A Dated Sydney Apartment Turned Refined Family Home

This 1960s apartment on Sydney’s Upper North Shore ticked all the boxes on paper (north-facing, leafy outlook, and a generous floor plan), but its interiors were uninspiring. While sizeable for an apartment (176 square metres), the layout was disjoined, resulting in underutilised spaces. 

‘With the majority of the apartment visible as you walked through the front door, there was no visual privacy in the space,’ explains Loretta Lovecek, director of Sequence Studio who renovated the home. ‘Furthermore, excessive large open spaces hindered practical furniture layouts within the rooms, as circulation paths meander throughout.’

The brief to the designers was to consolidate the floor plan and create a more stylish home for a young family of three.

Sequence Studio’s first order of business was breaking up the existing floor plan to create the illusion of more space. To do so, they sacrificed a portion of the overly large living and dining area to form a new study and vestibule on entry. 

‘This vestibule space upon entering the home has created a moment of arrival and acts as a space the clients can shed the emotions of the day as they enter their family home,’ says Loretta.

The services layout and project budget didn’t allow the separate kitchen and dining rooms to be connected as the clients’ originally desired. Instead, a dining nook with a built-in banquette seat was added to the kitchen, allowing the couple’s child to be with them as they cook. 

The existing main bedroom was an awkward, long shape that had beautiful natural light, but did not feel necessarily special within the home. Sequence Studio reconfigured the space, inserting a feature bedhead wall made from V-groove panelling painted in Dulux Gentle Calm before a new walk-in wardrobe. 

‘90s materials (beige carpet, all-white walls, and bulky kitchen cabinetry) were also replaced throughout with a refined palette of shaker profile cupboards, stone benchtops, brass fixtures and glossy sky blue handmade tiles. 

From the initial client meeting to the clients moving in, the entire apartment transformation constructed by Waller Corp took about 10 months. The home’s dining and living area is now suitably scaled, with circulation paths relocated for optimum functionality. 

Loretta says, ‘The renovations to the apartment have meant that a warm and inviting home has been created for this young family — a place they can proudly share with their loved ones and thrive in as a growing family.’

‘The family could have purchased a property that was ready to move into, but by purchasing an apartment that required a bit of love, Sequence Studio has been able to work with the family to create a home especially for them!’