We are thrilled to introduce you to interior styling specialist, Steve Cordony.

Steve is a leading Sydney-based interior and event stylist who is also the Style Director at-Large of one of Australia’s leading interior design magazines, Belle.

Miele has partnered with Steve to help him finish renovating his sustainable home, Rosedale Farm, collaborating to select a number of the new Generation 7000 appliances for the renovation.

A number of Miele appliances are now featured within the luxurious Rosedale Farm, which is almost complete, including a gas cooktop, oven, steam combination oven and warming drawer.

Miele for Life spoke to Steve this month to learn more about the appliances he chose and gain insight into the renovation process.

Miele for Life: Can you tell us about your career in interior design and styling? What have been some of the highlights so far?

Studying interior design at Enmore Design Centre, I became affiliated with Belle Magazine after my final year project resulted in my work being listed as a finalist in the Young Interior Designer of the Year Award. I started assisting the Interior Design Editor at the time, Imogen Naylor and kept growing my knowledge and passion from there.

Some of my career highlights so far have included; becoming the Interior Design Editor and now Style Director-at-Large for Belle Magazine, starting my own design company and being able to work with incredible brands including Waterford, Georg Jensen, David Jones, Ralph Lauren and YSL. More recently, I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with Di Lorenzo tiles to create my own collection of exclusive tiles that emulated my own personal style.

Miele for life: Can you tell us a little bit about the renovation process and what has been your favourite part about transforming Rosedale Farm?

Renovating properties and collaborating with clients has allowed me to pull out all of the ideas, styles and designs I had locked away in my mind over the years. My favourite part of every project is watching my vision come to life and now I’ve been able to use these ideas to create our own dream home at Rosedale Farm.

Miele for life: What has been your least favourite part?
Making decisions! It’s one thing to do it for clients, with whom I am very decisive, but when it comes to our place, I agonise over every, single detail. I took four months to decide on the size of the pebbles for the driveway and about six months to choose which Miele cooktop I wanted!
The whole process of the kitchen design for our farm took about 14 months from start to finish. Which is quite a long time. This is mainly because I redesigned the kitchen three times (whoops!), but it also was the last piece of the house revamp after two years of solid remodelling, meaning everything seemed harder due to renovation fatigue.

Miele for life: What tips and tricks have you learnt over the years that people should be aware of when renovating?

My number one piece of advice is to plan, plan, plan. The first step is to start with a mood board or ‘look book’ that can be referred to as a ‘blueprint’ for any project. Renovations are a long process and once they are in full swing it is easy to lose sight of your vision. So, referring back to your initial brief helps to keep you on the right track.

You should also set out your budget early on. Try to factor in some additional funds for those unknowns that can sometimes pop up. I also try to get two to three quotes for tradespeople or materials before deciding on one option, as this allows you to find the best solution to fit your budget.

Miele for Life: What made you choose Miele appliances for your new kitchen renovation? Had you ever owned and used the products before?

My parents have always had Miele, so I have grown up with the products. As I was so familiar for the range, when we built our Sydney apartment, I knew that I had to have a Miele oven, stove and dishwasher as I knew that not only did, they meet our needs from a design perspective but also from a functionality perspective.

As there are so many details that go in to making a successful kitchen design from both a visual aspect and also functionality, Miele was the first brand that came to mind when designing the overall concept of our home. In the end, we are so happy with how it turned out, from the door hardware; to the colour and style of the cabinetry and especially with the appliances we chose that suit our lifestyle and aesthetic.

Miele for Life: What was the most important feature when selecting your kitchen appliances?
There were actually quite a few important considerations for us when selecting our products; which I also recommend my clients keep in mind. The first is the design because, appliances play such a big part in the overall look and feel of the kitchen. For this renovation I also took into consideration that I am quite a keen cook, so functionality and usability had to be top of the list too. The new Generation 7000 range we just installed at Rosedale is incredibly technologically advanced but also extremely user-friendly, so it ticked all of the boxes.

One of my favourite features from the range is FoodView! Living on a farm means that there is never a dull moment, so while I am in the back paddock tending to the animals, I might need to be able to check on dinner and make sure nothing is burning. It’s as easy as checking on my phone, rather than racing back to the kitchen to keep an eye on it. Honestly genius!

The other feature is that given we have a farm, we are quite conscious about our sustainability, particularly because we are not on town water. We have a Miele dishwasher and washing machine, which both have incredible energy and water ratings. My favourite feature on both is the ECO option, perfect for using minimal water and making sure that we are reducing our impact on our little part of the planet without a second thought.

Miele for Life: We heard that you recently cooked your birthday dinner in your new kitchen on New Year’s Eve! What did you make?

I did! It was the first main meal I had cooked in the new kitchen, so I was VERY excited. The menu included an Ottolenghi inspired grazing table, crispy twice roasted potatoes seasoned with rosemary and preserved lemon, smoked paprika roasted cauliflower, a slow roast lamb shoulder, Donna Hays oven baked super green falafel, chargrilled asparagus, chicory and haloumi salad and a tomato and roasted lemon salad!

Miele for Life: Which appliance has changed your life the most and how?
The steam oven is a game changer, as it’s plumbed in and makes steaming vegetables a breeze meaning that we have a healthy meal in no time at all. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again – the new settings on the washing machine and dishwashers (ECO, quick cycle etc.) have made a massive difference in saving time and ensuring sustainability is at the forefront of our home – it is something that I think everyone needs to invest in.

Stay tuned to hear more about Steve Cordony’s Rosedale Farm renovation. You can keep up to date by visiting his Instagram channels @stevecordony and @rosedale_farm. Keep an eye on the Miele for Life website in the coming months, where we will be sharing updates from Steve’s transformation.