Designer’s diary Interior designer Greg Natale opens up his Sydney pad and shares a few of his favourite things
RENOWNED INTERIOR DESIGNER GREG NATALE OPENS UP HIS SYDNEY CITY PAD TO SHARE A FEW OF HIS FAVOURITE THINGS WITH HB
SYDNEYSIDER
“I really love this Sydney Ball painting (left). He was a real pioneer in hard-edged minimalism – unfortunately he passed away last year. I just think this is such a unique piece. There’s another one in the entry of our home. There’s a really nice harmony with the artworks in the apartment; they all work together even though they are all very different.”
street style
“The artwork above my bed is by RETNA, a street artist from LA. He does all these big murals. I even have a RETNA rug in the office. I’ve never met him but he seems crazy. I follow him on Instagram. He just did Justin Bieber’s album cover – he is big. My bedside lamps and my bed are both vintage pieces I found on 1stdibs.com.”
artistic edge
“With art, I like abstract that’s hard-edged, that’s minimal, and I like pop and street art. I just mixed them all, but the large abstract Waldemar Kolbusz piece (above) was the starting point for all the other art in the apartment. Then I got the Sydney Ball (left) and Jurgen Peters (next page) pieces. In this apartment, the artwork came first, then the furniture.”
WELL SCULPTED
“The corners in my living room felt quite empty – I searched for a long time until I found pieces that fit the space. The crystal (above left) is from Becker Minty. I really liked its sculptural aspect. The table and the candleholder (also pictured above left) are all from Tom Dixon, I got them from De De Ce. The triangular sculptures (above right) are called ‘Invisible Cities XL’ and they’re by Patty Hava.”
“With my last two places, I’ve always been like ‘yeah, I’m done’, but this one keeps evolving. I never thought it would” ~ Greg Natale
time capsule
“My entire apartment is inspired by the late 1970s. All the furniture is very low, there’s a lot of velvet, a lot of metal – even the art is sort of referencing that era. I wanted the place to feel light because of the amazing views [of the city and the Harbour Bridge]. I started layering the Flat Vernacular ‘Levante’ wallpaper and the carpet and I pulled the blue from the Waldemar Kolbusz artwork to the Jonathan Adler sofa. I just love how the navy blue went really well with the brass and gold.”
CUCINA ITALIANA
“In the kitchen, it was the floor that was the starting point – I was inspired by my trip to Italy. Palladiana terrazzo is so on trend, but in Italy it’s been used for hundreds of years. The colour scheme ties in quite well with the rest of the apartment. I really like the lucite handles – they’re from America. The benchtops and splashbacks are super-white Vermont granite, which is very solid.”
work & life
“I work from home every night and there is only so much I can do on a laptop, so we needed a desktop. My partner, Jason, does a lot with spreadsheets – we use this space a lot! The lamp is Waylande Gregory – the pattern is incredible and the metallic paint on it is so beautiful up close. I picked up the vintage French box in LA many years ago – the finish is amazing. The marbling is very elegant.”