Creating a stylish masculine environment on a small footprint is harder than it looks
CREATING a stylish masculine environment on a small footprint is harder than it looks.
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OWNER: A single man with no clear interior style
DESIGNER: Gray Simmonds, Gray & Co, grayandco.com.au
THE PROBLEM: A dated apartment that didn’t suit the lifestyle of a stylish bachelor
THE SITE: A small one-bedroom apartment in Rushcutters Bay in an older building
DESIGN SOLUTION: A neutral palette and custom-made furniture to fit the space
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE? 12 weeks
FOR the single man who owns this apartment in an older building in Rushcutters Bay, it was definitely a case of knowing what you don’t know.
Rather than trying to decorate the small one-bedroom apartment with high ceilings himself, he called on the services of design Gray Simmonds to create a cohesive, quietly masculine environment.
The brief was, well, brief.
“I was given three words: comfortable, modern and warm,” says Gray.
“It’s his permanent residence. All he said was that he liked (US designer) Tom Ford.”
After a few more discussions, Gray teased out a few more ideas about how the owner wanted to use the space — and how he wanted it to look.
“The ceilings are really high, almost four metres, and the floorplan is really small so we wanted to make the most of the space,” Gray says.
“The bedroom is almost the same size as the living area.”
GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY
Gray came up with a palette of dark greys and “dirty” jewel-like colours to contrast with the white walls and existing timber herringbone floors and work in with the kitchen, which had already been updated.
“He wanted the space to feel masculine because it’s for him — and only him,” Gray says. “Anything in bright or pastel colours would make it feel feminine.
“You can have colour (in masculine spaces), but it’s choosing the right ones, like those dirtier colours.”
Furniture has been carefully chosen to provide maximum function while not crowding the space.
“The lounge was custom made for the space,” Gray says.
“It works well because the arms and the back are thin so that you get maximum seat size. It also creates the illusion that the space is bigger than it is. It has the same proportions as a 3½-seater sofa but it doesn’t take up the space.”
With the addition of a couple of occasional chairs, the space comfortably seats six.
There’s even an intimate dining space in the light-filled sunroom next to the living room.
“If the space had been full of tiny furniture it would look like a doll’s house,” Gray says.
To prevent the space from feeling cold, Gray selected a range of accessories, from textured rugs and velvet cushions to patterned ceramics and mirrored trays.
“Any sophisticated interior has a limited palette but you need to create that warmth with texture,” he says.
THE HARD AND THE SOFT
Materials are a mix of hard and soft but always based around a neutral palette.
“It’s making a conscious decision that everything has its own attributes in terms of texture,” he says.
“Velvet is very soft but the sisal (rug) is really grainy.”
The apartment now works well as the perfect bachelor pad to retreat to as well as a place where any potential guests would feel at home. Gray says he wished more singles would consider getting in a design professional.
“People are staying single longer and they need some help with their spaces,” he says.
THE SOURCE
● Bedside lamps: Temple & Webster, templeandwebster.com.au
● Coffee table: Orson & Blake, orsonandblake.com.au
● Bar tray: Pottery Barn, potterybarn.com.au
● Leather rug: Rugs of Beauty, rugsofbeauty.com.au
● Armchair: 1stdibs, 1stdibs.com