Lovely
bones
This renovation connects
with the rugged industrial
aesthetic of the building
There are two distinct design approaches to
an historic makeover – one is to celebrate period
elements and sweep the rest aside; the other is
to emphasise the integrity of the entire building.
This renovation, in what was once the
second floor of a Brisbane woolshed, frees up
the good bones of the original structure built
in 1934. Builder Kris Johnson says the owners
wanted the reworked apartment to have the
semi-industrial character of a New York loft.
However, the interior clutter of an earlier
renovation first had to be swept aside.
“This space has had several lives – it was a
car park for a time, and in 1994 it was fitted out
as a unit, with carpeted floors, white walls and
a standard kitchen. Our work began by stripping the space back to the studs, retaining the
original spotted gum beams and joists. We kept
the existing windows, too, and sandblasted the
brickwork to restore its bright hue.
“We then introduced distressed wood floors
as a character feature that would also call to
mind the building’s origins. This was a major
undertaking. For its role as a car park, concrete
floors had been introduced throughout. We
fixed battens to this surface and laid the French
oak planks over that. To achieve the semiindustrial look, the wood was scraped by hand,
stained and finally waxed.”
With partition walls removed and the rustic
floor installed, the apartment achieves the airy,
loft-like aesthetic required. The owners also
wanted an industrial-level kitchen as part of the
open-plan space. Johnson specified a splashback
and benchtop in stainless steel, and cabinetry in
charcoal lacquer with a matte finish.
“The steel contrasts the rugged brick and
wood, while the island has a foot in both camps.
One end is supported by a cabinet and the other
by a leg of solid spotted gum. The benchtop is
in 20mm-thick Calacatta marble wrapped over
a honeycomb panel to look like a 100mm slab.
Preceding pages: Sheer curtains
accentuate the height of this loft
space and optimise natural light
penetration. The makeover is by
builder Kris Johnson.
Left: Original timber support beams,
sandblasted brick walls and scraped
and stained French oak floors give
this apartment a raw yet warm
industrial aesthetic.
Above: The linking corridor is aligned
with the bedroom windows.
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