Let us introduce you to Waterbrook Bowral’s
Head Interior Designer – Lorena Gaxiola!
Lorena Gaxiola is an award-winning designer with works expanding the globe. Some of the guiding principles of the Mexican American designer is the art of creating value, quality and beauty. Her Sydney-based creative agency manages work of varying scales, combining the disciplines of conceptual architecture, interior design, product development and branding for her international clientele.
About the Design
When Waterbrook Retirement Resorts retained my services, I was immediately enamoured by the Team’s incredible passion and in-depth market knowledge of their target demographic, the Luxury Retirement market. They wanted the interior architecture to represent the resident’s lifestyle whilst honouring the original charm of Bowral – A relaxed yet sophisticated country town.
The design focuses on celebrating a lively group of seniors and incorporating their lifestyle into every corner of the Retirement Resort. We understand that the residents are global travellers, they are family oriented and actively social. They enjoy fine dining, staying fit and incorporating wellness into their daily routine. Once we established the basics, we focused our attention to the materials, textures, finishes and bespoke design aesthetic of the Resort by taking inspiration from the area’s native flora and fauna. The colour palette needed to be elegant and timeless, so we steered away from trend-based solutions and turned our attention to something that would be long lasting and gentle enough to be enjoyed by many whilst still retaining a sense of surprise.
Without a doubt the standout is the space planning. It is easy to access, it is welcoming, it is sophisticated without being uber luxurious or intimating. The materials and products we specified are both durable and warm to the touch. We focused on displaying the artful essence of the community’s countryside and we made sure the large open spaces could feel cosy enough for a small party but able to open up to fit large crowds when needed. It is about the entertainment possibilities.
How are you trying to rethink senior living via a design lens?
The baby-boomers are the ones who invented pop culture as we see it today, they were the ones who innovated technology and they are the ones who gave us many of our cultural freedoms.
I am inspired by retirees who are young at heart, looking to live in comfort and in a place where luxury comes to them. Travel is exhausting and living in this resort-like-community gives them a top service experience within walking distance, where meals can be catered and serviced to their door. They can have their hair and nails done with people they trust whenever they want. They can have private personal trainers to help their fitness and can socialise at any one of the lounges, bars and restaurants whenever they like.
I have been designing in the residential sector for over 20 years and the 6-Star resort-living, especially for retirement living, is a fast-growing sector where we combine residential development and hospitality. The Waterbrook team is on the frontline of this sector and their devotion to pleasing their market is incredibly inspiring.
