Compact but filled with charm, this apartment’s interior design sees a clean palette of earthy hues matched with crisp white finishes to make the most of a small space. Situated in a 1902 heritage building that started life as the Princess May Pavilion, associated with the Royal Children’s Hospital, this project called for a design that would honour the rich architectural detail of the built environment. Although located in Melbourne, Australia, this project was completed by The Stylesmiths™ London team, working alongside the homeowners to transform this Melbourne apartment into an open and airy home, with subtle elements that forge a sense of lived-in opulence, without risking the original historic value.
An angelic space that welcomes peace and serenity, Blakey Apartment is a place to unwind. Buoyed by soft timber flooring and amber furnishings in the living quarters, expansive white walls help light travel upwards to the mezzanine level. The previous tenants had used the two-bedroom apartment as a university share house, utilising the mezzanine as a makeshift bedroom that was accessed via a rickety spiral staircase, leaving lots to be desired but had creative protentional. It was decided that the levelled space would function better as a home library and was extended outwards with the help of skilful tradesmen to create room for built-in joinery. A large desk was also installed, structurally engineered to outweigh the towering shelves laden with books. Custom made Wills and Sons armchair and footstool adorn the area, beckoning readers to sit and enjoy the soft wool tartan.
Downstairs it was important not to overcrowd the space, and so the sentiment ‘less is more’ drives the interior decoration style of kitchen and living zones; elegant and minimal. Two, custom straight back sofas from Brownlow Interior Design boarder the communal area, complimented by Just Adele marble plinth that draws attention into the centre of the room. The key to an effective home interior is consistency, found in the bronze fittings and fixtures that have been dotted throughout the apartment, adding warmth and ambience. French tapware, chic kitchen handles, Cromwell swing arm wall sconces in the library and even the bumble bee door knocker by Cox & Cox on the front door collectively tie the home together.
Three architectural bay windows give this apartment it’s character, each with its own individual purpose. In the main bedroom beneath MCM House Owan pendant, is a custom-built seat that offers a private, sun-soaked spot to watch over the Melbourne skyline. The feature is accented by tan and white striped roman blinds that lean into the mellow, dusty colour palette, with underneath drawers for storage. An antique desk sits in front of the second bedroom’s window, overlooking a peaceful street view, while the third window embraces a tan leather banquette that transforms the alcove into a space for intimate dinner parties. Walnut bell table from The Woodroom is paired with masculine Gubi dining chairs that sit opposite the window and overhead antique glass cloche pendant.
The luminous home is filled with a luxuriously simple combination of linen whites, burnt orange, earthy green and neutral auburn browns, building upwards from Armadillo & Co rugs in each space. At alternating ends, the bedrooms share the same European style joinery that makes use of the apartment’s height, both fit with a rolling library ladder that sits on purpose-built rungs to provide access right to the top.
