The Residence
& it’s occupancies
This
1920 Victorian terrace in the inner west of Sydney had been treated with the
clinical modern touch by its owners. The home consisted of two very
busy city professionals and there much loved pets, three siemes cats
The Brief
The
designer
was engaged to create a clean, modern space that had a place to hide
everything. There current interior is stark, white on white
with bright
COOL white led lights...bright
and white was the name of the game for this set of clients
•Everything
to have a home
•Walk
in shower
•Minimalistic
feel
•A
basin that is refined and elegant
•Natural
touch
•Good
lighting
•White
on White
•Concealed
& dynamic storage
•Large
Mirrors
•Non
visible towel rails
•Period
features to remain
•ACCESS
FOR THE CATS
Limitations
A small footprint and the desire to have
every thing away from view left the designer with out a lot of options.
Although the window was north facing the
closeness of the neighbour meant that only a small amount of light would filter
in.
A poorly placed door with a small nib
played havoc in the design development of the space
How
the requirements of the client brief were achieved & problems solved
This
was a challenge, cutting edge minimal spaces are only successful when the lines
are clean and the spaces functional.
The
obvious choices were clear from the beginning of the design development, the
toilet was best placed to the north, the basin needed to be on the eastern wall
and the shower was to be on the southern side of the room.
Once
the fixtures where positioned the main problem was how to get ample storage to
hide everything these clients had and to also add light and make the space feel
larger.
The
designer chose to create a wall to wall and floor to ceiling wall of mirror,
this would reflect the small amount of light and brighten the space and also
reflect all that was going on to make the space feel that much larger. This
solution had many benefits, it allowed for the heated towel rails to be
concealed inside of the joinery.
Ventilation is created at the base of the door with a fan placed in the ceiling
space which was vented to fresh air, this allowed for great circulation of air.
The rail was installed on a timer with the underfloor
heating and programmed to start a hour before and and hour the morning rush.
Being a professional couple with a very set schedule this was easily
achieved. All personal effects were covered and the
basin found it’s location…right next to the window, this tick probably the
BOLDEST of lines on the brief, easy access in for the the cats. The cats could
come in thru the window onto the basin and down, given the basin is Corian and
it retains the heat the cats enjoying sitting in the bowl when the northern
light floods in…
On
the basin, the designer chose a very streamed line solution, made from Corian and
only 12mm thin it magically floated from the wall of mirror. The wall mounted
taps also float thru the mirror, above the basin and to the right is very
generous storage for everyday personal effects.
To
give this space a greater feeling of space is frameless shower screen, the
designer chose to create one that was oversized to play with the very high
ceiling, the ceiling rose was originally going to be removed but thru the
process of fit our we engaged a heritage plaster restorer to come in and
restore the plaster and architraves around the traditional windows to add
warmth t this clinical space. It was then chosen to add a feature pendant to
the rose that match eh rest of the pendants I the home
To
create a further streamline addition the designer chose the 3mm shower soaker
by Gessi as
it's refined detail and thinness defies gravity and sites so perfectly in the
minimal space. Tow corian
shower niches were created for ease of cleaning and to house everyday elements
for the shower.
The
final thing to chose was the palette, the designer needed warmth, with the
period features there was a need to tie back to the period. Alba marble was
selected for Its resemblance to the period as carrera was
to veiny for the client, Alba offered a consistency the clients loved and also
added movement and nature to the space.
The
lighting was simple like the over all appearance, feature light to the centre
and three. Down lights obove the
wall to wall storage.
The
hero of this design is the clean simple nature of the design solution, the
lines are in perfect balance and crisp and very sharp. The floated basin
magically hanging from the mirror and the way this engaged with ALL of its
occupants
Elegant
simplicity with total functionality
