What’s actually slowing this PC down?
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
In Surry Hills, Sydney, architect Adam Haddow transformed a retained corner building and a compact extension into a highly personal home organized around geometry, reused materials and carefully placed flashes of color. The result is not a neutral small-space scheme: it uses tall ceilings, unusual openings, artwork and vivid details to make a three-level residence feel expressive rather than restricted.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
The project at a glance
| Detail | What the Architectural Digest feature reports |
|---|---|
| Location | Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia |
| Living area | 750 square feet, as reported by Architectural Digest in 2023 |
| Built footprint | 969 square feet, a separate figure reported by the same feature |
| Configuration | Three floors |
| Architect and resident | Adam Haddow; the home serves Haddow, his husband and their Yorkshire terrier, Eric |
| Design intention | A playful, geometric interior with references to the sweeping, zany atmosphere of a Jacques Tati film |
| Photography | Anson Smart |
| Published source | Architectural Digest, “A 750-Square-Foot Sydney Home Filled with Surprise Pops of Color and Playful Geometry,” October 23, 2023 |
The 750-square-foot number describes living space; it should not be substituted for the reported 969-square-foot footprint. The feature does not provide a survey, measurement method or original project specification, so both figures should be read as published descriptions rather than independently verified measurements.
#1 Best Overall
- [Framed Wall Art]: This large framed wall art set includes 3 pieces of boho modern neutral abstract artwork, each measuring 24 x 36 inches, with a total display size of 36"H x 72"W. Each piece features a sturdy 1.38-inch thick frame, adding depth and a premium look. The black and white geometric design creates a clean and stylish focal point for your living room, bedroom, office, or dining room
- [Canvas Wall Art]: This canvas art wall decor features 2D printed artwork, not 3D textured or hand-painted. Made for everyday indoor display, the printed canvas offers clear details and lasting visual appeal. Slight color variations may occur due to different lighting and screen settings
- [Black and White Wall Art]: This set of minimalist wall art featuring black and white tones with neutral abstract geometric elements, this wall art blends boho warmth with modern simplicity. The balanced color palette makes it easy to match different interiors, adding an elegant artistic touch to living room wall decor, bedroom wall decor, office wall decor, and dining room wall decor
- [Ready to Hang]: Each canvas painting is already framed, making it easy to hang and display after arrival. This large 3 piece wall art set helps refresh your space with minimal effort and brings a more finished decorative look to your walls
- [Wall Decor & Gift Idea]: This framed abstract wall art is a stylish choice for home decoration and a thoughtful gift for housewarmings, new homes, birthdays, and special occasions. Suitable for living room, bedroom, office, and dining room, it combines decorative value with a modern neutral aesthetic
How the old building and extension work together
The project keeps a corner building instead of treating the existing structure as disposable. A small extension became the main residence, while surviving outer walls of the older structure were incorporated into a guest house. That arrangement lets one compact property support everyday living, visitors and the possibility of a retail space in the existing building.
This is an important planning decision in a small home. The extension carries the principal domestic rooms, while the retained structure gives guests a degree of separation. Reusing the old walls also preserves the visual memory of the corner site. Rather than disguising the junction between old and new, the project makes the layered history part of the composition.
The house is spread over three floors, allowing the plan to gain rooms vertically instead of pushing every function onto one crowded level. The feature describes the principal living spaces as having ceilings almost 12 feet high. That height changes the proportion of the rooms: a small floor plate can still have a generous sense of volume when the eye is drawn upward.
Geometry is used as architecture, not decoration
Geometric forms appear in the building’s openings, fittings and circulation. The feature reports geometric window openings and a semicircular sink, while the exterior includes a semicircular bronze gate made for the project by Sydney-based artist Mika Utzon Popov. These are not isolated motifs. Curves and angled openings repeat at different scales, giving the house a visual language that can be recognized from the street through to the bathroom.
Haddow told Architectural Digest that he wanted the home to be “playful and reminiscent of the sweeping, zany aesthetic of a Jacques Tati movie.” The reference helps explain why the geometry is intentionally legible. A circular or semicircular element is allowed to be noticed rather than blended into a conventional background.
For a painter or renovator, the useful lesson is to decide which shapes should carry the identity of a room. A single arch, circle or diagonal can become a focal point when the surrounding surfaces remain calm. Repeating the same family of shapes in a window, a mirror or a painted panel creates cohesion without requiring every surface to be patterned.
Where the color appears
The kitchen
The kitchen combines stainless steel with an exposed wooden ceiling. Color arrives through the cabinet handles, which the feature describes as colorful rather than identifying a particular hue, maker or model. Because the metal appliances and work surfaces are restrained, the handles can function as small, high-impact accents.
This is a useful small-kitchen strategy: keep large, expensive surfaces durable and relatively quiet, then use replaceable details to supply personality. Handles are seen repeatedly as people move through the room, so even a modest number can establish a rhythm. The article does not identify their dimensions, mounting pattern, finish or source; those details should not be inferred from the photographs.
Rank #2
- Boho Mountain Wall Art Set: This set of three framed artworks showcases a unique mountain-inspired design, featuring earthy tones, geometric patterns, and natural elements, adding a cozy and rustic charm to any space
- Premium MDF with Layered Visual Effect: Crafted from 5mm MDF with a laminated white surface, this wooden wall decor is precisely cut to create a layered dimensional effect that enhances the depth and texture of your walls
- Versatile Nature-Inspired Decor: Designed to complement rustic, bohemian, mid-century modern, and farmhouse interiors, this artwork is ideal for decorating the living room, bedroom, office, hallway, or cabin-style homes
- Effortless Installation: Comes with pre-installed sawtooth hooks and 10 adhesive silicone pads, offering multiple installation options to suit different wall surfaces and preferences
- Ideal Gift for Nature Lovers: A thoughtful decor piece for those who appreciate mountain landscapes, nature-inspired art, and geometric designs, making it a great choice for housewarmings, birthdays, and special occasions
The bathroom
Red tile is one of the clearest color statements reported in the tour. In the primary bathroom, a circular opening above the rain shower frames a view of the sky. Haddow described the shower as “such a joy” and said there was “no better way to start the day,” as quoted by Architectural Digest.
The combination of red tile and a round sky opening gives the room two kinds of emphasis: a saturated horizontal or vertical surface and a literal aperture to changing daylight. The feature does not state the tile size, grout color, waterproofing system or shower manufacturer, so those specifications remain unknown.
Bedrooms and living areas
Vivid accents also appear in the bedrooms. The report does not provide a complete color schedule, paint names or a room-by-room inventory, but it makes clear that color is distributed through the home rather than confined to one feature wall. In the living room, a work titled Eora by Nicholas Harding hangs above the sofa, placing art alongside the architectural color decisions.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
That balance matters. The strongest visual moments are not all paint: they include handles, tile, timber, metal, artwork and the shapes of openings. A room can therefore feel colorful even when most of its wall area remains comparatively quiet.
Reclaimed materials give the bright scheme weight
The facade uses recycled bricks. Haddow explained that he obtained them from a friend he had grown up with after encountering a large pile of broken bricks from another Sydney project while visiting family in Ararat, Victoria. He said the pieces were incorporated into the facade to create a brilliant, textured surface.
The guest house continues the reuse strategy with wood floors and bathroom tiles salvaged from a demolition project. Their importance is both practical and visual: irregular surfaces and signs of previous use prevent the playful geometry from becoming slick or purely graphic.
Reclaimed materials also introduce variation that manufactured color alone cannot provide. Brick fragments, old timber and salvaged tile carry shifts in tone and texture, so the surrounding paint can be more deliberate without making the interior feel flat. When adapting this approach, verify the condition, cleaning requirements and suitability of salvaged materials before installation; the feature does not document the project’s testing or preparation procedures.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Room-by-room details worth noticing
Facade and entry
The recycled-brick facade is the building’s most immediate public statement. Its textured surface is paired with Popov’s semicircular bronze gate, giving the entrance a strong outline and a tactile material contrast. The gate is an artwork made for the project, not a catalog product identified by the article.
Rank #3
- Real 3D Design: Diamond pattern with 1 inch raise design makes our wall panels more eye-catching. A box comes in 33 tiles, which covers 32.Sq.Ft.
- Be Your Own Designer: Easy to DIY, no specialized knowledge is required. Plan the 3D accent wall panels by yourself. Replace the boring wall, get a fresh look for your room.
- Premium Material: This textured wall panel is made of premium PVC, thin and light which is easy to install. Waterproof, fire-resistant features which make this panel more sturdy and durable.
- Wide Application: Add new wall decor to your home! Perfect choice for living room, bedroom, game room,bathroom, feature wall, ceiling, mancave. Any kinds of interior decoration in both residential and commercial.
- A Trusted Brand: Every customer is in good hands, we deliver a good quality item to our customers, please let us know if there are any defects or damage of products.
Living room
The living room benefits from the nearly 12-foot ceiling reported for the principal living spaces. The height leaves room for artwork such as Harding’s Eora above the sofa and allows the vertical plane to participate in the composition. The feature does not list the room’s exact dimensions or furniture specifications.
Kitchen
Stainless steel, the exposed timber ceiling and colorful cabinet handles create a three-part material balance: reflective metal, warm wood and small saturated accents. The approach demonstrates how a compact kitchen can gain character without covering every cabinet or wall in a strong color.
Primary bathroom
The semicircular sink echoes the project’s broader geometry. Above the rain shower, the circular ceiling opening brings the sky into the room. Together, those elements turn ordinary plumbing and structure into the bathroom’s central visual experience.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallGuest house
The guest accommodation occupies the surviving outer walls of the older structure. Its salvaged wood floors and bathroom tiles connect the secondary building to the project’s wider ethic of reuse while allowing the new extension to remain the principal home.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the home feels larger than its floor area
- Vertical volume: ceilings almost 12 feet high in the main living spaces provide visual capacity that a floor-area figure cannot show.
- Three-level organization: stacking rooms separates uses without requiring a broad single-storey plan.
- Borrowed views: geometric windows and the bathroom’s sky opening extend attention beyond the immediate walls.
- Selective emphasis: a semicircular sink, colorful handles or red tile can create memorable focal points without consuming much floor space.
- Material contrast: stainless steel, exposed timber, brick, bronze and salvaged finishes provide depth even where the plan is compact.
These are spatial and sensory advantages, not evidence that the house is physically larger than reported. The source gives no independent comparison with other Sydney homes or measured study of perceived spaciousness.
How to borrow the design ideas without copying the house
- Map the fixed elements first. Record ceiling height, window positions, plumbing locations and the surfaces that cannot be moved. In a small room, these constraints determine where a geometric accent will have the most effect.
- Choose one dominant shape family. Circles, semicircles or angled openings can be repeated in a mirror, niche, furniture edge or painted panel. Keep the number of shapes limited so the room has a readable visual grammar.
- Set a quiet base. Use the existing timber, steel or masonry as part of the palette before selecting paint. The Sydney project gains richness because color works with material texture rather than replacing it.
- Add color in replaceable layers. Cabinet handles, a painted door, a tile zone, textiles or artwork can supply strong accents while preserving the option to change the scheme later. The feature identifies colorful handles in the kitchen but does not identify their source.
- Reserve the most saturated color for a decision point. Red tile in the bathroom is effective because it marks a room with a clear purpose. A similarly intense color can define an entry, shower wall or stair landing.
- Use daylight as part of the palette. Openings, skylights and reflective surfaces change how color reads over the day. Any new opening requires appropriate structural, waterproofing and planning advice; the article reports the design result, not a construction method.
- Place art where the architecture gives it room. A large work above a sofa or a purpose-made gate can carry as much identity as a painted wall. Leave enough surrounding quiet for the object to remain legible.
- Test samples in the actual light. Paint and tile colors shift beside stainless steel, aged timber and brick. View large samples at morning, midday and evening before committing to a full surface.
What the feature does—and does not—identify
Architectural Digest’s October 23, 2023 feature is a reported home tour, not a product schedule or measured set of project specifications. It identifies the architect, occupants, artists, broad materials and key spatial moves, but it does not name the brands or models of the cabinet handles, shower or concealed gadgets mentioned in the story. It also does not provide a detailed storage inventory, current product availability, paint colors, tile dimensions or construction costs.
The article says the project was first published by AD Germany, but the Architectural Digest feature does not state the original AD Germany publication date. Treat the reported areas and ceiling height as the feature’s figures, and do not present an unverified handle, shower or gadget as the one used in the house.
The design’s central idea
Haddow described the home as one that fits his household’s needs and aesthetics exactly, adding, “This is certainly not a house for everyone.” That admission is part of the project’s strength. The design does not pursue generic resale neutrality; it uses geometry, color, art and recovered materials to make a compact residence feel specific to its occupants.
He also said, “An important part of the interior concept for me is to include art and support creatives.” The bronze gate by Mika Utzon Popov and Harding’s Eora make that principle visible, while the recycled brick and salvaged finishes connect the visual playfulness to a practical ethic of reuse. Haddow’s hope that the building feels “happy” to people passing by captures the project’s public ambition: even a small home can contribute character to its street.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
