Leonie McIlwain is the sole owner and Director of Guilty As Designed Pty Ltd.
Having gained her tertiary qualification of a Bachelor of Built Environment (Architectural Studies) from the Queensland University of Technology in 1997, Leonie concentrated on developing her property nouse and servicing those who occupied the space versus the physical design of it. Over the past 15 years, she has relished in a professional career in Corporate Real Estate and Property Development until now...
It is only of late that Leonie has been able to indulge full time and ignite her passion for design and styling by dedicating time to her freelance interiors consultancy business – Guilty As Designed.
Describing her style as ‘failed minimalism’, Leonie works in with clients to tailor the interiors of spaces to match the clients brand, intent, style and philosophy. Each space is designed to relate to the client – be it who they are or what they do. With an aptitude for business and an eye for style, every client is afforded the time & creativity, the result being a space that people love to look at and be in.
Work, work and more work…Leonie commenced her professional career in Corporate Real Estate at JLW Advisory & Jones Lang LaSalle’s Brisbane office in 1997, working in the Research & Consultancy, Public Relations and Project Services Departments. In her time at JLL, Leonie learnt the fundamentals of real estate and combined this raw property data and local market knowledge with her design skills to understand commercial properties and their users.
Leonie relocated to mainland China in 2000 where she worked for Colliers International as Senior Manager – Residential. In this role, she led the Tenant Representation team in the negotiation of expatriate residential leases on behalf of Multinational Corporations.
Returning to Brisbane in 2003, she assumed the position of National Property Manager for Virgin Blue Airlines, working for a two year period on the management, fit-out and construction of all VB owned and operated facilities.
In 2005, Leonie returned to China in the role of Director – Residential & Commercial Departments at Colliers International in China. In 2007, Leonie was offered the position of Greater China Country Manager for REA Group
www.realestate.com.au and was instrumental in the negotiation and acquisition of an established Hong Kong real estate print and online portal and the subsequent rebranding of the company under the REA Group banner.Upon her return to Brisbane in 2009, Leonie has consulted to Griffin Group as their Design Manager, responsible for the management of the design of a predominantly retail and residential development portfolio.
On a personal level, Leonie pursued an active interest in business and with her business partners, established The London Club, Bar & Restaurant, Teneriffe in 2004 and Mirra in 2008. To this day, Leonie is an active owner and Director of our stunning venue.
As you can see below Leonie is always very hands on with her work...