Less is more in this elegant three-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s inner east, crafted by Handelsmann + Khaw interior designers Gillian Khaw and Tania Handelsmann. “Unlike most projects, this was an exercise in subtraction rather than addition, a case of Coco Chanel’s famous quip: ‘Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off’,” explains Gillian. The pared-back results, with their curated finishes and furnishings, evoke an almost monastic, yet paradoxically glamorous, serenity.
Chanel’s minimalist maxim missed the apartment’s former iteration. Built around 2000, it bore many of that period’s trademarks, including, says Gillian, a “cacophony” of finishes, including yellowing timber floors and joinery, plain plasterboard walls, frameless glass doors, a heavy burgundy marble fireplace and high-gloss
