andrew's penthouse

Briefing

I am looking for interior designs for my new penthouse, I have provided a floor plan describing the layout, and below will provide descriptions of each room/area and it's functions. I have uploaded a dwg of the current floor plan, unfortunately this is of the entire building, please refer to the model R2, on the top left. I have also attached a revised floorplan, of the direction we are headed. I have also included photos of the current space.

The layout will be broken into a number of different functional areas including:
- entrance
- kitchen
- pantry
- storage
- laundry
- bar
- living room
- gym
- cinema/reading room
- general bathroom
- master bedroom
- master bathroom
- master wardrobe
- guest bedroom
- guest bathroom
- office
- bbq on balcony.

Overall, the expectation is a 5-star experience, similar to a hotel, focused on a private and quiet experience. The design should be new age/minimalistic, leveraging good colour contrast between light and dark and bold colours.

A preference toward wood/carpet/tile floorings, across the different areas. Leveraging home automation for things like lights, doors, blinds, etc. The design should be simple, hiding cables, and unnecessary details.

The design is catered to suit a business couple, focused on work, with the ability to switch easily between work and relax, these areas are well separated within the layout.

Lights should feature within the design, especially in the living area/bar. Lots of space for clothes and hanging clothes.

The space is designed for a couple, providing sleeping for a guest couple, and dining/entertaining for up to 8.

Entrance
- Being the first visual item on entering the space, it is important the entrance is both functional and appealing. Given the location, we do suffer from monsoon type rains 6 months of the year, so storage for raincoats/shoes is necessary.

Kitchen
- Our kitchen is used relatively frequently, and it is important that we keep ensure that this space is inviting, well laid out and provides the latest in kitchen appliances. From the current space photos you will note that there is currently a fridge, dishwasher, oven, cooktop and microwave.
- We are concerned about smells from the kitchen escaping into the living area, this is something that requires careful thought, to try and prevent this from happening.
- Need to add coffee machine.

Pantry
- You will see from the layout, there is a walk-in pantry accessible from the kitchen, this space needs to be designed suitable for food storage.

Storage Room
- Accessible through the pantry should be a store room for cleaning and other items.

Laundry
- The laundry is currently currently an open balcony style laundry, with access to air conditioning units. We would like the ability to close this off, to prevent dust and exhaust from the air conditioning entering this space, while preserving access for maintenance.
- Laundry is done in-house, so space for front-loading washing machine and dryer is necessary, along with hanging space from the roof, sorting baskets and storage for cleaning supplies.

Bar
- On entering the living room, the bar should be a subtle feature, full-service, with refrigerated units across the back wall, a preparation area and sink. Plenty of wall storage for both sprits and wine. Beers/mixers etc, should be stored within the refrigerators along the wall. Seating for 4.

Living Area
- Distinct from the original layout plan, we have divided the living area, walling off a private cinema and reading room.
- Within the living area, there will be lounge/sofa style seating plus lounge chairs and a coffee table.
- There should be provision for a large tv in this space, wall-hung, all cables hidden behind the tv, and run through the wall and into a wall cabinet running low along the wall, to keep technical equipment such as digital TV receivers, chromecast, apple tv, etc.
- TV, around 75-85 inch.

Dining Area
- The dining area will typically be used by 2, but should cater for up to 8.
- Use of feature lights here, within the bar area and living room is important.

Gym
- The home gym is accessible through a door from the dining area, and opens out onto a balcony shared with the dining/living area.
- The gym should be designed to keep 2 or 3 multi-purpose machines.
- Storage for water, towels, etc needed.
- TV should be hung from the ceiling on a bracket that allows for repositioning.

Cinema/Reading Room
- The cinema/reading room is a multi-purpose room, separated visually with a bookcase. The bookcase should be stepped down as to not be too imposing, and should be see-through, allowing light from outside to enter the room when desired.
- The reading area, indicated on the layout plan closest to the balcony should provide a lounge chair, coffee table and storage by way of the bookcase.
- The cinema area is designed to seat 4. It will either be driven by ceiling projector or a short-throw projector depending on size. Looking for 100"+. There should be surround-sound. This room must be sound-proofed from slab to slab, to prevent disturbing other activities in the apartment. There should be space for equipment below the screen area, providing the configuration of a number of different video inputs.

Bathroom 1
- This public bathroom is accessible from the hallway leading from the living area. This bathroom will be used by guests, and should have provision for a shower, toilet and hand basin (one or two). We are looking for creative use of this space, given the hotel-type feel we are looking for throughout the entire space. Mirrors, lights should feature heavily here. Linen and disposable storage should be elsewhere in the apartment, not in this space.

Master bedroom
- As you will see from the original floor plan compared to the new floor plan, we intend to increase the size of this area, collapsing the walls into the original shared bathroom and turning it into a new ensuite and walk-in robe, repurposing the area of the current ensuite for a reading area.
- This will require the relocation of the entrance door into the master bedroom as indicated on the new floor plan.
- This room should support a king sized bed, a makeup table, the lounge/reading area and a TV.
- The TV should ideally be usable from both the bed and lounge area. Either suspended from the ceiling, or on a display that can rotate.
- The makeup table should cater to someone with a lot of makeup, perfume and jewellery, providing storage and display for these items.
- We have been considering pushing the wall of this entire space out a further 100mm, to make room for additional hanging space along the far wall between the entrance door and lounge/reading area. This may become necessary based on the design of the walk-in robe and whether it provides enough storage. We have a lot of clothes/shoes/accessories, and laptops, but collect very little else in terms of personal effects.
- It is intended to put the make up table along the wall under the window, please refer to the photos of the current space. The windows in this area are not good, the worst in the entire space actually, and we need to ensure not to block the natural light that would otherwise read the bed and ultimately the master bathroom.

Master bathroom
- This bathroom should ideally allow natural light from the bedroom in, through glass dividing wall.
- The bathroom should support toilet, shower, bathtub and two hand basins.
- When using the bath tub there should be support for a tv on the far wall, and wired-in sound within the bathroom, for either the TV or music.
- Dual hand towels on both sides of the basins.
- Support for towel hanging
- Rain style shower, with hand spray as well. Grohe or similar bathroom fittings throughout.

Master wardrobe
- Walk-in from the bathroom. You need to manage the dry-wet-dry transition from the bedroom, to walk-in wardrobe.
- The wardrobe should support both male and female hanging, folding items and accessories. Shoe storage. We have a lot of shirts, suits, dresses, skirts, think business attire. Storage for watches, ties, belts, hair clips, hand bags, hats, etc.
- Should be floor to ceiling or close as possible mirror within this area, and seating for getting dressed, putting on shoes, etc.

Guest bedroom
- Support for king sized bed.
- The wardrobe remains where it is, however wood finishes may need to change to suit rest of space.
- Bathroom has been reconfigured from existing layout to support shower, toilet, and some linen storage.

Office room
- Seating for two, at separate desks. Both desks with returns, drawers and cabinets.
- We both do video calls frequently, so layout should not position one person behind the other.
- Support for TV on wall for business news.
- Support for printing/fax
- Support for whiteboard and bookshelf.
- Filing for business/personal files.
- Large desks, both 27" imacs with additional 27" monitors as secondary display.
- Desk phones

Other thoughts
- Need storage for luggage somewhere.
- Assume we will use Sonos style audio throughout the space except where otherwise necessary to support something else, such as the bathroom or cinema.
- Home automation should feature including light controls, door controls (probably August locks/door cam), automatic blinds, etc.
- Most things will run over wifi with a mesh-style network with multiple APs.
- We would like to have a BBQ on the balcony, and need a design for a fan extractor to direct smoke away from the balcony and building, as to not stain the paint.
- Given the weather here, always 30+ degrees celcius, there will need to be air conditioning in all spaces. This can be supported either split or as central units. Please keep this in mind when designing the ceiling layout.

We do like white and black, but would like to introduce some other bold colours/tones into the space, including artistic elements, keeping in line with the hotel type vibe.

Please ask any questions that pop into your head, we are really excited to work on this and hope we come up with a fantastic layout/design.

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