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‘Like many of our biggest life decisions, it all started with a whim on a weekend,’ says Jacob Muller of the decision to buy their first home a few years ago.
The managing director at boutique developer Kiln Residential and his wife Kerrin (a civil celebrant behind Your Day by Kerrin) were ‘absolutely not’ ready to buy, but decided to go along to see some off-the-plan development showrooms anyway.
‘The second one we went to — where our place now stands in Marrickville — really lit a spark in us,’ Jacob says.
‘We loved that the apartment would be facing a park; we’d never get built out. And it was in the thick of Marrickville’s bustling cultural scene, surrounded by breweries and cafes, makers and art galleries.’
Like many off-the-plan builds, the apartment was ultimately a plain white box upon completion. To mark the achievement of buying their first ever home, Kerrin and Jacob engaged Studio Shields to make the 86-square-metre apartment feel a bit more ‘them’.
‘There was nothing inherently wrong with this apartment; it just didn’t belong to Kerrin and Jacob yet,’ Studio Shields principal and founder Ruby Shields says of the project.
‘With paint, wallpaper, art, furniture, lighting, window furnishings and some very considered purchases, we were able to completely change how it felt without ripping everything out or spending an enormous amount of money.’
Determined to stick to the young couple’s ‘tight’ budget, Ruby focused on making a big impact through colour drenching — a move that’s become part of Studio Shields’ signature approach.
The brief was all about creating a place of escapism. As Jacob and Kerrin described feeling most ‘at home’ in moody spaces, they also expressed interest in emulating the atmospheric interiors they loved from their experiences of Sydney’s local nightlife.
In the living room, spiced-brown walls are paired with a deep red ceiling, setting the tone for low lighting and figurative paintings. The bedroom is even more cocooning, drenched from floor to ceiling in burgundy red paint, alongside velvet curtains.
While it was tempting to dream up an entirely new kitchen, Ruby instead came up with a more cost-effective strategy to align the modern white fit-out with the apartment’s new immersive palette.
‘Introducing colour to the original black island legs, artwork and furniture pulls your eye outward and makes the existing white joinery just one element within a much richer composition,’ Ruby says.
Jacob also decided to take on the painting work himself, while Kerrin was heavily pregnant with their first son, Billy: ‘I was determined to get it done before the baby came, which left me only a few months to fit it in around work. I think I had it done in about 6 weeks in the end and, while I loved doing something with my hands and learning new skills — I absolutely felt it!’
The space now feels at home within Marrickville’s eclectic energy — an ode to the neighbourhood’s live music venues, art galleries, and graffiti-lined streets. But it’s also an excellent reflection of Jacob and Kerrin, who often enjoy a night in, soaking up the ambience with a DJ set playing in their living room.
‘We love the balance of richness and sophistication, playfulness and fun,’ Jacob says.
‘It’s the embodiment of what we aspire to be. Polished, as Kerrin often says, but not so polished that we lose sight of our inner children.’
