Art Deco apartment transformation
Our lovely client Alison decided it was time for a redesign of her space, as she has lived in her art deco garden apartment for over 20 years and it was in desperate need of a refresh. For the first time, she had the time to devote to thinking about what she wanted to do and how she wanted the place to look like. She initially wanted to do a fairly simple job of repainting, re-carpeting and updating the kitchen. As she got further into the process she decided this was an opportunity to do much more of a makeover and enlisted us to help with this renovation which was to include new furniture, lighting , artwork, and window treatments.
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Music is an integral part of Alison's life - listening to music at home, playing musical instruments, going to live gigs and concerts & dancing. She loves travelling and is drawn to countries with a strong music and dance tradition including various countries in South America and also Spain. Since stopping full-time work, Alison has become a fan of pilates, walking and exploring parts of Sydney she has not visited before. She also loves spending time with friends, including having them around to her place.
This renovation allowed us to create a new ambience and to design a contemporary apartment referencing and drawing guidance from the art deco bones of the apartment. She decided she didn’t want to start completely from scratch but to keep what she had that worked within the new design frame but not be afraid to get rid of some pieces if they did not. A desire to declutter was another motivating factor as well as a realisation that she was going to be spending much more time at home than she had done in the past and that it was important for it to be an environment that she enjoyed being in every day from both a design and functioning perspective.
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The redesign of smallest room in the apartment, the 87 year old original bathroom, turned out to be the biggest job. Reconfiguring the bathroom would have been very expensive and so she decided to work with the existing layout. The desire was to have something fresh and simple using clean lines of the art deco period. The bathroom was to be lighter and brighter than before and truly be another room in the apartment to spend time in and to enjoy - - eg soaking in a bath and listening to music. The design required bespoke pieces such as the vanity& the mirror to make the very small space look luxurious and also be functional at the same time.
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She doesn’t have a favourite room in her home - she enjoys the flow from room to room. Each room is different but a lot of work went into ensuring a flow from one room to another in terms of colour, design, etc variety but within a theme. If she had to choose she would probably say the living room - - it is elegant but comfortable and inviting . The window treatments frame the room and the colour scheme provides a neutral setting for artwork, glass pieces and other personal pieces collected over many years.
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Her friends love the house! Almost everyone who comes in comments on what a lovely apartment it is or words to that effect. They comment on the quality of the design/furniture, the colour, and the sense of space in the apartment. One friend, an architect/ heritage expert, was especially complimentary about how it had all come together. People also love the revamped kitchen - and the new bathroom which many say is very beautiful.
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Check out our client Alisons’ glowing review here!
Comments (11)
bigreader
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Renovation to Art Deco apartment - Randwick, Sydney
Comments (21)Yeah , I'm more with Austere -- I personally would have gone more luxe , and more variety in colours and textures and fittings . The kitchen -- I like the light , and theres the original door with the brass knob . Thats the good bits . Okay , I like eclectic , and themes -- I would have had every door with a 'surround' part and a chamferred centre -- the centre in that 50's light mint green , the rest in english cream . 'Period' brass handles , knobs , hinges . And not shiny brass -- aged . If you want a slightly more modern look -- get an engineer to make you long S shaped handles , in aged brass . At least some of the subway tiles in a mid green . As luxe as possible -- I actually saw some mid green subways a while ago that had streaks through them that looked like NZ greenstone ! Beautiful IMO . The rest of the tiles maybe in a plain mint green , or obviously stick with the white if you want to be 'safe' . The fridge a mint green Smeg . The stove top brand new but in cast black . The oven a similar reproduction in black . Black and white floor tiles . Ideally as intricate as the bathroom , but even 100 x 100 in a chequerboard pattern , with a black or even mid green ( to tie in with the wall subways as above ) tile frieze around the edge . In fact , how would a white and mid green tiled floor look , maybe in small fiddly looking 50mm tiles , with the light mint partial doors and fridge ? Maybe a bit small and too intricate for a kitchen floor , but I guess you'd have a resin not a grout ? Natural wooden floors would work -- wood veneer replicas not so much . Luckily I'm not an expert , just an enthusiastic amateur . We all have different tastes , and although I do like to stick to themes , my whole attitude is to 'improve' something . It often doesn't cost a lot more . I dislike boring ....See MoreBefore & after for an Art deco inspired bathroom
Comments (1)That is a lovely transformation! love those blue and green tiles too :)) Well done!...See MoreModernised Art Deco Apartment Transformation
Comments (3)Nah -- it needs more colour haha ! Just kidding -- I love almost all the work ! If I was being picky , I personally would have had a red cake mixer , OR tried to source red glass-look tiles -- I have never seen even those blue hued ones , and I suspect I will copy that somewhere , sometime thanks ! I assume the client already had the rug -- obviously , Kate and the client love it -- I probably wouldn't have bought it ( I love colour , love bold , in fact I like purple but I don't recall ever doing a purple themed room ? ) , and I like the matching cushions , but just me -- I don't think it quite works with the greener/grey tinged chairs and then the sideboard behind it is a different industrial steel blue but with a different greenish light too ) -- I probably would have gone 'safer' with charcoal chairs and sideboard ; or white for the contrast and to tie in more with the couch ; or gone a lime-ish green for the rug . But just to show you or the owner has great taste -- I have a very similar cast 'platinum' stylised statue , as well as ( pretty sure it is genuine 1920's -- I paid several hundred dollars so I hope it is -- the cord looks very yellow and aged ) a 'lady light' ( I can't recall the proper name ) with quite a rough-cast opaque ball on one hand . . . . . . ....See MoreClean And Modern , or Art Deco , For My Next Home ?
Comments (34)Things are ticking along . We have a whole lot of long skinny flush-mounted LED taillights -- they won't be fitted until we take Frankie off the road to re-paint , as the existing lights come off , and these ones will need holes cut , the exterior repainted , then these lights bonded ( glued ) in . The Mercedes seats have had new certified mounts made ( being a safety item , we spent about $150 getting them certified -- keeps it legal , although there are literally thousands of vehicles out there that have had seats changed , and no certs ) and we made little 'boxes' that have walnut tops , and all the controls for the electric seats are in these ( on Merc cars , they are on the doors , but our auto sparky has made new mini wiring looms ) . We dropped the seats to the upholsterer last week , so in the next month or so they will be recovered -- a sort of bone/cream leather for the surrounds , and red leather with diamond stitching up the middles . This is almost what my cab looks like , mine has 1980's Falcon or similar bucket seats in a grey vinyl . I assume that was done so that there is only the 2 seats , and you can get through to the back , whereas in the pic with 3 seats , you can't . My interior is the same colours -- 3 different charcoal/grey tones on the dash , then a black on the doors ( why , I have no idea -- I would have thought charcoal would have been better ? ) . Once the seats are back and fitted , I am tempted to get the door cards redone -- do a padded charcoal vinyl that matches one of the dash colours , but do a 'scallop' from the rear of each door in the lighter leather , then a red maybe 150mm wide scallop in the middle . I feel that will tie in the doors , the dash and the seats better . The booth seating ( table and chairs basically ) in the rear will get done the same cream/bone and red leather , to tie it in a bit more . Which then brings up 1 problem . You may have noticed I have used a downloaded pic , and I was going to post a few 'before' pics of the cab and the rear , so you can see it in its 90's wooden and tacky lino glory , but that turns out to be a problem . All the 'before' pics I have are ones that the last owner e-mailed to me . I downloaded them all , they are still on my computer , I can look at them no problem . BUT for some reason , they aren't JPG's -- they show as 'Google Chrome Files' , and I can't work out if I can post them here -- I've tried but nothing happens . Are there any experts that know how to post these 'files' ( pictures ) ?...See More- PRO
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