Return to the Emerald City

from est Magazine Issue #38 | Evolve

by est magazine

Resilient Architecture | FMD Architects

Return to the Emerald City

A Potts Point Project Presents a Series of Reveals Throughout a 1930s Home

INTERIOR DESIGN Flack Studio | PHOTOGRAPHY Anson Smart | WORDS Emma-Kate Wilson

A practical device, the wine room was a way to create a separate, intimate, space from the long living room. The eucalyptus shades and marble flooring reflect the back alleyways of Potts Point with their glimpses of deco tiles, while the Lustre dining table by Bethan Gray and Feel Good Chairs by Flexform afford an opulent atmosphere.

Flack Studio principal and founder David Flack was tasked with ensuring a Sydney four-storey terrace had continuity with the history of the city while guaranteeing practical, contemporary living for its owners. The result is a love letter to Sydney; from the Opera House-inspired white curved staircase with its continuous carved wooden handrail running from the basement to the rooftop terrace, to the understated nod to 1950s beach lifestyle.

**This sitting space features the Glenn Barkley Scribble Pot, 2018, Blue and White Vase (2018) - both from earthenware - and Tim Silver Untitled (Oneirophrenia) Blue #6 (2015).**

As with many Flack Studio projects, Potts Points is testament to the integration of fine art and contemporary design, offset by hand-finished raw brass and marble, inviting a deco sensibility that connects the home with Sydney’s heyday years. The wine room painted in a deep eucalyptus green, balanced with the ‘Vati Cano Marble’ and ‘Verde St Devis’ floor tiles and the basement pool with its cinematic striped black and white tiles and pastel green walls, are immediately evocative of this deco period.

The union of art and design allows the eye to travel to focal points throughout the home, such as the Pierre Jeanneret Armchair and bench appearing in multiple rooms, or the Gubi coral-fringed small pouffe in both the lounge room and bedroom. Away from the walls, pieces like the cheeky monkey sculpture by Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran sit unexpectedly at ease atop places like the kitchen bench.

The formal dining space features the Colette chairs by Roberto Lazzeroni for Baxter, Moon dining table by Space Copenhagen for GUBI, Forchette pendant by Materia Designs and custom credenza with caramel American Oak-stained veneer and marble base, designed by Flack Studio.

From the wine room that is a subtle reference to the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz, which Sydney very much represents to the staircase that encases this five-level home and references the sails of the Opera House.

– David Flack

The kitchen’s material mix includes Calacata Vaticano marble, handmade Moroccan Zellige tiles, custom caramel American-oak stained veneer and brass in Scotch finish. Featuring the Mater High Stool by Space Copenhagen and anthracite Gaggenau appliances. The Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran artwork Monkey with Yellow Mask (2019) features on the benchtop.

I wanted the kitchen to feel like a little jewel glycerine; the beautiful brass elements have a little sparkle, but then it’s got some rough and tumble, so we could capture the bit of both of those moods of Sydney.

– David Flack

The casual living room off the kitchen is a nod to Sydney’s beaches with the Pillowchair by ASH NYC in yellow stripe; a coral small pouf with fringes by GUBI; navy blue Paul Sofa by Vincent Van Duysen for Molteni & C and Lianou Stool by neri&hu; and a tactile yellow hand-knotted wool rug by Robyn Cosgrove. The space also features Glenn Barkley’s artwork death defying (2019) and Ry David Bradley’s politic28Rhubarb13Talky (2020).

In this project, Flack Studio honour the home’s simple and classic form, allowing finishes and materiality to create tangible depth. This can be seen in the kitchen where two different types of stone, together with timber and brass, are contrasted by handmade Moroccan tiles, while the bench reveals slivers of negative space that trap light. Similarly, the ‘Rosa Aurora Marble’ hand basin and floor in the powder room, connects to the custom pink scalloped timber panelling and is offset by a wall of fluted glass that belies a floating garden outside.

The staircase operates as a contemporary art and light well in a Waterstone polished plaster finish and textural artworks from Glenn Barkley, Peter Cooley and Troy Emery. A carved wooden handrail by Gary Timber Rails runs from the basement to the rooftop terrace.

The pink powder room is a perfect example of Flack Studio’s work that anchors each project and allows them to leave their little signature.

One of Flack Studio’s favourite spaces in the home is the entrance, connecting the whole house through custom timber cabinetry, brushed brass and the gold-framed Sam Martin artwork; The Sun Myth (2017). You’re welcomed with a sense of the familiar, yet the considered detail gives a subtle hint that there’s more to come.