This beautiful Elizabeth Bay apartment has incredible views across to Rushcutters Bay Park and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. The owner wanted to renovate both bathrooms in line with the home’s more sophisticated aesthetic, and also came to us for advice on upgrading the lighting throughout the apartment.

Our design for the bathrooms was a careful balance of necessity and ingenuity, with a heavy dash of luxury. Wet areas are often neglected as candidates for renovation, given how expensive and difficult they can be to work with, and this apartment was no exception. One bathroom was in bad shape and needed to be stripped out completely. We used vein-cut travertine to re-surface the walls and floors, which adds grandeur but also gives the room a spacious, luminous quality. The new island bath and shower sit in a set-down area behind a sliding panel, reflected in the new mirror cabinetry and vanity. For the other bathroom, we retained the Carrara marble tiles and tapware, adding storage with teak cabinetwork. Shower bench seating, reminiscent of teak boat decking, adds warmth and references the nearby Yacht Club.

We kept the material palette simple to maximise the sense of space in each bathroom. We were also limited by positioning of the original copper and brass pipework, which services the apartment above and could not be moved. We claimed extra space by removing the surrounding duct, riser walls and door panel, and polished the newly exposed pipes as a stunning new feature. Both bathrooms were carefully finished with minimalist detailing, to let the materials shine.

The result is proof that limited space doesn’t have to limit your design. Both bathrooms have a timeless, luxurious style which is both private and inviting. The simplicity of the materials and careful design choices have made these bathrooms a standout feature of the apartment – right alongside that unbelievable view.