Space, light and industrial accents

Designed by Nicola Manning, Nicola Manning Design

From the interior designer:

Our owner bought a commercial building in Newmarket with an industrial style, two storey penthouse apartment above. 

The bones of the apartment were great but it was very tired.

Broad strokes

We were the lead on this project and redesigned the layout of the apartment, taking it from five bedrooms to three, in order to create a large master suite and to extend the lift up to the top floor of the apartment (where the bedrooms are). 

This required converting the existing family bathroom into a lift lobby upstairs and changing an existing bedroom into the new family bathroom.

Two bedrooms and two ensuites were combined to create a large master suite with a walk in wardrobe, large ensuite and a much larger bedroom. 

The plumbing required for the new ensuite had to run through the living room ceiling so we designed a black suspended steel ceiling in the living room to take the eye off the plumbing pipes and to define that room.

Brief and design responses

Our brief was to add pops of colour to a predominantly white and black base while the owners requested much better lighting than was currently in place.

Concrete and steel construction was embraced rather than considered a challenge. 

Kitchen & dining

The kitchen back wall sits under the mezzanine floor with steel beams and services now featured in black, highlighting the architectural components. 

A new reeded glass balustrade introduces texture and frames the space.

An existing raised plinth within the kitchen was retained allowing services to the island while also providing a raised outlook to the views from the sinks. 

Timber flooring to this softens the concrete/steel features which repeats on the rangehood shroud and pantry shelving.

Island edges waterfall to the polished concrete either side, providing a subtle sense of containment to the kitchen working areas.

Focal point

In the large void space above the kitchen and dining area we hung a Bocci pendant with hand blown glass balls, creating a central focal point visible from downstairs and from the mezzanine hallway upstairs.

Downstairs, the existing concrete floor was repolished with all structural beams and service pipes repainted black. 

Most walls have been painted a soft warm white. 

Media room and entry lobby

In the media room and office new steel doors with reeded glass for privacy have been added. 

Rich, deep timber has been used for built in cabinetry and deep coloured patterned fabrics have been use in the media room.

In the entry lobby we used a wonderfully patterned textured wallpaper which is reflected in the huge steel framed custom mirror – creating a warm welcoming entry for visitors.

The downstairs bathroom is wallpapered and tiled with rich gold tiles and black fittings.

A new powder room was created upstairs in what was previously a storage room. 

This compact space packs a colour punch with richly coloured wallpaper and a bright pink vanity.

Master ensuite

In the new ensuite, the challenges surrounding the tilt-slab and steel construction were overcome by framing out a new wall in front of the existing concrete exterior wall to house plumbing services. 

To eliminate the need for a raised floor we ran new services through the living room ceiling below, designing a suspended steel ceiling to hide these and integrate into the industrial character of the home. 

Statement Bosco Black 2600x1200 tiles introduced scale and movement.

Lift and space resolution

An engineer was required to establish the viability of extending the lift to the top floor. 

It was determined a lift lobby could be created in the existing bathroom space and council consent was obtained.

Due to the concrete and steel construction there were limitations to where the bathroom could be relocated to. 

To keep the plumbing services as close to the original location we repurposed a bedroom next door and lowered the ceiling of the office space on the floor below to create a void for these. 

The original wardrobe to this bedroom was retained and converted to linen storage accessed off the hallway outside the bathroom.

Main bathroom

For the main bathroom, in keeping with the industrial feel of the apartment we chose a concrete look tile for the floor and most of the walls. 

We celebrated the raking steel beam by exposing this and painting it black, repeating the geometric shape created by this with the feature tile which offered stone and the introduction of warmth through a timber look.

Story by: Trendsideas