Watkins Residence · Perth
A great house. Given a soul.
RESTYLING AND ART
The brief
Bring it forward. Honour what it has been.
Watkins Residence is one of Western Australia’s most significant private residences, with extraordinary scale and history. LLP Design was engaged to bring it back to life for a new family.
No structural changes and no replacement for its own sake. The brief was to layer in the family’s personality through colour, art, considered sourcing and cumulative detail, with the discipline to know what a room needs and the confidence to stop there.
“Bring it forward for our family. Add what it needs. But honour everything this house has been.”
The client
The approach
Precision over volume.
Existing pieces were recomposed within their rooms, then layered with custom cushions, statement homewares and signature ornaments sourced globally. Oversized traveller’s palms on every level, fresh florals on standing order and feature lighting throughout.
Sourcing came from Christopher Guy, Eichholtz, Arteriors, First Dibs and the LLP flagship store in Nedlands.
The art
A gallery that happens to hold a staircase.
Two works by Mr. Brainwash meet the stair in the entry hall. A Francoise Nielly portrait anchors the informal living, and David Bromley canvases form the dominant thread of a collection built with the client across years of travel.
Colour in every room. Art with its own voice on every wall.
Main and informal living
Two worlds, one house.
Upstairs, a gilded Baroque mirror above the travertine fireplace, blue-and-white ginger jars and silk curtains in sage and navy. Downstairs, a burnt amber sofa, a brass fretwork screen and a saturated Nielly portrait make a deliberate contrast.
Dining and master suite
Sourced from Knightsbridge.
A Fendi Casa dining table and chairs, sourced from Harrods in Knightsbridge, sit beneath a Bromley canvas. Upstairs, a channel-detailed velvet headboard, a daybed and lounge chairs form a private sitting room above the Swan River.
This house did not need to be made significant. It already was. What it needed was to feel alive.
Luis La Pegna, Principal
Project details
Ways to begin
Not ready for a full renovation? Start here.
How we work
One studio. One vision. One point of contact.
Total responsibility
Design, trades and delivery, managed by LLP Design from first sketch to handover.
A fixed design fee
Agreed before work begins. You will never be surprised by a cost.
Your written approval
Nothing proceeds without it. Every selection and every change is signed off first.
Progress payments
Tied to the build and staged through the contract, so trades are paid as the work is completed.
A sister brand by Luis La Pegna