With sweeping high ceilings and a breath-taking view over Sydney city, this oversized Potts Point penthouse mezzanine apartment had been untouched for many decades and presented numerous logistical obstacles.

With lofty dreams of a contemporary black New York loft style kitchen, intrinsic details infused a modern vision with the nostalgia of existing English furniture. The key objective for this two-storey apartment renovation was to showcase the new whilst maintaining oldworld charm in a sophisticated, cohesive way.

Playing with the concept of darkness and light: crisp white walls, black Japan floors and gloss black oversized window architraves frame the foundations.

Upon entry, handmade glass and natural brass pendant lights hover above a burnished bronze kitchen island like a cloud, lightweight in comparison to the matt black Italian porcelain that weaves its ochre veins along the benchtops and the black caviar veneer fronted cabinets.

The darkness of the kitchen is offset on one side by the richness of the original Victorian rouge coloured marble fireplace, and to the other, the prominent white staircase angling skyward.

The tired federation balcony tiles were replaced with rich coloured porcelain Micro. tiles laid in a sympathetic pattern to acknowledge the past whilst adding a modern textural twist.