case study

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CASE STUDY
Age of
Luxury
an
TAILORED TO BABY BOOMERS, A NEW AGED CARE FACILITY HAS
OPENED ITS DOORS ON SYDNEY’S NORTH SHORE, INTEGRATING
COMFORT AND SUPPORT WITH FIVE-STAR LUXURY.
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There may not be a concierge or a doorman to take your luggage,
but everything else about this new nursing home on the North Shore
of Sydney feels like a luxury, five-star hotel.
Custom artworks adorn the walls, rooms and public spaces boast
bespoke furniture, while lifestyle amenities include a day spa and
a 30-seat in-house cinema. With restaurants serving high tea and
a busy espresso bar churning out coffee, it looks and feels like a
boutique hotel, but instead of holidaying guests, the new facility will
house dementia and respite residents.
“THE BRIEF WAS SIMPLY TO CREATE THE
MOST LUXURIOUS, MOST HOTEL-LIKE
AGED CARE RESIDENCE THAT HAD EVER
BEEN DONE IN THIS COUNTRY.”
The latest residence sets a new standard of luxury in aged care
accommodation. Catering to a discerning baby boomer market
accustomed to the finer things in life, everything about the 116-bed
property and its amenities looks and feel first class.
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Timber Veneer WRW1025
Timber Veneer WRW1011
“WALL FINISHES RANGE FROM TIMBER VENEER TO TOP-END
WALL PAPERS - GRASS PAPERS, SILKS, HANDWOVEN PAPERS.
ALL THE FABRICS ARE VERY LUXURIOUS.”
“THE FURNITURE WAS ALL CUSTOM-DESIGNED,
HAND-FINISHED AND IMPORTED FOR THE JOB”
From the public spaces to the bedrooms, Shield, who also designed
another North Shore facility, took design cues from five-star hotels
- an aesthetic apparent from the moment visitors walk through the
doors. Marked by soaring ceilings, and fitted with an electric blue
sofa and lime-yellow wallpaper, the foyer resembles the lobby of a
sophisticated boutique hotel, with high level finishes that are both
“contemporary and hard-edged”, according to Shield.
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It’s a far cry from the depressing nursing home decor back in the
1980s, says Baresque salesman John Hagarty, who has known and
worked with Shield on various projects for the past 25 years.
“Back then there was nothing soft or inviting about the furniture, the
fabrics and colours,” he says. “It was all browns and navy, harsh
surfaces and decor. This is more like a six-star hotel. Trish is a
trailblazer in the industry.”
Set amid the leafy - and wealthy - suburbs of Sydney’s north shore,
Shield was eager to incorporate elements of the local area into the
design, particularly Middle Harbour, which is renowned for stately,
waterfront properties and a historic Federation Gothic style stone
bridge. “In the residential areas, the suites and units, we largely
took our lead from the water and the very old, historic features of
the area,” she says. “The middle level is full of historic photography,
and golds and browns that you see in the brickwork of the area.
The lower level features more watery colours that Middle Harbour is
known for.”
Throughout the facility, the interior scheme is sophisticated yet
comfortable. While many materials needed to be hard-wearing
and designed for commercial use, their functionality is concealed
amid a swathe of silks, limestone flooring and custom-designed
carpets and rugs.
“The furniture was all custom-designed, hand-finished and imported
for the job,” adds Shield. “Wall finishes range from timber veneer to
Timber Veneer WRW1039
“The brief was simply to create the most luxurious, most hotel-like
aged care residence that had ever been done in this country,” says
Trisha Shield, owner and director of TSD Studio, a specialist aged
care interior design firm commissioned for the project. “At the end of
the day it’s a nursing home, but there’s a sense of enormous luxury
with an extraordinarily high level of finishes.”
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escalate somewhat but it certainly been achieved at a price point
that is not reflective of the outcome.”
Not that you could tell from looking around. The property certainly
has an expensive feel, but a series of clever design choices
helped to keep costs down.
“In every bedroom, we used Baresque wallpapers in lieu of timber
veneer behind the beds,” Shield reveals. “Their timber look papers
give the impression of timber veneer but at a lower price point.”
The timber veneer lookalike was just one of many Baresque products
used throughout the property for walls, upholstery and curtaining.
Shield was particularly fond of Baresque’s Jute - Akoya grass weave
wall covering, and selected a lime-yellow shade to feature on the
walls behind the reception desk in the foyer. “Those grass papers
were my standout favourites,” she says. “They are so luxurious, they
look absolutely brilliant under lights.”
Unsurprisingly, the client is thrilled with the results - as is the local
community and the families of residents, who tend to walk through
the door with slack-jawed expressions.
“Most of them think they’re walking into a five star hotel,” says Shield,
with a laugh. “It takes a bit of convincing for them to understand that
this is actually a nursing home. Which is exactly what we were trying
to achieve.”
Designed by : TSD Studio tsdstudio.com.au
Written by : Michelle Wranik michellewranik.com
Photography by : Cole Bennetts colebennetts.photoshelter.com
“she styled the dementia wing kitchen as a modern day time warp
featuring kitchenware and designs reminiscent of the 1950s era.”
top-end wall papers - grass papers, silks, handwoven papers. All the
fabrics are very luxurious.”
Another defining feature that sets this project quite apart from
anything else on the market is the artwork. Each level and space
in the facility is adorned with bold photographic artworks, part of a
collection produced by noted photographer Cole Bennetts.
“He produced masses of custom photography especially for the
project,” says Shield. “Every piece of art was shot for the facility
and some of them are an enormous scale. It’s a massive budget for
artwork at a level that would not normally be seen.”
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Another area Shield is particularly proud of is the facility’s dementia
wing. A member of the Federal Government’s Dementia and Aged
Care Design Guidelines consultancy - and a registered nurse Shield is an expert in the design needs of residents with Alzheimer’s
disease and other forms of dementia.
Based on the latest design research in the field, she styled the
dementia wing kitchen as a modern day time warp featuring
kitchenware and designs reminiscent of the 1950s era. From pastel
crockery and vintage scales to an electric stove and a retro style
Smeg fridge, this visual stimuli aims to stir up memories of yesteryear
and put dementia residents at ease during moments of confusion.
Shield also worked closely with renowned landscape architect
Brendan Moar to design an Australian first - a 1950s dementia
garden. Featuring plants and surrounds to stimulate the senses,
the serene space features a landscaped activity garden
with outdoor areas; courtyards and tranquil rest areas with
Adirondack sun lounges.
Although her designs for the remarkable facility have been showered
with critical praise, Shield says working on such a large project had
its challenging moments.
“We nearly fell down with exhaustion,” she says with a laugh. “The
budget was actually remarkably tight. We convinced the client to
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