Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Layering Colour and Texture in a Spanish Mission Apartment
Old meets new in true bohemian fashion in a Sydney beachside unit
If you’ve ever wondered whether interior designers put the same energy into beautifying their own homes as they do their clients’, the apartment Sarah Davison calls home should answer your question. Although the location was spot on – her apartment is in the beachside suburb of Tamarama in Sydney's east – the apartment was built in the 1920s and desperately needed updating.
Instead of taking a formulaic approach to modernising the space, Davison opted to honour the building’s history by leaving the period features as they were, and decorating around them with disparate elements from different cultures and eras. A true sense of serenity and bohemian chic was created as a result.
“It illustrates the way a 1920s interior can be decorated to feel classic, yet completely modern,” Davison says.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior designer Sarah Davison
Location: Tamarama in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs
Size: 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Instead of taking a formulaic approach to modernising the space, Davison opted to honour the building’s history by leaving the period features as they were, and decorating around them with disparate elements from different cultures and eras. A true sense of serenity and bohemian chic was created as a result.
“It illustrates the way a 1920s interior can be decorated to feel classic, yet completely modern,” Davison says.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior designer Sarah Davison
Location: Tamarama in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs
Size: 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Davison began by creating an almost luminous ‘gallery-like’ backdrop by painting the decorative ceilings, barley twist columns, walls, panelled doors and windows in a matt natural white. This brought the seemingly disconnected features together, while creating a neutral backdrop against which the colour in artworks, tiles, textiles and furnishings glows.
The decoration scheme demonstrates a contemporary edge while sitting comfortably within a period building envelope. A sensitive layering of finishes and colour gives the interiors unique personality, soul and depth.
The composition is a balanced arrangement of eclectic elements. Every nook is alive with character and interest.
Four of the six apartments in the building have been modernised in typical fashion – removing period features in favour of sleek, minimalist interiors. Davison chose to take a different approach, keeping much of the original building structure as is and repairing and restoring the decorative columns and old plastered ceilings. She also had the original parquetry floors sanded and oiled, and the existing doors and windows were repaired and repainted.
The apartment has been refreshed and revitalised to be functional, liveable and beautiful without requiring a complete renovation. Each area has an individual but complementary colour scheme. The variation across the apartment is observable yet subtle: a classic black and white kitchen, fresh green, lemon and lavender in the living room, and soft rose, beige and blue in the bedroom and bathroom.
The glass-panelled doors, which originally divided the bedroom and sunroom, were reused as doors for the china cupboard in the new kitchen. The original bronze and brass door, as well as the window hardware, were also reconditioned and reused.
Davison managed to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint by using low VOC paints throughout, finishing the floor in a natural tung-oil, and opting for energy-efficient appliances in the kitchen and laundry. Structural changes to create larger spaces and enlarge openings also enhanced the apartment’s natural airflow to the point that no air-conditioning is required.
Davison managed to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint by using low VOC paints throughout, finishing the floor in a natural tung-oil, and opting for energy-efficient appliances in the kitchen and laundry. Structural changes to create larger spaces and enlarge openings also enhanced the apartment’s natural airflow to the point that no air-conditioning is required.
To keep the budget low, Davison salvaged as many finishes and fixtures as possible. In the kitchen the original wall of decorative black and white tiles forms the focal point of the room, yet cost nothing.
Many of Davison’s existing pieces were updated to keep the cost low as well as to inject personality and history. The Longreach leather sofa that Davison has owned for more than a decade, for example, was slip-covered in cream linen so it worked with the scheme.
“We also aimed to unite the old with new,” Davison says. A beautiful bronze garden lantern from 19th-century France sits happily with a large Bill Henson photo montage and a Harry Bertoia Large Diamond Chair.
The uniquely personal finishes combine harmoniously to create a sense of home and history: silver leaf; bronze lanterns and fittings; soft linens and textiles; bamboo; ebonised timber; handmade tiles; honed travertine; stucco walls; aged woollen rugs; and individual artworks.
The design intent developed partly from a considered process, partly through instinct. A 1940s Chinoiserie screen painted on aged silver leaf was found by chance and purchased immediately.
“I believe serendipity contributes enormously to creating interiors with genuine charm and ambience,” Davison says.
Davison's main strategy in designing environmentally-sustainable interiors is to plan classic, well-proportioned spaces that stand the test of time and don’t go out of fashion. “The bedroom scheme is classic and will not need to be updated for many, many years,” she says.
The fixtures and furnishings feel comfortable and complete, without appearing overdone. “There is still breathing space in this apartment,” Davison says. “It is not cluttered with superfluous objects.”
This is in sync with her ‘everything you need, but nothing you don’t’ environmental philosophy.
This is in sync with her ‘everything you need, but nothing you don’t’ environmental philosophy.
Beautiful textiles were selected to enhance the sense of comfort and softness. Unlined linen curtains hang softly in the sunroom. Cushions were custom made from delicately patterned vintage fabrics sourced on Davison’s travels.
Many of the furnishings and fittings in the apartment are vintage or antique – the original form of recycling. Most of the pieces have been with Davison for a long time, with just a few key pieces purchased specifically for this apartment fit-out.
Find out how to give your home a vintage flair
Find out how to give your home a vintage flair
“I intentionally selected handmade finishes and objects, believing the essence of the hand that makes an object is inherent in its final physical form,” Davison says. The natural variation in the Moroccan tiles, for example, forms a beautiful rose/beige backdrop for the bathroom and sunroom.