International Lodge Apartment

International Lodge sits in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, in a 1962 apartment building designed by Harry Seidler. The block was conceived as compact 40 square metre one-bedroom and 29 square metre studio units. In 2014 the client bought a one-bedroom flat and an adjoining studio at the western end of the building, both with exceptional outlooks across Elizabeth Bay and Garden Island towards Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge. The brief asked Ian Moore Architects to combine the two units into the only two-bedroom apartment in the block.

The original kitchen of the one-bedroom unit was absorbed into a new open-plan kitchen, living and dining space. The studio kitchen was removed entirely to form a dressing room for the main bedroom, with a compact laundry tucked underneath the bench. The studio wardrobe was opened up and folded into the ensuite to create a new shower, and a fresh internal doorway now links the two former apartments.

Grey rubber flooring runs throughout to reinforce continuity between rooms and pull the kitchen visually into the living area. A simple black bench, cantilevered from the wall and fitted with dishwasher and refrigerator drawers, reads as a piece of furniture; all other joinery is white. The bathrooms gain mirrored cabinets that hold substantial storage, with fittings repositioned to stay on the existing plumbing stacks. Circular satin-finish mosaic tiles wrap the walls and floors, picking up the soft, rounded forms of the Caroma Marc Newson fixtures and tapware. New Bega LED circular glass pendants replicate the original lights throughout the apartment.

Project size: 69 square metres. Completion: 2015. Building levels: 8.

Architect and interior designer: Ian Moore Architects. Builder: Zandt Building. Stylist: Tess Strelein. Photography: Iain D. Mackenzie.