Incredible Adelaide penthouse with the owner's face on the bathroom wallpaper

An incredible multimillion-dollar Adelaide penthouse that’s an ode to art and New York City’s cutting-edge design is for sale in the city’s tallest residential tower, The Adelaidean.

But perhaps the most intriguing feature of the penthouse is the bathroom, which features the face of one of its owners.

When former fashion designer Maggie Miles and author Gary N. Lines bought two penthouse apartments off the plan with the intention of merging them into one, they sought a home that would be elegant, edgy, and a reflection of their creativity.

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3401/19 Frome Street, Adelaide SA 5000

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This included having a bathroom with wallpaper featuring Lines’ face.

“I wanted [the bathroom] to be quirky. I wanted it to be fun. I wanted it to be controversial … something unique,” Miles says.

“I thought Gary might have a big issue with this, as many people would anyway. But he said, ‘Go ahead.’”

Miles says the wallpaper completely changed the look and feel of the bathroom.

“I just slapped this wallpaper on, and it reflected everywhere,” she says, adding that it completely changed the bathroom’s aesthetics and “made it hilarious”.

Lines says each headshot on the wallpaper is slightly different, which is only noticeable if you look closely.

He says guests tend to spend quite some time in the bathroom, not just because his face stares them down, but because it’s an interactive art piece.

“The bathroom also has an audio component to it, which is triggered when you go inside and close the door,” Lines says. “The audio plays all sorts of things. At the moment, it’s got scenes out of Casablanca and Pulp Fiction.

“It also has a neon sign facing into the room … with the title of my latest novel, What will happen to you?’ , which is a great philosophical question to be contemplating while you’re in the bathroom.”

While Line was involved with the design choices of the penthouse, Miles led the creative charge. 

“I tried to balance [elegance] with something unusual or contrasting, as opposed to a very designed aesthetic where you walk in and you can see everything’s perfect in its place,” she says. “I like to shake it up a little bit.”

Lines says the penthouse is an indulgence that is perfect for living and entertaining. He loves it all, particularly the main bedroom, which “feels very like a sanctuary, and it’s very cosy.”

The 35th-floor penthouse boasts uninterrupted 270-degree views of Adelaide from its four bedrooms and the living and dining areas.

“When you’re so high up, you see a whole mountain of things that are going on all day from the moment the sun breaks over the horizon: the sky’s colour at dawn, all the birds that move from one park to the other every day and back again at night. The scene is forever changing,” Miles says.

TOOP+TOOP real estate agent Grace Allan says the listing has been very popular with international and interstate buyers, with interest also coming from other residents of the building. 

The Adelaidean has become tightly held since its completion in 2020 and this listing has created a buzz, Allan says.

“It is just such a unique property, so a lot of people are curious,” she says.  

The property at 3401/19 Frome Street, Adelaide, is available for private inspection by appointment only.