The Gambit Loft

Set in the heart of Pyrmont within the historic Pyrmont Woolstores, The Gambit Loft occupies a former industrial building reimagined as a character-rich residence. Original features including exposed brickwork, concrete columns and soaring ceilings anchor the space in its heritage.

GALLERY  

A chic reimagining of a former industrial building within the heritage confines of the Pyrmont wool stores, The Gambit Loft exudes freshness and fun with a hint of sophistication.

The team from Folk Studio thoughtfully transformed the original space for its long-time owner, infusing it with renewed character and warmth. With a focus on rich materiality, the apartment’s original off-form concrete and exposed brick were retained. Combined with warm timbers, vibrant pink stone and a playful terracotta tiling on the kitchen island, the design narrative flows seamlessly through the home. Folk Studio also invited the outdoors in, using soft linen window treatments and sheer curtains to frame glimpses of foliage lining the streets, creating a striking contrast with the home’s deeper, moodier tones.

“The goal was to create a home that felt warm and cocooning, much like a luxury hotel, while still maintaining a sense of lightness.”

“We wanted to strike the perfect balance between enveloping each room in rich, grounding tones and maintaining a sense of openness and light,” explains Mariah Burton, director and co-founder of Folk Studio. “The goal was to create a home that felt warm and cocooning, much like a luxury hotel, while still maintaining a sense of lightness. Each colour choice was deliberate, designed to evoke mood and comfort while allowing light to travel softly through the spaces.”

There’s a playful quality to the colour and texture palette. While crisp white and cream limewashed walls are used throughout to catch and reflect light, the more intimate internal spaces tell a different story. In the bedroom, warm clay and chocolate brown tones bring calm and considered depth, amplified by an earthy upholstered Ellison Studios bed frame and airy linen curtains. In the bathroom, the lack of natural light encouraged Folk Studio to lean into a moody aesthetic. Original orange tiles were painstakingly salvaged, further accentuated by natural pink stone and clay joinery.

For the living spaces, Burton and her team aimed for substance with a resonating softness, a counterpoint to the harsh lines of the industrial bones of the loft. Gentle curves appear in the rounded dining table, banquette seating and King Living sofa, while soft greens and natural timbers ground the home. Patterns emerge subtly through artwork and furnishings, exposed brickwork and the kitchen’s tiled island bench, and more boldly in a custom wall tapestry above the bed in the primary bedroom. “We commissioned a Japanese maker to handcraft the piece that ties the colours and textures together perfectly. Throughout the apartment, subtle patterns appear that are checked in nature or allude to a check motif, a recurring theme that ultimately inspired the project’s name,” shares Burton.

For its long-time owner, The Gambit Loft represents a deeply personal evolution into a space that celebrates the building’s storied past while reflecting a refined, contemporary lifestyle.

PROJECT CREDITS
LOCATION Pyrmont, Australia
INTERIOR DESDIGN Folk Studio (via The Local Project)
PHOTOGRAPHY Jacqui Turk

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