MONUMENT
Residential Decoration
Client: Private
Location: Surry Hills, Sydney
Photography: Timothy Kaye
Media: Architectural Digest Espana, Est Living, Yinjispace
Monument is a tailored apartment inside Sydney’s iconic Monument building in Surry Hills. Engaged mid-way through the renovation, the clients asked Nickolas Gurtler Office to take over from a previous designer, complete the design and curate furniture, art and objects. The brief was precise yet delightfully paradoxical: masculine yet camp, sophisticated yet homely. Our response distilled that tension into a language of proportion, texture and light.
Materiality is restrained and tactile. Natural stone and dark timber set a grounded foundation; leather, bouclé and velvet bring softness where the hand meets the surface. Metal accents—blackened steel, brass and polished details—catch and carry light. Texture does the work of ornament: edges that hold structure are tightened while touchpoints are gently rounded.
Curation sits at the heart of the project. Working closely with the clients, we selected pieces with individual presence, historical resonance and bold personality. The mix is cosmopolitan without pastiche—icons paired with contemporary work—so each room reads as collected rather than decorated. Art is treated as protagonist; placements are considered for tone, silhouette and dialogue with surrounding surfaces.
Monument realises the brief’s productive tension: a home that is at once polished and playful, rigorous and generous. It channels a glamorously masculine edge tempered by wit, delivering an interior that is precise in detail, confident in mood and unmistakably tailored to its owners.