This is not, for the most part, an uncommon story. A tale of a professional couple – Stefania Reynolds, Head of Interiors and Project Director at Studio Johnston, and her husband – opting for the convenient location of an apartment over the extra size, cost or commuting time of a suburban family home.
Positioned within a 1980s complex in Redfern, the ground-floor aerie – which goes by the name of Maddison – is of enviable scale with ancillary building amenities, including parking and recreational activities nearby, as well as the offices of two busy working parents. A key asset of the apartment is its proximity to schools, parks, transport and a private courtyard orientated off the living room.
A dual, tactical intervention was devised to make the space work harder. The galley kitchen has been closed at one end and the adjoining dining room has been converted into a separate home office. This meant that “deleting that column in the kitchen opened everything up and unlocked the project,” explains Reynolds. “It allowed us to organise the main space into seamless, overlapping zones, like a Venn diagram of how we actually occupy the home.”
At the edge of this office, a generously proportioned inbuilt joinery unit was constructed for storage. It conceals glass and timber sliding doors screening the office from the dining zone, orientated towards the courtyard, with a custom-designed banquette in timber and Venetian plaster, and a table in crown-cut oak with colourful, mismatched legs.
Related: Everything in moderation by Kennedy Nolan
While the existing configuration was functional, the interiors were languorous and lacked substantial storage. Notably, “the interior was inspired by the colours of my Corfu childhood,” adds Reynolds. “Peach was the colour of my bedroom. The family house had a lot of terracotta, textured walls, brass details and a light, airy feel. We had a huge day bed with cushions piled on top – this was my inspiration for the dining room. For me, nostalgia is a beautiful thing to bring into daily life.”
In this approach, joinery plays with radial curves and oblique angles to soften the blunt geometry. The dining banquette is durable, lacquered with saddle-tan leather seating and mustard corduroy velvet cushions. A series of sliding glass doors open onto the courtyard, dressed in linen drapery in two tones of terracotta. Meanwhile, the wide oak floorboards have been varnished with an eggshell Venetian plaster, extending to the lowered kitchen ceiling and island bench, along with brass trim, Tiberio marble and accent colours by Resene Tasman (a silvery grey with a hint of blue/green) and the pale, whiskey gold of Manhattan.
Next up: In Addition Studio and a design language crafted to last