Being a stylist, I'm seeing beautiful objects all the time,
so the things that I choose to put in my home I think are extremely special to me.
My name is Nat Turnbull and I'm the stylist of the project but it was very much done in
collaboration with the architect Adriana Hanna and I'm also extremely lucky to live
in the space with my partner Sam and our dog Hazel. The materials used throughout the home
are essentially materials in their natural state, so we use stainless steel in the kitchen,
Laminex Peruvian Clay, which is a really beautiful dusty clay colour, cement in the balls below the
island bench and in the floor and touches of wood throughout the bathroom and bedroom.
The bedroom in particular was a tricky space. Adriana had to design the bed
into a recessed bed head, essentially with the wardrobe built around it.
We chose Pewter for the bedroom cabinets because it felt like a warm grey. It wasn't too cool
and seemed to work with the other materials in space. The bathroom as well,
she designed some really interesting curves so that we could fit a shower and a bath in there.
The sculptural shapes used in the design are inspired by artists that Adriana loves, like
Tadao Ando and Donald Judd. I do think she's also taken a bit of reference and she's told me this
from my still life practice, where I do use lots of sculptural shapes.
So the island bench is situated on three cement balls and it makes it kind of almost
like a freestanding practical sculpture. We also have quite a few of our friends artwork
in space. So we have a mirror by Cordon Salon, which is amazing. We have a bookshelf built by
Softer Studio, my good friend Justin, and we also have some really special ceramics
by other Australian artists like Katarina Wells. I think I might be her number one
fan. We have a beautiful piece by zoo omu and the Foscarini Buds Light from Space.
In our hallway, Sam has a gallery hang of all of his works there, which are really beautiful and he
rotates them as he shoots new interesting things. My favourite design piece in the space is the B&B
Italia Le Bambole sofa. Adriana actually found it on eBay but it was in terrible condition so we got
it reupholstered. I just love that we've been able to give an old, like classic design piece
a new life. We were lucky enough to work with a few different collaborators on this project.
Laminex in the kitchen and the bedroom and Grange Joinery who was the joiner who did
the kitchen and the dining table. Adriana and I met for a coffee one morning and she had a library
of Laminex samples which I took home and had them in the space to see how they kind of interacted
with the natural light and then we settled on Peruvian Clay for the kitchen just because it felt
really warm and subtle and also a colour I really hadn't seen very much of in interior design.
Laminex has been a part of Australian homes for over 85 years. As a product offer, it continues to
evolve and develop to remain relevant and current and also to embrace the latest in innovation and
technology. We've been working with Nat for the last few years as a stylist. We were at
a shoot one day and Nat mentioned that she was ready to move to the next stage of a renovation.
After a really quick chat, we instantly knew this was a project we wanted to be a part of.
We love seeing how architects and designers interpret the use of our product. They often use
it in ways that we could never have imagined. The arc routing in the upper cabinetry really
works to soften the joinery and it also connects it to the sculptural elements within the space.
One of the initial design details that really caught our attention was the concealed door.
When the doors close, it seamlessly blends into the kitchen joinery but then when it's open
it creates a fun extra feature that also allows extra light into the space.
Laminex laminates are a really ideal surface because they're really durable
but they're also really easy to maintain. It was really a personal project for many of my team.
We've loved working with Nat over the years and so
to be a part of seeing her bring her home to life was a real pleasure.