Bay House
Combining gestural stone with treasured artworks, objects and ceramics, plus captivating tonal explorations and tactile material selections, the harsh angles of this luxury Sydney harbourside apartment once laden with swathes of brown marble and timber panelling now resonates with fascinating introspection.
- SCOPE
Full Interior Design, Custom Fabrication, Furnishing, Object and Art
- PHOTOGRAPHY
Anson Smart
Excited by the notion of a ‘lock and leave’ home for the new chapter in their lives, our clients requested introspective spaces to indulge in their extra free time, resulting in two of the four bedrooms flanking the entrance transforming into ‘his’ and ‘her’ studies in addition to the creation of the cosy breakfast nook in the kitchen. Equally, they desired settings to entertain parties of friends and family that could also handle active young grandchildren. The neutral limestone floors featuring underfloor heating were retained, with luscious agate blue wool and art silk carpets now laid within the studies and bedrooms.
We staged tonal intensities in relation to the saturated water views, infusing deeper, meditative hues in the enclosed private spaces near the entry, graduating towards the gradient pale shoreline blues of the oversized checked rug in the softly luminous living area. Creating a settled material palette, we sprinkled aged brass metals throughout.
Expressive stone varieties were introduced in all the bathrooms and social spaces including the new fireplace’s extended plinth, adding a glow when sunlight catches its gilded markings. Most decadent is the powder room’s verdant marble niche paired with bottlebrush green joinery. Boysenberry ripples flow from the kitchen’s working benches to the undulating central island’s overhang that reflects the curves of the harbour inlet.
Our clients were eager to incorporate their significant furniture and treasured objects with new acquisitions. The challenge was bringing all of the elements together in new combinations. Their esteemed art collection played a pivotal role in our curatorial process. Within the dining room – which forms the heart of the home – a Joshua Yeldham painting inspired our selection of an expansive oval table surface given its bark-like markings. Serving as a theatrical backdrop, we designed a climate-controlled wine cellar encased in glass to showcase the impressive bottle collection.
‘We were after a calm but interesting home that integrated our art and objects plus some furniture so that we were surrounded by things that mattered to us. We also wanted to acknowledge shifts towards the new chapter in our lives. Arent&Pyke’s curatorial eye pieced our treasures together in different ways and with new pieces. We look at the art so differently now, which is so lovely,’ Homeowner, Bay House
Embracing our alliances with Australian artisans, we commissioned contemporary pieces to complement the couple’s art collection. A timber console crafted by Hugh McCarthy within the entry vestibule features solid legs with rhythmic curves. In addition, Den Holm designed a couplet of white sandstone perches stand in the living room before the fireplace’s newly extended plinth. The sculptural entities are also the perfect perches for visiting grandchildren. Our clients’ favourite addition includes the slumped glass handles with brass fixings on the master bedroom’s door signifying the transition to their private retreat. ‘We feel like we’re entering a space that’s exclusively ours and for no-one else to share.’
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