Crowning glory

Blainey North has forged a career out of creating extraordinary interiors. The designer tells Tanya Buchanan what she had in mind for her latest project, Crown Spa Sydney.

Glamorous interior design star Blainey North is a true luxurian. After years working at the upper echelon of interior design with an exclusive black book of clients, including the Packer family, her expertise delivers sophisticated and indulgent spaces.

Sydney’s brand new Crown Towers boasts one of these fabulous creations, Crown Spa Sydney, which offers a level of pampering and luxe the city has been craving. And the jewel in this Crown is the spa’s association with luxe skincare house La Prairie. Belle visited Crown Spa Sydney to talk to Blainey and Rosi Fernandez and Ai San Beaumont of La Prairie.

WHAT WAS THE BRIEF AND INSPIRATION FOR THE SPACE?

Blainey: The brief was to create the best spa ever. That is Crown’s usual brief, which is nice and easy (laughs)! Obviously it is a very big spa, which makes it an epic project in terms of scale – in creating a spa, you are designing a massive destination. There are pools, nail salons, an aesthetician and the gym to consider. I was inspired by the idea of “slipped consciousness”, like when you are about to go to sleep and drift into the meditative state, or when you are getting a spa treatment and enter that weird zone where things happen in your eyes and head that are a part of reality but also a part of something else. This is why we used so many pale, pastel, desaturated colours.

AND THE FURNITURE AND ART?