The three penthouses at Thirdi’s just-completed Kurraba Residences in Kurraba Point offer swoon-worthy harbour views and tactile finishes.
How many Sydneysiders can watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks from their living room? Better still, how many can also see the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the entire city skyline and a magical panorama of the harbour and its waterfront neighbourhoods including Mosman, Rose Bay and Kirribilli?
The three penthouses at Thirdi’s just-completed Kurraba Residences, a boutique block of 24 apartments, dish up the kind of swoon-worthy views that make living in Sydney an everyday delight.
“We’re on the north side of the harbour, looking back towards the city,” says co-founder and director of Thirdi Group, Luke Berry. “It’s an iconic view of our city, an all-encompassing view that captures the Harbour Bridge, Barangaroo, the Opera House, Centrepoint, and the CBD. I love watching someone walk out onto the penthouse level and they’re just mesmerised by the view, it takes your breath away.”
Berry accurately describes the view as both vast and intimate. Unlike many city penthouses which tower sixty or more storeys above the ground, the three Kurraba Residences penthouses are on levels four and five, just high enough to deliver sensational views above the nearby treetops.
“It’s a genuine front-row position to the best that Sydney Harbour can offer,” Berry says. “It’s rare to be able to sit outside and hear the rigging slap the masts in the boats, and you can almost taste the salt air. While these homes are elevated and get never-to-be-built-out views, they’re still close enough that you can experience the elements in all their beauty. There’s a premium that people put on that sensory experience with their home.”
The penthouse interiors also focus on a sensory experience. Interior designer Phillip Mathieson has chosen a fit-out and furniture with fine details to be discovered on close inspection, but which otherwise recede into the background, to avoid competing with the views.
Run your fingers up the limestone balustrade in the two-storey Kurraba penthouse or walk barefoot over the silk rug in the living room and you’ll understand the tactile nature of both fixed and portable finishes.
“Our focus was on developing a palette of materials and colours that are timeless,” says Mathieson, who subscribes to the idea that luxury needn’t be obvious. “It was about being able to create a backdrop for amazing artwork and furniture pieces to go into.”
Mathieson partnered with French furniture brand Liaigre to furnish the penthouses and the chosen pieces can be included in the sale, with the exception of the artworks supplied by Artbank.
Just two of the three penthouses remain for sale, inclusive of the two-storey Kurraba penthouse. Mathieson says the master bedroom here is a highlight.
“I think it’s actually got to be one of the best bedrooms anywhere in Sydney,” he says. “It’s got this amazing, wrap-around curve of glass which all opens up, so it’s almost like you’re sleeping on the prow of a ship.”
The en suite features a central bath and a striking, circular, marble vanity, each carved and expertly honed from single blocks of Statuario marble.
“We looked at how to maximise the exposure to the view from every angle of that en suite,” says Mathieson. “So rather than a traditional layout, where everything is just kind of pushed against the wall, these elements are like islands in the room.”
The kitchen is separated from the living spaces by a set of timber and burnished metal pivot doors, offering the flexibility to either conceal or open the kitchen when entertaining.
Out on the 226-square-metre terrace, landscaper Dangar Barin Smith has installed real grass, adding to the house-like ambience of the apartment, and there’s also a plunge pool/spa.
A glass of bubbles to toast the New Year in these rarefied surrounds? Yes please.