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There’s a sense of homecoming at Casa by Kate Nixon, in more ways than one. A gym when owner and designer Kate Nixon bought the site back in 2019, the retail and interior design space on Bayswater Rd, Rushcutters Bay, has been transformed into a welcoming and stylish homewares environment with an emphasis on quiet European luxury.

Beyond the hard surfaces and mirrored walls that once dominated the space, Kate could see the potential of this late 1800s building with its original archways and masonry walls as a retail and office space for her growing retail and design service.

On the street front, the store focuses on the retail side of the business, with a mix of hand-picked furniture, lighting, homewares and jewellery, as well as home fragrances from Santa Maria Novella. 

As the name would suggest, there’s an emphasis on Italian design, including the beautiful range of linens and cottons from artisanal fabric house Busatti. Nixon is the only stockist on the east coast for this legendary design house, which still carries out every phase of fabric production in Italy.

At the rear of the store behind semi-enclosed curved walls is the engine room of the business. This is where Nixon’s design team sits, serviced by a bijou, carefully crafted, kitchen space and curated ensuite. The ribbed glass windows installed to separate the office from the retail area were a deliberate decision to give customers and design clients some insight into the designer’s mind and the creative process. 

“People can see the activity back there and they can get a sense of the whole business,” Nixon says. “I saw the studio as the ‘haute couture’ side of the business and the retail as ‘ready to wear’ so that clients can feel like they are in our home and our space.”

Nixon worked with builder Dean Spano from iBuild to draw out the best of the original fabric of the building while crafting and inserting new features into the 112sqm space, such as the office area and a new fireplace, which was shaped out of Hebel blocks. 

With stone flagging, oak parquetry flooring, exposed timber beams, wrought iron work and brass detailing (including Kate’s signature ‘K’ set into the floor and created by her dad), there’s a lot going on.

Nixon worked with Spano and his team to restore archways in some places and chisel back the plasterwork to reveal the bare brick in others. The idea is to demonstrate what Nixon can bring to her clients, but it’s a masterful display of how multiple materials can work together harmoniously in a small space.

“There’s a lot going on but it all works,” Nixon says. “We wanted to showcase different materials for people to experience what was possible with their own projects so we approached it as a residential project. 

“We wanted people to feel like it could be their own home and make it feel intimate and comfy and cosy.”

As the old saying goes, mi casa es su casa. Make yourself at home.

CASA by KATE NIXON

Shop 1, 50 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay

katenixon.com