Here at DCD we’re getting a kick’s from our own version of Shades of Grey!

We’ve just given a dose of our own ‘Shades of Grey’ action to this beautiful and until recently tired and dated cream building in Manly. She’s been given a cool contemporary facelift, using paint not ice cubes, we can’t seem to get enough of GREY.  It never ceases to amaze me just how much impact and difference some fabulous colour can transform a building or space.

Below are some before & after’s -

No sooner have our new clients disappeared on holiday, than we’ve moved the builders, plumbers, electricians and painters in to work their miracles in a flurry of creative (and partly destructive, when it comes to knocking through walls) industry!

What started as a little job to help our charming clients decide on a spot of re-upholstery, has ballooned into creating a new kitchen, expanding a burgeoning teenager’s bedroom into a a private suite any girl would be elated to call her own, adding a laundry room, repainting upstairs and down, embellishing some rooms with new window treatments…not to mention the plethora of antique furniture to be re-upholstered.

But when you see the photos of this unique, rambling period property, oozing charm and bulging with incredible antiques (some boasting particularly gratifying provenances), you’ll see why one little job has mushroomed into one big job!

We’re just a little excited and pleased with ourselves here at DCD!

Most of our jobs come to us through the amazing and very valuable word of mouth, otherwise clients just seem to find us some way or another.  So this was a first for us: to pitch for a commercial job alongside other designers.

The client: an oil company, the head of which recently purchased an entire floor of a stunning period building in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.

The space: the building’s original ballroom with towering domed ceiling and enormous shuttered windows. The word ‘grand’ does not give this room credit!

The Brief: to create one of the most spectacular rooms in Sydney.  To provide a statement piece to impress, to reflect sophistication and success but on no account to be showy and with absolutely no bling!

Our concept was a contemporary take on an elegant English gentlemen’s (private) club, with leather chesterfields, antique partners desks and boardroom table to seat at least 20, to be mixed with modern leather chairs, gigantic Persian rugs, marble busts and statues. And of course not one, but five, 2-metre wide crystal chandeliers. Unfortunately the Swarovski crystal chandelier by Tom Dixon that I fell in love with is not quite large enough for the space, and this room commands something custom made!  All this muted yet sumptuous grandeur will be wrapped in a deeply contemporary take on a traditional colour scheme; dark charcoals, tobacco browns and petrol blues with a splash of pea green to partner the modern art work.

You can imagine how elated we were to find out that we won the pitch! Words cannot express how much fun this project will be!

A few inspirational images from our concept board below…

And whilst the marble fitters install the final pieces of this superior kitchen into place, Poppy takes the opportunity to sample the comforts of the Andrew Martin cushions!

At last, the completed kitchen: practical, smart and cool!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a busy Interior Decorator in possession of an expectant client loves it when a plan comes together (to mix my literary and popular culture references!)

5 months ago a previous client returned to us with the immortal words ‘We’d like a new kitchen’, which, naturally, was music to our ears!  The brief entailed installing an entirely new kitchen and adjoining laundry room, painting the study and refreshing the ground floor floorboards. Being a huge ‘foodie’, the client wanted the kitchen to continue to be the soul of this family house, whilst combining leading edge functionality with a beautiful, contemporary look to accompany the rest of the recently redesigned house.

Over the coming months, after long deliberations with the wonderful and indefatigable kitchen planners at Poliform, designs were finalised, marble and appliances chosen and the exquisite cabinets ordered from Italy.  So, whilst the family are away on holiday this month, work has begun!

The first day installing a scheme marks the beginning of the end of a long design process, packed with decision after decision on every minutia and sustained communication both with client and work force. Co-ordinating tradesmen and craftsmen; setting and re-setting timeframes; amending, altering and tweaking the finer points of each element until every detail has been given due attention, the task list is seemingly endless. And however organised and practised you are, the sheer volume of responsibilities and people involved sometimes results in an element of surprise when it comes to installation day! Which is why I maintain that the copious amounts of anticipation and excitement at this stage of any project is tempered with a dash of trepidation!  Will it all go to plan? And most importantly, will the client be thrilled with the results? Because, call us fussy, but anything less than elation just doesn’t cut it!

The accompanying images show the before photos of the kitchen and laundry rooms, and as they are now, part way through the project.  We’ll post completed pictures over the next few weeks! And just to show you the look and feel of the whole house, I’ve also posted other before and after, completed during earlier phases of the project (more on our website under ‘Interiors’ tab).

Incidentally, you’ll be pleased to hear that, in true Green spirit of our times, rather than sending the cabinets and appliances to landfill, we sold the entire kitchen, lock, stock and barrel, on Ebay, dispersing it into homes across Sydney, where it has found another life.

Kitchen 1, before (image above) and during:

Kitchen 2, before and during:

Kitchen 3, before and during:

Laundry, before and during:

Dining Room 1, before and after:

Dining Room 2, before and after:

Exterior, before and after:

Murray will be keeping his existing sofa (a very small chocolate brown leather sofa) so the new one needs to happily sit next to it.  His brief for us was to find a sofa big enough for him to stretch out on without any body parts hanging off,  it also needs to be stylish and so comfortable that it makes it a hard place to leave. The right sofa is the most important thing here; the budget is of secondary importance as Murray and this sofa will enjoy a life long relationship together.  We have suggested not matching the chocolate leather but going for charcoal leather instead, adding a few oversized cushions in naturals and muted colours to both sofas to tie the two together.

Below are some pics we took to remind Murray of the many sofas he sat in and to picture himself with his possible new love. The top three are in the running.

1. Jardan’s Bosko, deep version.

2. Baxter’s Housse sofa – I must say this is the most comfortable thing I have ever sat in!!!!

3. Poliform Dune Sofa

Before you look at the prices I would like to point out, just in case you are not 100% up on the zillions of different types of leather available, that there is leather and then there is leather that you will fall in love with and never want to leave.  We have quoted all sofas in the Rolls Royce of leathers – a pure aniline which is quite a rare beast in the way it started it’s life and the way the hide has been treated (or more importantly what it has not been treated with or had done to it) almost all leather sofas you see in shops are either in a corrected grain or a semi aniline.  When you see, smell and feel a pure, full, aniline leather it will want to purrrrr; it is unbelievably soft and luxurious in feel and appearance, something that really has to be seen and felt to be believed!  This leather will look better over time and will age with grace.  You will not be able to help yourself, you will fall in love with it!

Murray is eager to begin enjoying many a contented evening luxuriating on any one of these beautiful sofas, but he has a big decision to make on how to spend his hard earned cash and is keen for your feedback! Which one should he go for?  Log into our Facebook page so we can let Murray know your thoughts.