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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Happy weekend! Architectural tour of Seven Shillings Beach, Double Bay, Sydney


Well, like any good renovation, ours is experiencing delays. So delayed in fact, it's yet to even start.

Our builder was meant to have the plans to us to sign a few weeks ago. Until we sign them, they can't be submitted to council. With this delay, we're probably looking at a start date in late-February at the earliest! I'm not very good at being patient. And of course there's no 'before' and 'after' photos to put up here yet either - sorry.

Not only is our own work delayed but my husband, Tom, is replacing all the existing light fittings in the common areas of our our art deco apartment building and this has also been delayed! The lighting shop didn't give us all the right parts and one of the wall-light fittings was bent. The main fitting is up in the lobby and looking lovely, but needs to be weighted so that it doesn't lean to one side. So, hopefully now that the missing components have arrived, everything will be fixed soon and then we can upload some photos!

In the meantime, I've just got a new iPhone 4 that I started playing around with yesterday. I thought I'd put up a few photos of Seven Shillings Beach, Double Bay where my husband, niece and I went for a swim yesterday. For all you non-Sydneysiders, this is only a few short kilometers from Sydney's city center, and has a lovely harbour pool called 'Redleaf'. There are also some private properties that back onto the beach, both old and new. In the interests of 'seeing how the other half lives', here's a little architectural tour...

 This is Redleaf Pool, at one end of the beach - great spot for a weekend dip!

 This is facing the other direction (away from the City).

Same view with a hypstamatic lens.

 A 1920's block that looks like it's had a recent adjustment with the addition of balconies. I'd say that the top, red-brick part represents the original exterior.

Same building with a hypstamatic lens, also showing the original boatshed.

This looks like a 1970's block to me - all crisp lines and boxiness. Normally I am not a fan of 1970-80's brick buildings, but this is an exception. Somehow it looks fresh and nautical. The white rendering and dark blue awnings help make it 'fit' in its harbourside location.

Same building, looking up.

This a modern house, probably built in the late 1990's or early 2000's.  I would call this particular style 'Bunker' because it looks like...a bunker. Interesting that the older buildings house multiple residences, while the more recent additions are large stand-alones...

This old building is set so far back from the beach in private gardens, you can only jut see the top of it (you can see more if you click on the photo)... that's a gorgeous old magnolia tree in the front, left. It looks around Federation-era to me.

I'm not sure if this is Federation or Victorian era, but it's been converted into apartments. Again, set well back from the beach in extensive private gardens.

This is the cutest little boat shed at the end of the beach. I think I'd be quite happy living in there...

View from the beach toward the City. Spot the Harbour Bridge?

I think properties in the harbour-side areas of Sydney have a particular kind of aesthetic. It's interesting to see how the urban and natural environment influence the local building and decorating styles - lots of white, plantation shutters, polished floorboards (its also getting quite popular to paint these white too), modern aboriginal art, slick kitchens, balconies, fresh flowers, indoor/outdoor living, high ceilings...

It's interesting to see the difference in architectural styles that this one little harbour beach displays. I definitely know what I prefer, what about you?

2 comments:

  1. I'd happily live in any of these options. What a gorgeous spot!! The art deco era is definitely my favourite.

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