/ THE BRIEF
My client Rachel had an apartment in Maroubra, located between the beach and Maroubra Junction. It’s east facing and looked out over the ocean and other apartment buildings.
Rachel wanted to have a coastal feel but not have the cliché beach design elements such as palm trees, shells and ocean images!. She loved gold and brass accents, texture, bright trims and fresh colours such as cool blues. She also loved greenery and interesting artwork.
There was an issue in the bedroom; the built-in cupboard blocked the window, letting less light in. Rachel had already chosen the carpet and flooring which I had to work around.
/ THE CONCEPT
I chose a theme I would like to call ‘coastal chic’ for Rachel’s rooms. It mixes soft pinks, coastal blues, gold accents and lots of texture.
I added wood panelling to all the walls to give a coastal feel and to add texture. I wanted to have strong feature walls in blue tones with fresh white trims and a ceiling colour that would work with both blue tones and the white trims.
I’ve used accentuated features such as the ‘Crossing Threads’ wall hanging, pink armchairs, a large cane bed head and gold accents throughout the rooms. I used a mix of blues, whites and greys to work with the coastal feel but to also work with the eastern light. The strong feature walls gives it a boldness when that eastern light disappears and becomes cooler.
I also placed warmer lighting like the rattan and pendant lights to give a softer feel at night time. I added heaps of texture to warm up the cooler tones using a mix of woods, cane, cushions, throws and rugs.
To solve the issue of the built-in cupboard blocking the window, I knocked it out and put in a study nook with shelving.