The Avila COLLECTION

Design study

Private ResidenceRemote Design Study

KitchenGuest bathroomPrimary bedroomDesigned at a distance

Design visualization of a kitchen with ebony cabinetry to the ceiling, brass hardware and tapware, a black marble island with brass stools, a crystal and brass chandelier, and a black-and-white marble checkerboard floor, open to a pale living room beyond.
Design visualization

Proposed kitchen scheme. Not a photograph; the room has not been built.

Project overview

One engagement, three rooms.

The client came with a floor plan, written requests and no designer on the ground. The plan was resolved first, then one material and colour language was set across the residence, then the kitchen, guest bathroom and primary bedroom were each taken far enough to be seen and specified.

The three rooms are chapters of one study. None has been constructed, and none has been photographed.

  • Daylight
  • Clear circulation
  • Accent lighting for artwork
  • Personality, not trends
  • A distinct experience per room
  • One palette of muted hues
Format
Remote Design Direction
Scope
Residence-wide plan; three rooms visualized in full
Status
Design study. Not built, not photographed.
Location
Withheld at the client's discretion

Project origin: the practice's own language sits behind all three rooms — the checkerboard and ceiling-height cabinetry of the Wellington kitchen, full-height pattern hand-painted on plaster in its halls, plum against green in its dining room. Here that language is carried in paper, stone and paint a client can order at a distance.

Resolved first

The plan, with every area stated.

A 120 square foot kitchen, a 63 square foot guest bathroom and a 156 square foot primary bedroom each take a different kind of decision.

Plan proposal drawing of the residence with furniture layout, beside a list of room areas: kitchen 120 square feet, dining room 56, living room 144, foyer 15, primary bedroom 156, primary bathroom 72, studio 140, guest bathroom 63.

Plan proposal

Concept study

A proposed layout, not an as-built drawing.

Furnished plan seen from above as a three-dimensional cutaway model: dark herringbone floors throughout, a checkerboard kitchen floor, an ochre sofa in the living room, a plum bed in the primary bedroom, and a tiled front porch along one side.

Furnished plan

Design visualization

AI-assisted rendering of the proposed layout.

Chapter 01
Kitchen sourcing board: black veined countertop slab, brass bridge faucet, brass undermount sink, matte black refrigerator, reeded brass cabinet pull, brass bar stool, checkerboard porcelain tile, ebony cabinet door and a crystal chandelier, with a keyed product list beneath and a three-colour palette of gold, ivory and near-black.

Kitchen schedule — ten selections, keyed A to J

Concept study

Selections for order, not installed finishes.

Kitchen

The design question. One hundred and twenty square feet, open on two sides — how does a kitchen this small read as a room, not a corridor?

The direction. Weight instead of space: ebony cabinetry to the ceiling on every wall, so the room reads as one dark volume. Black marble takes counters, island and backsplash in one stone; brass does the lifting — bridge tap, undermount sink, reeded pulls, a crystal chandelier low over the island.

The decisions that mattered. Checkerboard marble on the diagonal is the only pattern allowed to compete with the cabinetry. Appliances go matte black; the island ends stone-clad, not in a waterfall.

Ebony joinery · black marble · brass · checkerboard stone

Design visualization of the proposed guest bathroom: walls papered floor to ceiling in a dark Victorian lovers-eyes pattern, a white wall-mount trough sink with brass tapware, a gilt octagonal mirror, an ebonised turned-wood console, and a black-framed shower lined in oxblood glazed tile.
Chapter 02

Guest Bathroom

The design question. Sixty-three square feet, no view and no daylight to protect — what is a guest bathroom for?

The direction. Make it the room people talk about. A Victorian lovers-eyes wallcovering runs floor to ceiling, unbroken, until the pattern is the architecture; white sanitaryware, brass tapware and travertine are chosen to leave it alone.

The decisions that mattered. The shower is lined in oxblood glazed brick behind a black steel-framed enclosure, not a glass box. A wall-mount trough sink and an ebonised console keep the floor visible.

Lovers-eyes paper · oxblood glazed brick · travertine · brass and gilt

Design visualization

Proposed scheme. The room has not been built.

Guest bathroom sourcing board: lovers-eyes wallpaper panel, gilt octagonal mirror, wall-mount sink with brass tap, ebonised turned-wood console, white toilet, travertine tile, woven basket, brass angel pendant and a black-framed shower enclosure, with a keyed product list beneath.

Guest bathroom schedule — nine selections, two of them dated antiques

Concept study
Design visualization of the proposed primary bedroom: dark botanical wallpaper with crocus and lupin, burgundy velvet curtains, a dark spool bed dressed in plum and cream, a green stained-glass swag chandelier, a sage dresser and a gilt sunburst mirror.
Chapter 03

Primary Bedroom

The design question. One hundred and fifty-six square feet and the only real window — can it hold a full botanical wallpaper without becoming a garden?

The direction. Weight it. Crocus, lupin and cow parsley on near-black go on the walls; the furniture is then heavy enough to stand in front of them — turned-spool bed, burgundy cotton, plum quilted shams, velvet bench.

The decisions that mattered. One sage-green marble-top dresser stays pale on purpose; without it the room closes in. A green stained-glass chandelier lifts the coolest note out of the paper, and the accent lighting goes to one framed 1847 hummingbird print.

Botanical paper on near-black · burgundy cotton · plum velvet · sage marble

Design visualization

Proposed scheme. The room has not been built.

Primary bedroom sourcing board: botanical wallpaper panel, pale feathered wall mirror, plum quilted shams, dark spool bed, sage marble-top dresser, tufted rug, burgundy pleated curtains, framed hummingbird print, side table and a green stained-glass swag chandelier, with a keyed product list beneath.

Primary bedroom schedule — ten selections against a six-colour palette

Concept study

Material and lighting direction

One family of materials, set once.

Materials board showing five samples in a row, labelled curtains in rose silk, black veined quartz, oxblood glazed tile, dark herringbone wood floor, and dark floral wallpaper.
Concept study

Material direction: rose silk, black veined quartz, oxblood glazed tile, herringbone timber, dark floral paper.

Kitchen

Ebony joinery, black marble in one stone, brass tapware and hardware, checkerboard floor.

Guest bathroom

Lovers-eyes paper at full height, oxblood glazed brick, travertine, brass and gilt.

Primary bedroom

Botanical paper on near-black, burgundy cotton, plum velvet, sage marble, stained glass.

Remote workflow

Four stages, each one approvable.

  1. Plan and brief

    Room areas and circulation resolved on the existing plan, against the client's written requests.

  2. Direction and palette

    A character for each room and one material family across the residence, set before any product is chosen.

  3. Selections and visualization

    A keyed schedule per room, and one visualization of each so the scheme is judged as rooms.

  4. Implementation sequence

    The order in which to act, so the client can move at her own pace without losing the scheme.

Begin with a reading of the house.

Tell me about the property and what you want it to become. Remote engagements run as one room or as a direction across several.

Enquire about a remote project Back to work