PALLADIUM
Interior Decoration
Client: Private
Interior Decoration: Nickolas Gurtler
Architecture & Interior Design: Cera Stribley
Photography: Timothy Kaye
Palladium is the personal home of designer Nickolas Gurtler and his Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Hermes. Conceived as a sanctuary, the apartment is a calm, highly personal interior shaped by restraint, collected objects and a tension between softness and severity. Located in Caulfield within a building by Cera Stribley, the residence provided a refined architectural shell that was selectively customised from its original delivery to better reflect the designer's sensibility.
The atmosphere is light and composed. Chalky whites, pale mineral tones and soft linen drapery create an almost weightless backdrop, while silver and bronze metals, natural stone and sculptural forms introduce a harder edge. The result sits somewhere between Belgian restraint and a more expressive domesticity.
Art and objects remain central to the way the apartment is experienced. In the living room, a sculptural work by Alexander Brown sits opposite a painting by Nunzio Miano, while a vessel by Oliver Wilcox of Lost Profile Studio rests atop a hand-carved stone plinth. A floor lamp by Spaceman Studio, a wall light by Henry Wilson and Brud Studia’s solid aluminium Lampa bring an architectural presence to the room.
The second bedroom was reimagined as a combined dining room and study, reflecting the way Gurtler prefers to live and work. A USM sideboard supports a rare silver gelatin print by Herb Ritts of Michael Keaton as Batman, acquired on a trip to New York and among the designer’s most treasured works, alongside a custom Christopher Boots Prometheus lamp. A painting by Timothy Kaye and objects by Lost Profile Studio deepen the room’s darker, more atmospheric register.
In the kitchen, selected cabinetry was refined with custom random grain stainless steel, setting up a subtle counterpoint to the tundra marble retained from the original scheme. A work by Los Angeles artist Bradley Duncan hangs nearby, while a ceramic vessel by Melbourne artist Theodosius Ng, a Gaetano Pesce vase and custom upholstered bar stools add texture and character.
The bedroom is more serene, anchored by linen drapery, cast aluminium bedside lamps by Volker Haug and a Renaissance-era painting framed in aluminium by Lost Profile Gallery. A cushion made from vintage Italian silk acquired on a trip to Florence offers a final gesture of softness.
Experimental and ever evolving, Palladium is a home shaped by enduring fascinations — art, objects, materiality and mood — brought together within a space that feels peaceful, disciplined and unmistakably individual.