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After GIA Renovations senior designer Carmel Wylie first came across mosaic tiles with floral motifs a few years ago, she made a mental note in the hopes of featuring them in a project one day.
So when the owners of this 1970s St Kilda apartment approached GIA Renovations for a retro revival of their compact bathroom and laundry, Carmel knew it was exactly the sort of brief she’d been waiting for.
‘I constantly store a collection of products and finishes in my mind that I have to match up with the right client. I was so excited when I met them,’ she says.
The brief was to remove the sad ’90s style interiors — described as a ‘renovate before you sell’ type fit-out — in favour of something with more character, in line with the era of the brick building.
‘[The clients] wanted to create a visually vibrant space and their only other request was it need to be in mosaics. No chrome! No white! No grey!’
It didn’t take much convincing to design the room around the Bisazza Primule 2 tiles Carmel had fallen in love with at local supplier Perini, covering the bathroom floor in the immersive floral pattern reminiscent with a green backdrop, reminiscent of a lush meadow.
‘They are a sheet design. You select the colours for each of the pattern pieces and it is custom made in Italy,’ she adds.
‘Being that they are a sheet I was able to mould them around the bath hob, kicker on the vanity, and shower base to create a generous feel to the room.’
The walls are lined in sunshine yellow kit-kat tiles, as another playful nod to the era.
Due to building regulations, the plumbing for the bath, shower, and toilet was kept in place, with only the sink being relocated to improve access in the tight bathroom and laundry.
New custom joinery houses both the vanity and the washing machine beside storage draws. The walnut laminate unit is finished with a quartzite benchtop, as brass details complement the bold tile selections.
And for such a small and utilitarian space, it’s now bursting with personality!
‘My client really wanted a place to escape in,’ Carmel adds. ‘The meadow tiles provide just that.’
