Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Reno Pays Off in Old Woolstore's 'Money Floor'
A penthouse apartment in Brisbane's heritage-listed Winchcombe Carson woolstore undergoes a very cool update
On a hot day, it’s rumoured, a faint aroma of lanolin pervades New Farm’s Teneriffe Wharf precinct in Brisbane’s south. It may linger from the 1900s when our wealth and national identity were firmly tied to primary industries, particularly wool – we were ‘riding on the sheep’s back’, as every schoolchild knew. Vast wool and grain stores sprang up along the Brisbane River, with big industry names like Dalgety, Goldsbrough Mort and Winchcombe Carson. Around mid-century, our wool-led economy declined and the woolstores became redundant. They underwent a renaissance as apartments in the ’90s, but as New Farm’s appeal to an affluent cosmopolitan demographic grows, many of the original fit-outs are being updated. Matt Riley and the Tonic Design team have revamped a penthouse apartment in the heritage-listed Winchcombe Carson woolstore.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland
Size: 330sqm; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, powder room, study, mezzanine level.
That’s interesting: The woolstores and wharves were used as a US submarine base during WWII and General Douglas MacArthur was headquartered nearby
In five words: Modern, relaxing, character, spacious, uplifting.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland
Size: 330sqm; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, powder room, study, mezzanine level.
That’s interesting: The woolstores and wharves were used as a US submarine base during WWII and General Douglas MacArthur was headquartered nearby
In five words: Modern, relaxing, character, spacious, uplifting.
Against this significant architectural and historical background, Tonic Design, led by Matt Riley, created a design that honours the building’s past and expresses an urban industrial style relevant to today. “The client wanted to enjoy the unique architectural history of the building, with the comforts of modern living,” says Riley. “Our biggest challenge was maintaining sincerity to the existing heritage building fabric while trying to breathe a new modern style into it. This style also had to create a sense of home.”
The street level of the building comprises parking and shops; the remaining three floors house apartments. This apartment is a corner penthouse.
The street level of the building comprises parking and shops; the remaining three floors house apartments. This apartment is a corner penthouse.
“We had many positive attributes to work with,” says Riley. “The apartment had a strong, substantial character, with beautiful cedar beams and columns, high ceiling volumes, open and interesting spaces and an abundance of natural light. The high ceiling volume meant we could make use of a mezzanine level in what is essentially a single level apartment, to put the master bedroom and dressing area.”
The light that floods the apartment’s living spaces from several angles comes partly from the shallow-arched multi-paned double-hung windows. Keystone details in the exposed brickwork enhance their pleasing proportions.
The light that floods the apartment’s living spaces from several angles comes partly from the shallow-arched multi-paned double-hung windows. Keystone details in the exposed brickwork enhance their pleasing proportions.
In the woolstore’s heyday, the top floor was the ‘money’ floor –buyers were whisked upstairs by lifts, to appraise the prize fleeces laid out for their inspection. Because natural light, but not direct sunlight, was required for this inspection, many woolstores had distinctive east-west aligned saw-tooth rooflines. The apartment takes advantage of the light and ventilation of the west-facing louvred vertical glass walls. “This roofline directs lots of light into the apartment and created some very interesting perspectives,” says Riley.
For after-dark ambience, a massive steel and glass block pendant light dominates the huge space. “It’s the biggest light we’ve ever installed,” comments Riley. “It’s 2.5m across and was originally designed for the Barcelona Olympic Stadium!”
Estadio pendant light by Miguel Milá: Santa & Cole
For after-dark ambience, a massive steel and glass block pendant light dominates the huge space. “It’s the biggest light we’ve ever installed,” comments Riley. “It’s 2.5m across and was originally designed for the Barcelona Olympic Stadium!”
Estadio pendant light by Miguel Milá: Santa & Cole
Being the ‘glamour’ floor, the top levels of the woolstores showed greater interior refinement than lower floors. In wool’s heyday, Winchcombe Carson’s showroom was considered palatial enough to host a ball in honour of the Prince of Wales in 1920, to which the cream of Brisbane society flocked. This elegant octagonal pillar with fretwork details, now in the vibrant yellow that appears throughout the apartment, is a reminder of those prosperous days.
Because of the proximity to the CBD, the windows present interesting vistas of Brisbane’s city skyline. Being four storeys above the street, in a fairly low-rise environment, privacy isn’t a major issue, and the windows all have grey glare-cutting sheer drapes.
Because of the proximity to the CBD, the windows present interesting vistas of Brisbane’s city skyline. Being four storeys above the street, in a fairly low-rise environment, privacy isn’t a major issue, and the windows all have grey glare-cutting sheer drapes.
Wide double timber doors open into a long entry hallway that gives a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come. Many of the doorways in the building were designed to slide into the brick walls and their width was determined by the size of a wool bale.
“A priority of the owners was to have an exhibition space for their artwork,” says Riley. “The entry was once dark and narrow – we widened it and introduced more natural light and storage.” The collection is bold, colourful and modern and has found a fitting gallery-like home in the wide entrance hall and the connecting living/dining area.
“A priority of the owners was to have an exhibition space for their artwork,” says Riley. “The entry was once dark and narrow – we widened it and introduced more natural light and storage.” The collection is bold, colourful and modern and has found a fitting gallery-like home in the wide entrance hall and the connecting living/dining area.
“The existing mezzanine level needed a stronger relationship with the main living area,” says Riley. “Cedar posts along the entry maintain visual connection between the two levels and is an example of how we cemented the link between old and new.”
Anchoring the decor is the gleaming ebony flooring. Japanned black-stained hardwood boards were finished in Resene’s ‘Uracryl’ (403), a super-glossy coating used in anti-graffiti applications. “The play of textures, the shine of the floor and the original exposed brick really bring the living spaces alive with the abundant natural light from the big windows and glass roof panels,” says Riley.
Colorwood floor stain in ‘Pitch Black’: Resene
Colorwood floor stain in ‘Pitch Black’: Resene
Reworking the existing stairways was central to rationalising the layout of the apartment and to reinforcing the connections between the two levels. “We changed the function of some of the spaces and rethought the circulation paths that connected them,” says Riley.
The black lacquer-like timber finish of the floors continues on the stairs that join the main and mezzanine levels.
The master suite is split level, with the spacious bath and shower on the main floor. An internal staircase leads to the bedroom and sitting area on the mezzanine.
Wide expanses of translucent glass provide privacy while maintaining passage of light into the luxuriously large bathroom.
This is a bird’s-eye view of the elegant oval bath, seen from the mezzanine.
The bathroom is a study in stylish contrasts: aged, mellow and tactile elements sit alongside glossy and contemporary surfaces.
Kado Lure free-standing bath in white with black skirt: Reece; floor tiles in Black: Classic Ceramics; Sussex Scala floor-mounted bath mixer and hand shower: Reece
Kado Lure free-standing bath in white with black skirt: Reece; floor tiles in Black: Classic Ceramics; Sussex Scala floor-mounted bath mixer and hand shower: Reece
Bathroom cabinetry in glossy black timber veneer ‘floats’ off the floor. Riley describes the sharply contemporary bathroom with its aged cedar and untouched brickwork as “exuding a sense of resort style living not seen in most apartments.”
Vanity benchtop in natural white Carrara marble; basin: A-line 750 inset basin: Parisi; Enviroven cabinetry in Licora: New Age Veneers
Vanity benchtop in natural white Carrara marble; basin: A-line 750 inset basin: Parisi; Enviroven cabinetry in Licora: New Age Veneers
“We deliberately over-scaled this L-shaped black beam over the bathroom window,” Riley explains. “It was a neat way to hide the mechanism for the blind that gives the bathroom privacy, and it fits with the large-scale spaces and the strong forms of the original cedar posts and beams.”
A second lounge area on the mezzanine overlooks the main living spaces. The white-painted tongue-and-groove timber ceiling emphasises the lofty ceilings that enabled putting two floors into a one-level apartment.
Interior colours are limited to black, shades of grey, and white. “Splashes of vivid yellow are flickered throughout the apartment to create that spark that reflects the owners’ bright personalities,” says Riley. The juxtaposition of this contemporary palette and clean-lined modern furniture with the texture of the original exposed brick and cedar posts and beams enhances the history of the space, while giving it the freshness and personality the owners wanted.
Interior colours are limited to black, shades of grey, and white. “Splashes of vivid yellow are flickered throughout the apartment to create that spark that reflects the owners’ bright personalities,” says Riley. The juxtaposition of this contemporary palette and clean-lined modern furniture with the texture of the original exposed brick and cedar posts and beams enhances the history of the space, while giving it the freshness and personality the owners wanted.
Riley sums up what he sees as the achievement of the project: “The apartment displays the character not only of its history, but of the very stylish and artistic personalities of the owners. It’s contemporary but relaxed, low-maintenance and comfortable, and still strongly connected to its past.”
A 1990s development of the woolstores as warehouse apartments fortunately retained features such as the wool bale tunnels, cedar beams, brickwork and heavy hardwood doorways. The Australian Heritage register sums up the woolstores’ appeal: “They provide a great sense of solidarity, security and style.”
Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Adz