If you live in a penthouse with million-dollar views, you’d desire the interior to reflect that, but where to start when presented with a blank canvas… just white walls. Well, that depends on the function of the room, your personal tastes, and your budget. And if you haven’t a clue about design, or don’t know what you want, consider an interior design expert.

Working with an interior designer or project manager can save you a lot of time and wasted effort and money, which is one reason that Catherine Lezer is in great demand and is behind many of Perth’s fantastic building transformations.

NewTechWood cladding: A part of a visually spectacular transformation

This particular project involved the high-end renovation of a large Perth penthouse that enjoys the best views in the city and entailed using NewTechWood’s castellation cladding in Aged Wood for the entry hall. Not only because, texture-wise, it looks like real wood, but also the colour was what the design team were looking for. The other added benefits, like the 25-year residential warranty, no maintenance required, and its ability to transform any wall into something visually spectacular, are the icing on the cake.

Catherine explained with their vision for the penthouse, they wanted to provide a counter to the white marble floors and vertical elements to draw the eye up to the high ceiling, and lots of texture. Thus, they repeated vertical line elements throughout the apartment from the fluted glass also used in the entryway and throughout.

On choosing the colour Aged Wood, Catherine explained the entry hall was specifically designed to be darker, to give a hint of what lay beyond, and provide a useful interval between the lift lobby and the expansive apartment and magnificent view on offer. Catherine and the designer wanted to give the apartment and its huge views a sense of arrival.

The entry that wows

When the most common reaction of people after arriving in the entryway and then turning the corner into the lounge is “WOW”, it’s safe to say, they nailed it. Catherine makes it look easy, but the site presented many challenges, and despite the large size of the apartment, getting materials and tradies to the apartment was somewhat tricky, and removing the waste was almost impossible.

Overcoming renovation challenges during COVID-19

The renovation took place in 2022, during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in turning a project that should have been a six-month reno into 9 months, with tradies contracting the virus and shutting the site down for weeks. The team also experienced supply challenges, and at one point, they couldn’t even source timber.

Added to this were the small inconveniences, like the low clearance for parking on site. This meant that the trades were unable to park onsite and had to park in a nearby open-air car park, losing time walking back and forth to their construction-size vehicles.

Then there was the lift, which was incredibly small, measuring 1.5m x 1.5m and only 2.2m high. They couldn’t even fit a sheet of gyprock in the lift – it all had to be cut beforehand, and then rejoined on site. Thankfully, the corner-to-corner measurement meant the NewTechWood castellation cladding needed for the entry hall was able to fit, but even then, they could only fit about 5 panels at a time in the lift.

The entire design project was thus adjusted for the capabilities of the small lift.

The design project adjusted to the lift’s capabilities

Due to the CBD location, the team could not have a skip bin, so they had to collect waste onsite and painstakingly remove it in stages. Catherine was grateful to find 1800gotjunk to remove and recycle, and miraculously, they had a bin to fit the lift, so they were able to remove the waste early in the morning and on weekends so as not to block traffic.

Want NewTechWood for your next design?

It doesn’t matter if you are renovating a penthouse, the family room, or backyard granny flat, if you would like to add a touch of class with NewTechWood cladding, decking or screening, you can find recommended installers and your nearest NewTechWood resellers on our website.

Architects/designers and builders/installers are always welcome to contact our team for professional advice and information.

Project details

Project: Cladding – Penthouse Renovation

Designer: Catherine Lezer

Supplier: Subiaco Restoration, Osborne Park WA

Location: Perth, WA

Product: UH61 Castellation Cladding in Aged Wood

Originally published on NewTechWood.