High STYLE

A sophisticated yet characterful interior – and an eye on the future – were key to the owner’s brief for his penthouse home.

- Georgia Madden

THIS IS THE LIFE Homeowner Jordan describes his pocket of Sydney’s inner west as a “hidden gem”. “With the sprawling greenery of Sydney Park across the road you feel like you’re out of the hustle and bustle of the city, while you’re only a short drive to amazing cafes and restaurants as well as boutique breweries and distilleries,” he says. Jordan has a private rooftop terrace with a pool and views out to Botany Bay. “It’s the ultimate sanctuary.”

LIVING/DINING Prestige Oak engineered-timber flooring in Straw, Flooring Xtra. Island benchtop in Caesarstone Piatto Black. Langdon stools, Ownworld. Dining table, Interior Secrets. Bow vase and Earth bowl (on table), Dinosaur Designs. Cire Trudon candle, Becker Minty. Dining chairs, Zaffero. You Break My Heart artwork by Eva Frengstad, from Sibu Gallery. Julian planters, Coco Republic.

A rooftop pool and entertainer’s terrace, views across Sydney Park and all the mod cons imaginable: this 553-square-meter penthouse in Sydney’s inner west had it all. Except, possibly, character. “The interior was rather grand and came across as sterile and dated,” says its owner, Jordan. The other issue was the scale of some rooms. “For such a huge place, the kitchen and main bedroom were seriously undersized,” he says.

But as an experienced renovator, Jordan could see beyond the negatives. “I’d been exploring real estate for a while and this penthouse was like nothing I had seen before – let alone on the fringe of one of the inner west’s coolest areas. While the style was definitely not mine, I could see the potential and within a week I had made an offer and bought it.”