Page 18 - Designing Ways 282

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appreciated the gestures by companies The layout of the space was driven by responsible for the total renovation build.
such as Design Team Fabrics for the concept of hosting family and friends. Although they had never worked with
sponsoring all the scatter cushions in Anna-Lize stated that bringing people him before, he was referred by friends
the apartment. Artwork for the walls had together in this space was their main aim who had worked with him previously and
obviously not been in short supply with and mentioned that Simon always asked, who spoke highly of his skill, ability and
Simon being an artist himself. They did “Okay but where are people going to sit”? quality of work, so they were happy to get
make the decision however to edit the With Simon’s total inventory of tools him on board for the project.
wall art and go with pieces that they really being a nail clipper and a tweezer, they A renovation project in an apartment
love and stored the rest. never anticipated handling any of the block does present its own challenges.
Anna-Lize and Simon explained that renovation work themselves. “I am not a Anna-Lize and Simon explain that at first
their final colour palette of black, white, handyman”, Simon had explained earlier, the Body Corporate had many questions
grey and cream paired with natural wood although he had very nicely assembled a and reservations, until they understood
finishes allows the space to feel luxurious flat pack bookshelf moments before my what the couple were aiming to achieve.
and comfortable, while not taxing their arrival that day. They enlisted the skills They explained that working closely with
creative minds as much as a bold colourful of a contractor named Ronald, whom a Body Corporate like this is essential
space may have done. they keep referring to as Roland. He was during the process and they prefer a
strict Body Corporate that enforces the
rules and regulations. It puts their minds
at ease knowing that the controls are in
place should they decide at a later stage
to rent the apartment out. When I asked
about the reaction from neighbours about
the noise levels during the process they
laughingly explained that they received
very few complaints from their lovely
neighbours. “We think they were just so
grateful that it wasn’t the noise that used
to come from “party central” they both
joked. The neighbours were happy that
they were improving the condition of the
apartment mentioned Simon.
Anna-Lize and Simon warn people
considering taking on this type of project
in an apartment block to check the access
to the apartment before ordering certain
items. Not a top-of-mind consideration
for an eager home renovator, but critical
to the process of the build. The top floor
of this building is serviced by a winding
staircase running up eleven stories.
The easy way up is the lift and a no-
brainer when having to get all manner of
materials, appliances and furniture up to
the apartment. However, an almost three
metre long stone kitchen counter top
would never fit in the lift and after much
planning, they managed to hoist the slab
of stone up eleven stories through the
small gap between the elevating flights of
stairs that lead up to their level, narrowly
skimming past the railings on either side.
Similarly, the glass sliding door for the
space that serves as Anna-Lize's office was
designed to have a glass sliding door with
one fixed panel and one sliding panel.
When these panels arrived on site, it was
determined that there was no way, not
even hoisting up the staircase cavity, that
these panels were going to be able to reach

18 Issue 282 • dw