OPEN INVITATION

of design studio Baldwin & Bagnall and his partner, Adam Lindsay, channelled their love of art, design and entertaining at their beachside apartment, creating a crisp and modern canvas on which to layer eclectic, expressive pieces that reflect their personalities and produce a welcoming space for visitors. We wanted it to be comfortable for the two of us, with a guest bedroom, two bathrooms, a great kitchen in which to cook for plenty of people, and wall space for art. Only one street back from the beach, the apartment has a generous 130-square-metre footprint and a large north-west terrace – We had a well-developed understanding of how we live and how we wanted to live in the apartment. Aesthetics were important but so was function and we made early planning changes: the direction the terrace doors open, the configuration of the lounge room to create a larger wall for artworks, and removing the bathtub for an open shower to hose off sandy feet straight from the beach. The apartment was what I call a ‘pristine original’ with cute light fittings, timber-framed robes, a galley kitchen and so on. We didn’t want to create an ultra-minimalist white space but rather awaken the 1980s charm in a 2020 re-imagination. Running new services in older apartments can be tricky. We rewired and plumbed it to include the comforts of a newer home: air conditioning, underfloor heating, gas cooking and water heating, and decorative and ambient lighting concealed in bulkheads or joinery. A careful study in curating a lifelong love of design. It incorporates sentiment, customisation, and old and new classics. The outcome is unique, exciting and wonderfully familiar thanks to a trained eye at the helm. But more importantly, it is ‘us’. We love to cook and spend time in the kitchen. The coloured cabinets with the timber veneer are beautiful, but the Arabescato Corchia steals the show! The movement in the marble is so striking. We love to entertain so we filled it with all we could need: two ovens, a convection oven, Billi tap, large integrated fridge, and integrated cool drawer that we keep full to be able to host guests at short notice. Plus the surprise of the little library. We walk through here daily, noticing books, objects or artworks that sit on the shelves, and there’s a great reading chair where you would usually find one of us sitting and enjoying the afternoon sun on weekends. The dining room has space to entertain eight guests (or more), and for when we are working from home. I wanted the table to be a place where it all happens, no fuss when someone puts a mug down or spills a glass of red wine. We wanted it to feel warm but durable to withstand all it goes through. Plus the banquette seat has a really fun Raf Simons fabric on it that I love. Adding the banquette meant we were able to shift the dining table to one side to enhance the sense of space and widen the walkway to the terrace. The 12-metre timber veneer wall creates a long focal point down the apartment centre. We enlarged the kitchen to a 5.5-metre galley by removing the laundry in favour of a stacked washer/dryer in a bi-fold cupboard, swapped the storage hot water to instant gas and deleted the old sink. We removed the dividing wall and door and extended the bench with space for a coffee machine and appliances, and dirty dishes after a party. As executive director of Sydney Living Museums and NSW State Archives and Records, Adam has a passion for art and culture and had more of a say in this department. The art selection is quite personal, reflecting memories of loved ones, as well as aspirations, ideals and moments in the Australian canon. Larger-scale artworks are hung with lots of air around them. We chose classics such as the ‘Utrecht’ chair as well as newer pieces with vintage vibes such as the dining chairs. Terrazzo throughout was a neutral base for everything else to shine, such as the green marble bench in the lounge room and the timber wall that runs into the kitchen. It was a matter of trying to combine textures and materials and creating balance among them. For the guest bedroom we wanted a place where friends and family would feel calm and comfortable, so we put a soft pink wash over it. The home is a reflection of Adam and I, but also a candid expression of the Baldwin & Bagnall aesthetic. I call it minimally eclectic: not bare enough to be minimal nor so outrageous as to be eclectic. It represents where we as a design studio are sitting, delivering projects along the spectrum. We are honing our ability to deliver restrained interiors that aren’t devoid of detail or character. We were able to experiment with materials, fabrics, prototype joinery details, furniture and combinations of colour and texture. Ideas we’ve tried can be adapted for future projects and I can feel confident when talking to clients about their homes and encouraging them to take chances. We appreciate the small design details and lovely fabrics and finishes. We use the home exactly as we imagined. We work, cook, entertain, sleep, party, relax and grow there and it is perfect for every one of these uses. I love the small elements of surprise when guests discover the apartment for the first time, such as the pink guest room, fun terrazzo in the bathroom or the large terrace beyond the sheer curtains.