Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Harbourside Pad Goes From Bomb Site to Brilliant
Mould, cobwebs and whiteants didn't prevent a Sydney couple from seeing the potential of a rundown apartment
There are many reasons why people decide to move house. For Sydney interior designer Tamsin Johnson and her husband Patrick, it was a case of too many suits. P.Johnson Tailors, Patrick’s Paddington bespoke tailoring business, was expanding inexorably into the couple’s living quarters over the showroom. “We had to move out as the suits were taking over,” says Tamsin. Formerly in the fashion industry, she has now established her interior design business premises in their former home above Patrick’s showroom, a move that enables the pair to bounce ideas off each other during their working days.
Their search for a suit-free home drew them to the eastern bayside suburb of Darling Point, renowned for its wide views of Rushcutters Bay’s lovely waterfront parklands and tranquilly bobbing yachts.
The couple’s intuition told them that the delapidated top floor apartment was what they were looking for. “When we bought the place,” says Tamsin, “it was a mess.” They were able to see past the resident insect life and neglect to the property’s sought-after north-facing aspect, huge private terrace, lofty ceilings and good bones. Amazingly, the transformation was achieved in six weeks, with another month for a second phase while the bathroom was completed – a major plumbing leak extended this project. For the hard-working pair, a low-key, relaxed retreat from the distractions of business was their main aim. Tamsin and Patrick share a love of design in all its forms and the revived apartment reflects their combined tastes and talents. It is now, as Tamsin says, “our real little paradise”.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Sydney interior designer Tamsin Johnson, her husband Patrick, and Hector the British Bulldog
Location: Darling Point, Sydney
Size: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lounge, sunroom, kitchen/dining, terrace
Photographs: Sean Fennessy
Their search for a suit-free home drew them to the eastern bayside suburb of Darling Point, renowned for its wide views of Rushcutters Bay’s lovely waterfront parklands and tranquilly bobbing yachts.
The couple’s intuition told them that the delapidated top floor apartment was what they were looking for. “When we bought the place,” says Tamsin, “it was a mess.” They were able to see past the resident insect life and neglect to the property’s sought-after north-facing aspect, huge private terrace, lofty ceilings and good bones. Amazingly, the transformation was achieved in six weeks, with another month for a second phase while the bathroom was completed – a major plumbing leak extended this project. For the hard-working pair, a low-key, relaxed retreat from the distractions of business was their main aim. Tamsin and Patrick share a love of design in all its forms and the revived apartment reflects their combined tastes and talents. It is now, as Tamsin says, “our real little paradise”.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Sydney interior designer Tamsin Johnson, her husband Patrick, and Hector the British Bulldog
Location: Darling Point, Sydney
Size: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lounge, sunroom, kitchen/dining, terrace
Photographs: Sean Fennessy
Tamsin and Patrick love Sydney: “you’re never too far from somewhere beautiful,” states Tamsin. Their amazing deck overlooking Rushcutters Bay ensures that they can connect with this beauty on a daily basis.
It’s hard to imagine a more beguiling spot for morning coffee and toast. Northern light streams into a casual dining area and sunroom that feels secluded and tranquil, the more so for the glimpse of big city buildings beyond.
The Fornasetti breakfast table was an auction purchase from Shapiro Auctions, bentwood chairs and a 1950s Italian turquoise pendant light with pressed glass shade add vintage charm to this pretty spot.
It’s hard to imagine a more beguiling spot for morning coffee and toast. Northern light streams into a casual dining area and sunroom that feels secluded and tranquil, the more so for the glimpse of big city buildings beyond.
The Fornasetti breakfast table was an auction purchase from Shapiro Auctions, bentwood chairs and a 1950s Italian turquoise pendant light with pressed glass shade add vintage charm to this pretty spot.
An eclectic line-up of colourfully-painted, aged pots on the terrace holds herbs, lavender and bougainvillea. Being the daughter of an antique dealer, Tamsin is a great fan of the power of antiques and vintage objects with all their imperfections and stories to add character to spaces.
“The apartment needed a workable floorplan, but it wasn’t too hard to envisage making this place home,” recalls Tamsin. “Patrick and I love each other’s tastes and have learnt to trust each other’s decisions on design matters, so the renovation and decoration was a dream project”.
The lounge room’s aspect presents views through the sunroom and across the terrace to the bay beyond through a wide graceful archway. Tamsin sourced comfortable sofas in sit-on-me linen fabrics and soft worn leather and kept textures beautifully earthy, linked by an intriguing Tuareg leather and straw mat.
The lounge room’s aspect presents views through the sunroom and across the terrace to the bay beyond through a wide graceful archway. Tamsin sourced comfortable sofas in sit-on-me linen fabrics and soft worn leather and kept textures beautifully earthy, linked by an intriguing Tuareg leather and straw mat.
As with the rest of the apartment, the room is uncluttered and gives the strong design elements space to breath. The chunky solid timber ebonised coffee table is an eyecatching focus and the dramatic fiddle-leaf fig plant leads the eye to the tree-top view. A custom hand-crafted plaster pendant light by Melbourne designer Anna Charlesworth, a previous client of Tamsin’s, does justice to the high ceilings and gorgeous moulding, and adds a contemporary touch.
A feature of the apartment is the mix of periods, seen here in the classic mid-century Audoux Minet chairs and 18th century carved timber trunk from Tamsin’s father’s antique business, Edward Clark Antiques. Natural organic materials like the woven chair seats and lampshade and Kuba cloth cushions link the space and a touch of whimsy comes from Leila Jeffreys’ photograph of Seisa, a palm cockatoo raised at Adelaide Zoo.
The dining area adjacent to the snug kitchen shows how antique, vintage and modern sit together well. The table is antique oak, the chairs are vintage Thonet bentwood and the cabinetry is sleek gloss black.
When the old kitchen was demolished, it was discovered that whiteants had been merrily munching on the floorboards. “As soon as you do a little work, you open a can of worms! You just have to take the baggage these old buildings come with,” says Tamsin. The boards were replaced and painted in gloss white.
When the old kitchen was demolished, it was discovered that whiteants had been merrily munching on the floorboards. “As soon as you do a little work, you open a can of worms! You just have to take the baggage these old buildings come with,” says Tamsin. The boards were replaced and painted in gloss white.
An eclectic and relaxed taste is apparent in the simple compact kitchen, with Elba marble benchtops, black and pine cabinetry, tribal plaques and brass tapware. The casement window and exposed brick, now painted white, are charming original features.
Another quirky touch is the Brendan Huntley painting, from Tolarno Galleries hung between kitchen and dining areas.
The main bedroom – and indeed the whole apartment – is an ever-changing canvas of Tamsin and Patrick’s finds. The couple love collecting old portraits, but Tamsin complains that Patrick keeps appropriating them for his tailoring showroom. The bedhead is custom upholstered in leopard fabric by Etro, bedside lamp from Flos. Note the superb delicate moulding on the cornices, an original feature of the lovely high ceilings.
Old meets new meets in-between in the main bedroom. The blinds feature the original ‘Martinique’ banana leaf pattern famously first used in the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1942. A Lucy Culliton rooster painting from her ‘Cocks at the Clock’ series, (Ray Hughes Gallery) keeps company with an ornate French commode and a proud camel from MCM House in Sydney. The quaint watermelon stool was left behind by a friend after a photo shoot.
Sisal carpet: Natural Floor Coverings
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Patrick’s wardrobe confirms his impeccable sartorial leanings. After his career as a winemaker was sabotaged by an allergy to sulphur dioxide (a preservative used in wines), he learnt his tailoring skills from a top-drawer gentleman’s tailor in London’s Jermyn Street. He cites Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Prince Charles and Italian tycoon Giovanni Agnelli as his style icons and his elegant closet is a thing of beauty.
The couple’s perfectly dovetailed sense of style is illustrated in Patrick’s showroom, another of Tamsin’s projects. Stunning antique pieces and portraits, sleek mirrors and sweeping pearl grey drapes create a luxurious cocoon for clients. The couple’s previous home, and now Tamsin’s office, is above this space.
Tamsin grew up around antiques and, as a child, slept in this 19th century antique carved French bed, which now graces their second bedroom. An integral part of her design business is the sale of some of the special antique objects she discovers in her travels.
Tamsin describes her personal style as “timeless” and strives to achieve this effect in all her professional projects. “I avoid trends,” she says. “I never want to look back on any job and know when it was built or furnished. The best interiors never date.”
Tamsin describes her personal style as “timeless” and strives to achieve this effect in all her professional projects. “I avoid trends,” she says. “I never want to look back on any job and know when it was built or furnished. The best interiors never date.”
Tamsin and Patrick’s story wouldn’t be complete without a picture of Hector, the couple’s much-loved white British Bulldog, photographed in front of – and co-ordinating beautifully with – a wall in Patrick’s showroom.
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The oversize terrace that sold them on the apartment looks towards Sydney Harbour and the central city business district. “The privacy of this space with its treetop aspect gives the home a beautiful house-like feel, despite being an apartment,” says Tamsin.
She has furnished the terrace with pre-loved pieces: powder-coated chairs from hard rubbish and a cafe table from Parterre, and was taken by the interesting shapes of these vintage pointed metal lounge chairs.