Stephanie McDonald reports on the Sydney Wharf development, which has been influenced by the diverse experience of the project’s international designers.
Design cues at Sydney Wharf have been inspired by luxurious boutique hotels which use warm materials, such as natural stones, timbers and traditional metals. Think 5 star hotels which make the visitor feel at home, rather than at a cold hotel room.
The interior architects, SJB Interiors, combined rich tones of bronze, brown and grey, which have been blended with the timber flooring, which was arranged in a large format in a parquetry style pattern. The warm timber was contrasted with textured stone and marble around the bathtub and along the vanity.
Screens divide and veil bathrooms from bedrooms to allow for harbour views from a number of the waterside bathrooms.
Finishes in the bathrooms include timber- wrapped baths, floating basins and the mix of wood and metal.
As with the rest of the project, Kirsten Stanisich, director at SJB Interiors, designed the bathrooms to respond to the client’s brief for understated and luxurious bathrooms which were evocative of a private high-end residence, rather than a typical multi-unit residential project.
“The restrained detailing ensures continuous pattern natural veining and grains of the finishes which form the primary focus of the spaces,” she says. “I took inspiration from the experience of a 5 star hotel in terms of the layouts, proportion and the scale to encourage a sense of relaxation and sanctuary.”
The colour schemes were driven by the location of the project on Sydney’s harbour. “The warmth of the materials absorb the strong reflective light of the harbour, while the beauty of the natural textures encourage the spaces to be more than viewing boxes to the harbour,” Stanisich says.
“Two colour schemes were designed for the development. One was an earthier-based scheme with rusty veined Emprador marble, blackbutt timber and clear-filled Classico travertine trimmed with solid bronze detailing.
“The alternative scheme was bolder and more contrasting with white veined Nero Marquina marble contrasted against dark noce travertine and spotted gum timber with the bronze edging that runs through all of the schemes.”
The biggest difficulty with the project in terms of the bathroom was convincing the client that the end users would be able to manage and maintain the luxurious finishes.
“The project is located in a dramatic position right on the harbour and it would have been easy to let the spectacular views overwhelm the need to create identity and personality within the interiors,” Stanisich says.
Stanisich worked with the builder and the suppliers to ensure products were tested and that the appropriate sealers were used to minimise the natural porosity of the materials.
In terms of budget, she worked with a relatively small palette of finishes so the client was able to maximise the opportunity for costs savings with large quantities of single materials.
Useability was high on the agenda in the project — the bathroom had to be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.
The bathroom has three levels of storage — one above the basin in the mirrored vanity cupboard; one in the drawers and cupboards of the vanity; and one below the vanity on the travertine stone plinth. It also has ample bench space on the vanity and surrounding the bath.
Stanisich also created smaller, private spaces within the bathroom. Separate frosted glass door and panels separate the showers and pans, creating smaller spaces within the bathroom. Some of the baths are also separated from the main bedroom via bronze mesh screens which can be slid back to unobstructed views to the harbour.
Working on a high-end project like Sydney Wharf has taught Stanisich a thing or two about attaining quality finishes within a budget. She says: “Take a team member approach to the client and the builder during the value manage ment stage of the project so that cost savings can be implemented while maintaining the design integrity.”
