a cookie cutter or puzzle. I like something in the space that is jarring but it all sort of balances out as a whole. Creative tension can result in beautiful outcomes โ€“ I donโ€™t see it as a negative,โ€ says Alexandra.

Hastings project bedroom
North Bondi project – bedroom

As for inspiration, travel is the main source and Alexandra goes on an overseas buying trip at least once a year โ€“ alternating mostly between Europe and America. โ€œWe did New York one year, London the year before, LA, Paris, Milan. Our last trip included Copenhagen, the south of France, Sweden and Finland. The year before that we went to Malta, Corsica and Sardinia,โ€ says Alexandra who is always prepared with jam-packed itinerary for each city that includes a hit-list of restaurants, bars, showrooms, art galleries and cultural sites.

Woollahra project
Woollahra project

Unsurprisingly, the ideal Decus Interiors client has a sense of adventurousness. โ€œWe love someone who is willing to give things a go. Unfortunately clients in Sydney are obsessed with resale value and so all people care about is what the next person is going to like. You canโ€™t really design for the masses โ€“ the only thing you can design for the masses is beige and brown. But you donโ€™t necessarily need lots of money to create an interesting space โ€“ just a willingness to get on board and get excited,โ€ says Alexandra.

Killcare project bedroom
Killcare project – bedroom

One such client is the owner of one of Alexandraโ€™s more recent projects โ€“ a home in Sydneyโ€™s Woollahra. โ€œShe was like a hurricane in a good way. She has a huge amount of energy and either loved or hated our suggestions. Her husband was very reserved and dry โ€“ he had one room (the wine cellar) and she had all the others! She was really good because she was super adventurous and made lots of bold choices,โ€ says Alexandra who experimented with different detailing and materials throughout the home that culminated in the project being short listed for three categories in the recent Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards.

Woollahra project wine cellar
Woollahra project – wine cellar

โ€œIโ€™ve always had a thing about not entering awards because I never thought my work was good enough. We havenโ€™t entered any until now due to the insistence of our practice manager Bonnie,โ€ says Alexandra who was shortlisted for every category that she entered in the recent awards โ€“ no doubt a sure sign of the future.

Hastings project lounge
North Bondi project – lounge

Photography: Felix Forest, Anson Smart & Nick Cubbin

For more | Designer profile: Meet Catherine Heraghty of The Stables

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Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping ALL the character!

What a great example this is by @huntingforgeorge 

See all the details, and the laundry, on the blog now, via link in bio.
The patient has very much bounced back! Letterbox The patient has very much bounced back!

Letterbox kinder egg deliveries from a friend, dressing changes without a flinch and refusing to nap despite all the bribes (check the face on him in pic 3!).

Thanks for all your care and messages/comments for this tired and shaken up mama! Now very relieved and grateful ๐Ÿ™
Before & after It's not just the award winning de Before & after

It's not just the award winning designer houses that get us excited here. It's also the beloved family homes which are renovated and extended to make them fit for purpose so people can continue to live where they love ๐Ÿค—

@inspiredspacesaus helped her clients with teenage kids transform this house in Sydney's Hills District inside and out, making it their forever home. 

Due to the nature of the block they could only extend sideways and then gave it street appeal with render, new windows and doors.

See inside on the blog now, via link in bio. It was completely overhauled!
Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps ๐Ÿค•

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (๐Ÿคช) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a ๐Ÿท

Funny how we go into super organised mama mode in times like these. Grabbed dinosaurs, textas and scrapbook on the way out in case we had a long wait!

UPDATE: thanks for all the love! Charlie is so well this morning after a big sleep!
Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! ๐Ÿ’ง 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!๐Ÿค—

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap ๐Ÿฅด) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon ๐Ÿ˜†

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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