Built in reverse.

Travel feeds it. Pieces of Sydney fit outs over recent years carry inspiration collected well outside the city, and his latest project, Sona Place,carries the clearest example yet.  

“Sona Place is inspired by all the beautiful record bars in Japan,” he says, of the Surry Hills residence. Sona means gold, and the finishes lean into it: walnut veneers lining the walls, a dark red French wash across the ceiling, parquetry floors framed by a tiled perimeter, walnut joinery, marble in a few spots, stainless steel elsewhere. 

But the material list didn’t come first. 

“There are definitely a few leftover materials that you will find in Sona Place that were on other projects of ours,” Friend admits. 

“We obviously don’t like wasting things, and we had a bunch of materials left over. We said, okay, how do we make it work? So we kind of started there, and worked backwards.” 

Friend calls Sona Place the bigger brother to Jenga Loft – his Spanish-inspired hideaway completed in 2024 – except with more time spent on design and on the fit-out. 

“Planning is super, super important,” he adds. “If you don’t plan it, it could take you twice as long. You spend a day thinking about how it’s going to be made.” 

It’s an unglamorous point for a project this considered, and he makes it without ceremony. He applies that same no-frills approach to his home city, Sydney, splitting his time between here and the south coast of NSW.

“I think Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I just think it needs to slow down a little bit,” he laughs. 

Sona Place, in its own quiet way, is an argument for just that. 

For more information and projects by Jonathan Friend, visit www.jform.com.au.