Home Tour: A Bold and Alluring Work of Art
Splashes of colour, culture and design transform this waterfront apartment into a work of art.
Designed by: Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem (YSG)
Location: Walsh Bay, Sydney’s Inner-City
Decor style: A Contemporary Waterfront Apartment
Favourite pieces: Our custom fireplace is the winner. A plinth hovering upon two curved legs (inspired by a fireplace in the Streisand/Nolte rendition of A Star is Born).
Favourite Room: The kitchen. Let’s be honest. It’s the most used room in a house, and these days, you can only shoo guests to another part of the home when the meal’s ready to be served.
Rich with memories of adventure and collectable artwork, a dated three-bedroom 90s penthouse on the Finger Wharf in Sydney’s Walsh Bay has been reimagined into a vibrant space, taking you on a sensual journey.
Sydney-based interior designer and founder of YSG, Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem, was given a brief to convert three bedrooms into a two-bedroom apartment plus a home office and create an open-plan living area. The colour scheme throughout the apartment was critical - it had to complement their prized art pieces and new selections, with strictly no beige or white furniture.
“They wanted to transform their 90s penthouse from a dark, compartmentalised corporate cavern into a light, open space that enhanced the harbour views and showcased their art collection and fascination with foreign cultures,” explains Yasmine. “The dark base palette was flipped from enclosing charcoal shades (including walls, carpets and joinery) with jarring red feature walls to a neutral canvas that we sprinkled with big dollops of colour, exquisite textiles from China, Japan and Europe, plus intriguing textures.”
Yasmine reconfigured the main living room, removing obtrusive walls and decorative timber columns. Storage was recessed where possible to create the illusion of more space in what became an open-plan living area bathed in natural light.
FOR THE LOVE OF ART
“The art and collectables in this penthouse are as diverse and eclectic as the couple who lives there,” says Yasmine. “Comfort was key to selecting all the soft furnishings, but the project proves that playful choices can complement the sophisticated design, infusing it with palpable energy and a highly personalised free spirit.”
At first glance, it may seem that there are a lot of different elements at work – but look a little closer, and only two key materials were used throughout; stone and wood. Yasmine made the most of different finishes, such as custom calibrated baton joinery in the bar area or the bar’s dramatic zebra veneer.
Yet, it’s the conversational furnishing and art, and how they all sit in harmony with one another, that ties this inner-city apartment together. In the dining area, where plump, cartoon-like dining chairs by Poltrona Frau are, the vertical candy-striped ‘beach’ balls sit beautifully against the Warlimpirrnga Tjapaljarri painting that hangs directly behind.
The kitchen’s sexy vintage Sella Piccolo hand-blown Murano glass chandelier has a sculptural purpose. At night, its golden champagne tones zing. Then there’s the candy pink Vola kitchen tapware, and the stacked crocodile green Vitoria Regia marble along the kitchen benchtop was inspired by Jenga blocks.
“This fantasy-like frivolity continues within the guest bedroom where a shell-like plaster light in the style of Jean Charles Moreux delicately hovers. The curtains and an integrated upholstered bedhead with side panels in a textured hand-stitched Pierre Frey fabric inject the room with multi-cultural references,” says Yasmine.
The multi-cultural references and unique design pieces also filter throughout the primary bedroom.
“The hand-painted ceiling feature was inspired by ancient Chinese folding screens with a walnut timber batten bracing, subtly acknowledging their framing device nestled at right angles above the bed. Swirling around it, a waterscape of lilies and pond ripples expand the room’s depth, inverting the water views beyond the balcony. On the bed, a golden Japanese vintage silk quilt glows with a beautiful golden shimmer in the daytime,” she says.
The playfulness of the interiors lights up the space, creating inspired energy that truly feels like anything is possible.
“I love how the curved furnishings give the fluid spaces harmonising embraces, while exquisite printed and woven fabrics, gutsy stone selections and zebra-patterned timber accents accelerate its energy. There’s an eternal optimism that practically sings the moment you set foot inside,” says Yasmine.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
Rich in culture and history, this pocket of Sydney has undergone a transformation. At every turn, modernism meets colonialism, creating the striking contrasts that are characteristic of Millers Point and Walsh Bay. On Sydney Harbour, wharves that still boast original structures have been converted into multi-purpose spaces. You’ll find commercial businesses, boutique apartments, fine dining, intimate cafés and performing arts centres. And just a short stroll in one direction is the historic Sydney district, The Rocks, and the other is shiny and new Barangaroo.
SITCHU’S FAVOURITE WALSH BAY HANGOUTS
For coffee: Zupano Espresso Bar, for the coffee, plus they offer all-day breakfast.
For brunch: Bitter & Twisted, because it has seriously good coffee and food in a historic building.
For lunch: Lotus Dumpling Bar – open for lunch over the weekends (and dinner most nights), it has the best dumplings.
For dinner: Walsh Bay Kitchen. It nods to the area’s theatrical setting. It’s moody and dramatic, and the food is modern Australian.
For drinks: Pier One, purely for the waterside cocktails.
PROJECT CREDITS
Interior design: Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem (YSG)
Styling: Felicity Ng
Photography: Prue Ruscoe
Words: Margaret Quilter
Loved this home tour and feeling inspired to start tackling your own renovation dream? Be sure to check out the latest homeware trends we can't get enough of for Autumn, and our favourite homeware gifts, for every style and comfort.
