CLIENT SUCCESS STORY · FULL SERVICE INTERIOR DESIGN IN PRAHRAN, MELBOURNE
“I STEPPED INTO THE APARTMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND IT ALREADY FELT LIKE HOME.”
We designed the apartment while the client was still overseas, met the container carrying their belongings, collected the keys and had the rooms finished before they landed.
Award-Winning Interior Design
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Whittlesea & Melbourne
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E-Design Available
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Award-Winning Interior Design ● Whittlesea & Melbourne ● E-Design Available ●
THE STORY
ARRIVING home RATHER THAN A LONG LIST OF THINGS TO DO
They were relocating from Europe to Melbourne for work and had already found the apartment, a Chapel Street warehouse conversion with exposed brick, timber boards and windows tall enough to make the place feel closer to New York than to Prahran.
What they had not found was anyone to run it. Their Scandinavian furniture was already on a ship, their work had them travelling right up until the move, and the apartment needed to be a functioning home on the day they walked in rather than a project waiting to be started. There were several conversations and a number of emails before they were satisfied that we could take all of that on, and would.
The design itself was a matter of blending what was arriving with what we bought here, so the finished rooms read as one home rather than two continents sharing a floor. The Danish pieces set the tone, the Australian furniture, lighting and artwork were chosen around them, and trade supplier access kept the cost of the additions down.
The part most people do not picture is everything else. Bed linen and a doona, towels, a laundry basket, an iron, containers for the kitchen and basic groceries so the first morning did not begin with a shop. None of that is design. All of it is the difference between arriving at a home and arriving at a room full of boxes.
(PHOTOGRAPHY: SILAS HARRIS)
Adrian’s Home in Phrahan, Melbourne
WORKING WITH THE BUILDING
The brick and the boards were already there. Everything brought in was chosen to sit against them rather than compete with them.
WHAT A BEDSIDE ACTUALLY NEEDS
Sheer curtains hang over motorised blinds, so the afternoon comes into the room without the privacy going out of it.
FUNCTION MEETS ELEGANCE
A slim black tower carries books and objects without crowding the painting beside it or the lamp in front of it.
INCORPORATING SOFTER ELEMENTS
An upholstered bedhead, a heavy knit and sage linen give a hard wall something to sit across from.
A ROOM FOR WHAT YOU ALREADY
Her queen bed came from the old house. Everything around it was chosen for the way she lives now.
SMALL THING THAT SHOW LIFE
Flowers, a book left open and a small brass dish. The details that make a finished room look occupied.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING YOUR CONSULTATION?
START WITH A CALL, FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE
Some projects begin before a client has arrived in the country. We run them the same way, with one point of contact from the first call through to the day the rooms are finished.
A clear scope for the rooms you need furnished
An honest read on timing, budget and what we take on for you
A plan that works wherever you are
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Yes. This apartment was designed, ordered and installed while the client was travelling for work. The design happens remotely either way, and Anica attends the property when measuring, delivery or installation calls for it.
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They are treated as part of the design rather than a separate problem. On this project Anica coordinated the arrival of the client’s shipping container alongside the new pieces, so nothing sat in storage waiting for a decision.
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On site, by Anica, before anything was ordered. That covers the rooms themselves and the access path the furniture has to travel to reach them.
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An apartment of this size generally runs to two months or more, depending on lead times and how quickly decisions come back.
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We do. Deliveries are scheduled, received and brought to the property, and suppliers are coordinated so the install lands on one date rather than spreading across weeks.
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Yes, and it is encouraged. Records, instruments, art and furniture with history usually make a room better. We plan for them early rather than fitting them in at the end.
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It changes the approach rather than limiting it. Exposed brick, timber boards and high windows are the reason to buy a building like this one. The furniture is chosen to sit against them instead of covering them.
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No. Property styling dresses a home for sale and comes back out after the campaign. This is a home the client lives in, furnished to stay.