Beauty and Ease – Darling Apartment by Blair Smith Architecture

Darling Apartment by Blair Smith Architecture is an experiment in inner-city regeneration, a compact yet highly considered apartment upgrade harnessed by deft planning and warm material profiles.

Tasked with creating a comfortable interstate base for a retiring couple based in Western Australia, Blair Smith Architecture sought to embrace the full potential of the client’s penthouse apartment in South Yarra – originally purchased as an off-the-plan investment property. As Blair began unraveling the apartment’s constrained planning, the added value of a more extensive refurbishment became evident. “What began as a small kitchen update soon became ‘the mouse that roared,’” he laughs.

The principal use of American oak and natural stone establishes a restrained yet warmly approachable tone, the marriage of which culminates in a carefully crafted, square kitchen island bench.

Applying an analytical approach to planning, Blair Smith Architecture conceived a modest addition at the apartment rear, making use of an underutilized, west-facing balcony. This gesture ‘unlocked’ the apartment plan, allowing for a generous ensuite and walk-in-robe, significantly enhancing the amenity and spaciousness of the master suite. Poorly organised cabinetry and an obsolete storage room were removed to bring clarity to the kitchen and living area, while wet areas were reconfigured but not completely relocated, in order to economise construction.

The apartment lift opens directly into the remodeled living space, creating a dramatic sense of openness on arrival. “Visitors are often surprised to discover this considered, curated space after going through a fairly conventional lobby,” comments Blair. The principal use of American oak and natural stone establishes a restrained yet warmly approachable tone, the marriage of which culminates in a carefully crafted, square kitchen island bench. “It performs as a sort of fulcrum, about which daily life pivots between private and living zones,” explains Blair.

Throughout, design elements are detailed with care and consideration, forging what Blair describes as a “crafted, legible backdrop to the daily rituals of apartment living.”

Two timber-battened screens create a sense of separation to the kitchen, sliding over a marble threshold to the living area beyond. Beside the fireplace, a second sliding panel finished in black powder coat thoughtfully masks the television and audio-visual equipment – a refined and reductive expression. Sheer linen curtains expand on the notion of reducing visual noise, blurring the corners of the room and creating a diffused silhouette of the Chapel Street skyline beyond.

Throughout, design elements are detailed with care and consideration, forging what Blair describes as a “crafted, legible backdrop to the daily rituals of apartment living.” Steel plate shelves in the lounge room display the clients’ cherished books and artifacts with a sense of reverence, with pieces artfully duplicated in a mirrored backdrop. Decorative lighting, mosaic tiling and brushed nickel tapware elevate domestic rituals, while integrated timber grilles for heating and cooling create an additional layer of fine-grain detailing throughout.

Conceptually, the new apartment expands on the clients’ aspiration for a simplified inner-city existence, delivering an adaptable, atmospheric and well-appointed space befitting its location. “We envisage that the transformed apartment will imbue their lives with a sense of effortlessness and comfort in the early stages of retirement, as a place to be ensconced after a day at the football, or a walk in the botanical gardens,” Blair muses. Quiet and calming, yet with the bustle of Chapel Street and Toorak Road just steps away, Blair believes “there is comfort to be found in the dichotomy of these two states of being.”