Naturally, you’re always thrilled when a client recommends you to someone else. But surely nothing beats the feeling when they come back themselves. Take Alison, for example. In 2016, we helped her sort out the rabbit warren she inherited in her McLaren Vale home and turned it into Alison’s wonderland. (For that story, click here.) Imagine our delight, then, when she turned up again in 2021, having moved back into town and an apartment in Bowden. Now imagine the look on our installers’ faces when we told them the whole fit-out would have to go up in a lift…

It was like ‘old-home week’ when we saw Alison again. Except, since we’d last seen this delightful client, she’d shed herself of the heavy-duty administrative role she held in one of Adelaide’s largest hospitals, and settled into the hard-earned easy life of retirement. Now with more time on her hands, she decided to move back into town and close to the action for theatre, movies, walks in the park and dinner with friends without all of the driving.

When Nathan sat down and caught up with her to build a brief, he instantly recalled what he loved about working with her. This is someone who knows what she likes and isn’t afraid to go out and get it. The newish apartment that she moved into felt quite cramped (especially compared to her lovely home in McLaren Vale) despite having three bedrooms.

So, Nathan’s mission was to make her feel at home once more with a SpaceCrafted interior (with the emphasis on space) and lots more light. The project took in the kitchen, the robe in her master bedroom, the entrance joinery, laundry and a guest robe. And as part of that, she was intent on opening up the third bedroom to liberate more living space.

Now, for some people (and real estate agents) that would seem a risky thing to do: one less “room” to sell. But if, like Alison, you know exactly what you want and what you are doing, which – after all – is for yourself and no-one else, why not? It’s your home. Make it fit your needs, not some future ‘buyer’. Besides which, the extra space was going to make this apartment excitingly unique within its precinct.

Alison’s brief was to embrace the mid-century modern vibe and bend that a little towards the industrial end of the spectrum. Whilst that might fit with the current zeitgeist, that’s not what drove Alison. As a longstanding fan of mid-century furniture and decorator pieces, the rest of the world has simply caught up with where this cool collector already was.

Being a devoted cook and entertainer, Alison loved the kitchen we built for her in McLaren Vale. So, despite the fact that her new one in Bowden was only about three years’ old, it just wasn’t cutting it. What she wanted was clean lines; drawers for storage, with some larger ones to house her cake tins and pans; and to integrate the fridge. The colours she wanted to keep neutral, but offset by some feature-timber warmth.

The only real head-scratchers Nathan had to contend with were, first, the adjoining space that was the third bedroom, which she wanted to use as a personal snug for TV viewing and reading. How could he make that work smoothly once the wall was removed? The other problem was the master bedroom, which opens off the kitchen: could he conceal this somehow?

Oh, and just one more thing: the only access to the apartment was up a lift. So our installation would have to be broken down into components that would fit in it, leaving a Lego-like puzzle for our team to shoehorn in and put together without damaging the new joinery, the lift, the apartment or themselves. Nobody said this job was easy.

The result is classic Nathan, classic SpaceCraft and, now, classic Alison. We can’t wait to see what we build for her in her next home… (Only kidding, Alison. Who needs another move?)

Last time in McLaren Vale, Nathan sorted out a rabbit warren interior to give it utility and flow. This time in Bowden, he’s worked his magic to make things disappear. It’s all about the subtle detail in this sleek, svelte, pared-back pad for this mid-century modernista.

Let’s start with the wall to the third bedroom: gone. In its place, a new world of space and light. By extending the kitchen along the common wall, it now links up with a TV unit/credenza using blackwood timber as the unifying common element throughout. And that’s no coincidence: Alison’s furniture also features this warm, classic mid-century wood.

The genius of this design is that one of the doors in this extended ‘pantry’ wall is now the secret door to her bedroom. You’d never know. First problem solved. Another problem this wall disguises is all the service pipes and infrastructure, which were previously hidden by bulkheads. By extending the cabinet finishes to the ceiling, it’s all clean and unseen, and adds height to the space.

The matt black Artisan Poco splashback tiles on this wall almost deserve their own chapter, introducing a level of sub-zero cool only matched (and echoed) by the ever-so-slightly arched blackwood timber door handles.

The back of the island bench in the kitchen makes its own statement in beautiful blackwood, with its ribbing adding the extra texture that takes it to another level. But, again, there’s more magic here: doors on this side of the island hide Alison’s wine cache. Atop the island are natural stone benchtops in Dekton’s Kovik design, chosen for both their durability and earthy feel.

The last – and-perhaps, most amazing – magic trick we managed to pull off was actually getting all this up the lift in this multi-storey building as components, and completing it without compromise. Have you ever seen those sailing ships that were built inside bottles? That’s a little how it felt at the time. All credit goes to our Dream Team of installers. And, of course, Alison who inspired us a second time.