URBAN IDYLL

With luxurious nods to its Art-Deco curves, this city pied-à-terre balances contemporary living with high functionality.

- STORY Judy Pascoe | PHOTOGRAPHY Pablo Veiga

With the waters of one of Sydney's iconic harbour beaches sparkling tantalisingly across the road, this was never going to be an ordinary apartment.

Bought by the owners as their 'city pad' after they downsized from their large family home and decamped to their property in the Southern Highlands, the three-bedroom apartment offered the potential for an idyllic lifestyle.

Spanning the entire ground floor of an Art Deco building, the apartment enjoyed house-like proportions, fine architectural features and a practical floor plan, but it was still wearing a 2007 renovation, which meant it was a little dated.

As soon as the owners had sealed the purchase they contacted Ioanna Lennox, creative director of Ioanna Lennox Interiors, to help with a makeover. The brief, says Ioanna, was for a luxurious pied-à-terre, taking cues from the beachside location and offering contemporary living with state-of-the-art bathrooms, retreat-like bedrooms, custom joinery, plentiful storage and a kitchen that provided an equal measure of wow factor and high-level functionality.

The entire space was gutted, some walls removed so bathrooms could be enlarged, and the old fireplace replaced. New joinery for the study and walk-in robes was designed along with a fresh look for the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms and living spaces.