House Tour: A Balestier penthouse designed with authentic industrial-style elements
By Home & Decor Team -
Food is at the centre of Gilberto and Cintia Gaeta’s lives. For the couple – he is Italian, she is Argentinian – cooking and having guests over to their three-bedroom penthouse is essential to remaining connected to their cultures and having a happy home. Ken Lee, principal designer of Space Matters, referenced this mindset in the $250,000 renovation.
“The couple lived in the penthouse for six years before deciding on a major overhaul. The previous interior style was actually close to the look they had in mind, but I helped design a polished, cohesive version with better functionality,” he says.
"The revamp allows us to the fantastic location and view, and lets us to use the space better, to. We created a glass-floor mezzanine, replaced the rarely used jacuzzi with a barbecue pit, as well as customised an island-on-wheels that better fits our lifestyle," says the couple.
Gilberto loves the movable kitchen island, on which he often preps food and bake. He can keep it where it is – to keep the conversation with guests going while Cintia cooks, or even involve them in the food prep – or move it to the side, should they need more walking space in the living room.
The couple also tried to maintain an authentic industrial and rustic theme for the home. "We sourced authentically rustic accessories that have a weathered look as much as we could, and a lot of it – such as the wooden coffee table – were eventually bought overseas.The wheel lamp in the patio is made out of real barn wheels. Ken also advised us that concrete flooring would crack, but we are fine with that," says the couple.
As the couple had no use for an additional bedroom, they knocked down the walls and turned it into a cosy space for hanging out.
With the mezzanine, there is more room for guests. It also connects the bedroom and bathroom – the latter is a new addition – to the patio, improving accessibility to all parts of the house. They also have a double-door so the kids can sleep in their first- floor bedroom while the adults party upstairs. A glass ceiling maintains the natural light streaming into the home.
"I love having lunch with friends on the patio. We designed it to be fairly independent from the kitchen downstairs. It has a fridge, hob and sink so we do not have to leave our guests to get more drinks and food. Sometimes, we do starters on the first floor, and end the day on the second level," says Cintia.
The Bali-inspired bathroom features rustic- looking tiles from Hafary. The sinks in the master bedroom were from Indonesia while the bronze shower fittings were from Thailand.
Vibrant hues, such as orange and blue, were used in the bedrooms. Ken also designed their wardrobes with mesh glass doors.