00:03Our initial reaction to the apartment was just how it almost felt like you were in a treehouse
00:08with so much greenery and these beautiful windows that opens up to it. And what was
00:16really important to us was that this became a space that you wanted to spend time in,
00:21not a crash pad between going to cafes and restaurants in the city.
00:28Part of the thought process in creating this apartment was more about slowing down and not
00:33having a lot of busy parts, but making it feel like this really calm space. That's how it's got
00:40its name, the Slow Down Apartment.
00:51This apartment is based in New Farm which is a suburb just next to Brisbane CBD. The location
01:00has really changed over the last five years and has become quite busy and bustling. We think the
01:08building was probably built around the 1920s and 1930s. The building is this Art Echo building
01:15which kind of feels a bit oddly out of place in Brisbane, but there's a whole heap of worn charm
01:22and as soon as you enter into the front door the whole place feels a whole heap brighter.
01:28This apartment was designed for two young professionals. During COVID this couple ended up moving up the
01:34coast from Sydney with about 20 of their friends and they loved it so much that a sight of it
01:38didn't want to come back and this project was born. When we first got to the apartment there was a
01:45relatively big hallway area. It had a weird little cupboard with services off the side of it.
01:50There was an odd shaped bedroom, poorly laid out kitchen living dining area and a bathroom that felt quite tight.
02:02We removed the wall between the hallway and the living area to increase the sense of space and relocated
02:09the kitchen counter-intuitively closing off a window but improving the overall feel. We also added a study TV
02:18wine unit into the living space. We relocated the door to the bedroom allowing us to better plan the space
02:25with built-in joinery
02:27and the odd cupboard off the hallway became a laundry.
02:33Part of trying to create a sense of calmness in this apartment was around limiting the amount of materials
02:39and finishes. So we've got oak floors, white walls and joinery and elements of grey throughout.
02:47In the living room we added a storage unit that's split into three. It's for work, rest and play.
02:55The work component is really the study which is located next to the window just to get the best light.
03:02Not only does it become a nice surface to work on but it also just feels like a nice shelving
03:07unit in itself and has integrated lighting for work at night. In the middle our rest component has an
03:16integrated TV with a black backdrop just so the TV totally disappears. Behind the TV we've got space for
03:24wires to be connected to all the AV equipment stored below. Above the TV there's a whole lot of extra
03:29storage
03:29for just all those things that you need in an apartment. Lastly we've got the play which is our
03:35wine rack combined with a bit more extra storage for any other bottles, drinks, glasses, overflow from the
03:41kitchen. Having a wine rack was part of the brief from the get-go. We love doing it too because
03:47it really
03:47adds a sense of luxury and reinforces the idea that living in a small apartment doesn't need to be a
03:53compromise. The furniture was laid out in the living space to help separate that living area and the
04:00kitchen and dining. Relocating the kitchen seemed counterintuitive and not the obvious thing to do
04:08because it meant we had a blocker window but that really increased the sense of space in the apartment.
04:15The kitchen has a concrete top with a light grey joinery underneath. Above the bench everything was white
04:22so that it just disappeared into the wall and the kitchen became as unimposing as possible.
04:27The overhead cupboards are curved at the end so they softly transition into the wall and finish
04:34short of the ceiling so we could use that space to light the whole room. We also added some lighting
04:40to the counter below. Under the bench we integrated all our appliances which included the fridge,
04:47dishwasher, combination microwave oven and as well as a bin. The dining nook really becomes a continuation
04:56of the kitchen. It's probably our favourite part of the apartment. It's just so nice sitting and being
05:02hugged by that corner window. The windows were in terrible condition and we were luckily able to replace
05:08them with like-for-like which meant we could add double glazing that both helped acoustic and thermal
05:13insulation. We custom built the seat and cushions and included some storage underneath. The block had a
05:23communal laundry but the client from the outset was really keen to have their own washer dryer. There
05:28was this kind of leftover cupboard space which we repurposed as a laundry. We replaced the hinge door to
05:36the bedroom with the sliding door. The sliding door's got a mirror on the bedroom side of it. Adjacent to
05:45the door we've got our full height storage hidden from the view from the bed. This full height robe has
05:51built-in lighting
05:51and timber veneer internals. The main bit of storage in the bedroom is actually low. That really helps increase the
05:59sense of space and gets away from the idea of feeling like you're sleeping inside a cupboard.
06:06And then it has all these added functionalities of somewhere to drop a bag or have books displayed.
06:14When we first got the apartment there was a double bed in the space and it just didn't feel right.
06:18The space felt too small to fit a double bed in comfortably. So instead we went the other way
06:23and just decided to go with the king bed in the room. To make that work we built a joinery
06:30wall to wall,
06:31integrated lighting into it and had a shelf behind the pillows that could then become the bedside tables.
06:41The whole bathroom is finished in a light grey concrete tile. Our client didn't come to us with many
06:50requests but one of them was to have a double shower. So when we ripped out the old bath we
06:56replaced it
06:56with an oversized shower space that gave us room for two shower heads. We then redid the vanity unit to
07:06make it as slim as possible with still adding enough space for bench storage. Behind the mirror we've got
07:16LED strips and above the shower we've got a recessed lighting detail that really adds to this cool
07:22hotel vibe. Integrated into that lighting detail above the shower was also the exhaust fan.
07:30The toilet's hidden behind the shower which is particularly important in case the bathroom
07:35door is left open and you don't see it when you walk in the front door.
07:40A lot of people have this idea that it's okay to live in a small apartment in the city because
07:44you've
07:45got shops and cafes and public spaces and that becomes your background as if an apartment's just
07:50this place to sleep at night. I think apartments well designed really should function as any other
07:57home and should be the space that you just want to spend time and relax and is your escape from
08:03the
08:04business of that city without ever feeling like you're in a confined box.
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