Bismarck House, Bondi’s bold new landmark
This holiday rental is a microcosm of design, an intriguing blend of urban monumentalism and perfectly considered oasis.
You can’t see or hear those famous Bondi Beach waves up at Bismarck House, the newly completed architect-designed home, but this holiday rental is its own microcosm of style and design, an intriguing blend of urban monumentalism and perfectly considered urban oasis that lords it over a classic streetscape in the heights of South Bondi (SOBO, apparently, to those in the know). Add to the mix a flow of indoor-outdoor spaces, northeast sea breezes, and a pocket-sized but precisely designed garden by renowned landscaper, and Bismarck House co-owner, William Dangar of Dangar Barin Smith, and you have the full goods.
The Dangars live locally and William’s wife, Julia, does a quick show-around as I check into this two-storey property conceived by Andrew Burges Architects in robust materials such as concrete, lime-washed brick and corrugated metal. She points out the beeswax finish that smoothes the look of the stone walls upstairs and then we pop into the conjoined Federation-era semi. All that remains of that original building is the facade and front room, which can be opened through to provide further sleeping quarters for two, mini-kitchen and bathroom for a full house-party rental of eight. It feels like a studio apartment, with a pull-down bed and space-effective furniture.
There are three queen bedrooms upstairs, one a master with ensuite, and the other two sharing a large open-plan dove grey bathroom. It’s all very spacious on this top level, with Carlotta + Gee soft French bed-linen in pastel shades, luxurious down pillows, and local Bondi Wash hair and body products throughout. There are curved walls and corners, simple brass rails to hang clothing, platform shelves to store bags. Light pours through skylights and a rounded panel of hallway glass and eases through windows shaded with angled screens. Shadows of palm leaves play on polished stone, and connecting this level is a fairly steep staircase made with recycled bricks from the site’s original structures and featuring a wire cage side-support instead of a conventional banister.
The open-plan lower level is an Architectural Digest spread writ large, with an eclectic loop around Japan, Morocco and 1940s France, and not a thread is out of place. Interiors gurus David Harrison of Design Daily and Karen McCartney of edited.com.au conceived the fit-out, sourcing from Etsy the likes of 1950s bedside lights as well as key items via established design houses. The feel is organic and unadorned, featuring woven materials, cork, travertine, pale timbers and a shout of rust-red in the powder-coated cabinet concealing a giant TV. Furniture, textiles, lighting, oak-framed art and display objects, including hand-crafted ceramics by Japanese-Australian potter Keiko Matsui and custom-designed pieces, are a mix of contemporary and vintage, with some sufficiently noteworthy to warrant a mention in the guest compendium. Would you like an Expormim table from Spain with that? Or low-slung dining chairs designed by Jasper Morrison for Maruni, or a Danish-designed teak daybed upholstered in fine linen or a Formakami pendant lantern?
Cacti potted in white tubs are of the wild west style. Euphorbia “cowboy”, to be precise. There’s a touch of Santa Fe in the palette of the interiors and the hardy, semi-arid landscaping, despite myriad influences from elsewhere. My houseguests Kirstie and Alice agree with me that the ghost of Georgia O’Keeffe could appear at any tick of the clock, paintbrush in hand.
I’ve never considered a good kitchen to be a must-have in an Airbnb property or short-term rental, especially at the beach. There’s no holiday in cooking, surely. But here it’s all American oak shelving dotted with statement pieces such as bowls and vases, a white-tiled bench, cupboards full of quality saucepans and dinnerware, and drawers that glide like ice-skates. Basic pantry items are provided, including a swag of teabags, but no coffee. Julia says guests are within steps of Bondi Road’s finest cafes and take-outs but a Nespresso machine and pods would be a welcome addition. The kitchen’s ledge-like window seat is backed by a New Guinea rosewood screen with tall vertical battens that can be pulled right across to form a stoop and let in air, light (and noise, it must be admitted) from the adjoining laneway; massive sliding glass doors open up the kitchen and dining area to a courtyard planted with cacti at the main entry, where stands the north-facing Bismarck palm that gives the property its name. Its stout, strong trunk and bluish fan-shaped fronds look appropriately architectural, too.
The rear garden, with an open-sided garage beyond, is sparingly planted with succulents and flowering vines. Look back from here to the upper storey for a glimpse of an elevated garden bed outside the master bedroom where cactus reach skywards like bulky antennae.
It’s a long, narrow plot and the curvilinear architecture, ventilation panels, abundant glass, metal mesh and pleated and perforated aluminium “skin” that wraps the upper level, plus rough and raw exterior bricks, make Bismarck House a local landmark. It’s not an ideal place for young children to stay or for anyone with serious mobility issues and, as such, along with its dramatic contours, could polarise opinion. But just click through to the awards link on the website to see how many major accolades have been bestowed. Bismarck House is, quite simply, heaven on a hill for design aficionados. I’m sold.
To-Do List
Dine
At Totti’s Bondi; courtyard tables are highly sought-after so book well ahead. Or by the ocean pool at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar.
Walk
The stunning Bondi to Bronte 3km cliff-top trail.
See
Indigenous rock carvings and bush-tucker plants on a tour with artist and performer Walangari Karntawarra.
Browse
The jumbled shelves at the charming Gertrude & Alice Bookshop Cafe.
Buy
Botanical gels and lotions from the serene Bondi Wash boutique; coffees and superb bread and pastries from The TinPin Bakery.
Essentials
Bismarck House is at 36 Denham Street, Bondi. Book via Airbnb; from $980 a night, minimum three nights; maximum eight guests; no pets.
Susan Kurosawa was a guest of Bismarck House.
This story was originally published in May 2021 and has since been updated.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout