Case study: The Sebel
Situated directly across from Manly beach, Sydney, The Sebel is a boutique hotel that has been a mainstay of the area since it opened its doors in 1963. However, overtime, the interiors of the building had become dated and tired and so it recently underwent a $2.6 million interior renovation, designed by Indesign International.
Interior design approach
To gain inspiration, Indesign International visited Manly beach and the surrounding area numerous times, photographing anything they felt would help them achieve the client’s brief, which was to create a “coastal luxury feel” to better reflect the Sebel brand and its luxurious history.
“We noticed that it is all about the beach and being outdoors in the Manly area,” explains Keirah Alexander, interior designer, Indesign International. “We were inspired by the movement of the sand, flowers and fauna in the area and the tones – everything was a lot more subtle and soft in terms of colouring and textures.
“We were also inspired by these amazing rocks that curve in and out along the beach. Once we had collected all that, we went back to the studio and started to try and find hard finishes and soft finishes that would complement and reflect this outdoor feeling of calm and coastal”.
Selecting tapware
“From a design perspective we are always drawn to things that we find aesthetically pleasing and so that was one of the first reasons that we went to Phoenix – we have worked with the ranges before and we love that they are designed in Australia,” says Alexander.
With this particular project, the designers were looking for something contemporary yet with a sense of elegance and at the same time “really lasting the test of time”.
They chose Cerchio Sink Mixer, Vivid Slimline Oval Vessel mixer and Vivid Slimline Oval Basin Mixer.
“For our hotel clients, they don’t want to be doing renovations for hard finishes every five years. They want to be able to have product that has a sense of timelessness,” says Alexander. “That was what really drew us to the Vivid Slimline range; it feels really modern but at the same time, the soft curves that it has and the choice of chrome in this particular case gave it that timeless look.
“Some other things that are always beneficial as designers is having products that we can rely on. So, with Phoenix, we have used the company in past projects, and we know the product is well manufactured,” explains Alexander.
“One of the other challenges that we always have on a design project is budget – clients always want to spend less but have products that look more expensive than they are. It is so great that we can go to an Australian designed company and yet still meet the benchmark for pricing in our project as well; that is really advantageous as designers.
Indesign International is also impressed that Phoenix is able to make BIM models available.
“We can put them into our documentation so that straight away we don’t have to model it up, we know that it is reliable and really easy for us to use in terms of the design process.”
Click to explore the Vivid Slimline Oval and Cerchio ranges.
Interior Design: Indesign International
Client: Accor Hotels
Product: Cerchio Sink Mixer and Vivid Slimline Oval Vessel Mixer
Images: Damien Kook
