How designer Brooke Shakibaee created Ric's, a coastal haven inspired by French design

• Owner: A style-savvy renovator with a love of boutique stays
• Location: Cottesloe, Western Australia
• Project timeline: January 2025-May 2025
• Most expensive cost: Custom microcement application in the kitchen and bathroom, handmade tile benchtops, and bespoke bronze hardware ($50,000)
• Where money was saved: A simplified lighting plan and retaining the existing electrical layout.

Ric’s, a stylish Airbnb in the iconic coastal suburb of Cottesloe in Perth, is more than just another boutique beachy bolthole.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment has been transformed from a “white, generic shell” into a slice of Parisian chic.

“It had strong bones and beautiful natural light, but the interiors felt flat,” says designer Brooke Shakibaee of White Studio & Co.

“The aim was to reimagine the generic 1980s interiors into something soulful, textural, and luxurious, without it feeling contrived.”

Fresh off a Paris buying trip together, Shakibaee and the apartment owner found the timing aligned perfectly, and the design was immediately shaped by their travels.

“We wanted a refined place that felt as intimate and layered as a Parisian pied-a-terre, yet in tune with the coastal rhythm that is Cottesloe,” she says.

While the interiors needed a complete refresh, the building’s generous terraces and well-proportioned rooms provided a solid base for the transformation.

The largest challenge of renovating in a multi-residential building was working within a live strata-managed building.

“It added complexity with materials and demolition waste moved through a single shared lift which required tight scheduling,” Shakibaee says. “Noise restrictions also limited trade windows, and the new flooring required formal acoustic approval. Coordination was crucial.”

Rather than gutting the apartment, the focus was on improving layout flow, refining surfaces, updating fixtures, and adding joinery that felt integral to the architecture.

“The existing finishes were inconsistent and lacked warmth,” she recalls. “The spaces needed a cohesive colour and material palette, better lighting, and curated details to transform it from a dated holiday unit into an inviting retreat.”

Anchored in browns, deep blue, and warm chalky neutrals, the new colour palette instantly elevates the spaces.

Vinyl plank floors are replaced with classic tumbled travertine tiles, while handmade Moroccan tiles in aqua and chocolate swathe kitchen benchtops and splashbacks.

Microcement softens the features in the bathroom and kitchen, while Murano glass light fittings, timber accents, and European antiques add age and warmth to the spaces.

“Every choice was underpinned by practicality,” says Shakibaee. “Low-maintenance microcement provides durability, while external furnishings were chosen for salt-tolerance and longevity. The antique pieces are robust. It’s a home that feels precious yet lives effortlessly – a place where guests can relax without worry.”

As in all typical French design, the devil is found in the details at Ric’s.

Custom bronze hardware in the kitchen, fluted glass, hand-tied rope lighting, and cool French finds add authenticity and create an intimate, exquisite ambience.

“Textural surfaces, soft silhouettes, and layered furnishings anchor the interiors,” says Shakibaee.

“They create spaces that feel connected to the sea – soft, tonal, and quietly confident.”