00:00Hi my name's Lauren and I'm Nick and we're the owners and designers of this
00:04apartment. This apartment building was built in the 1960s. Yeah and it consists
00:12of 15 apartments. We liked the I guess the mid-century vibe of this building
00:17and there was some really kind of redeeming qualities of modernist
00:21architecture. When we first found this apartment it was a one-bedroom and we
00:26were really looking forward to finding a great one-bedroom apartment that we
00:30could convert into a two-bedroom which would be user-friendly for our family.
00:42When we walked in we straightaway noticed the beautiful original brickwork which
00:47has just got the most amazing character and we decided that had to be the key
00:52feature to keep. As well as the glazing wall that was part of the kitchen. A lot
01:00of these mid-century older buildings from the 60s and 70s that had separate
01:05kitchens in the one-bedroom apartments and we saw that as a real opportunity. So
01:10we decided that we'd try and bring that into a bit more of a modern approach and
01:14convert the existing kitchen into a bedroom.
01:22So once you walk into the apartment you immediately walk into the study nook.
01:28The way that you're led into the to the central living core with the angled wall creates like
01:34an opening into this space.
01:36With the living area you really are right in the heart of the apartment where your
01:41back is to this beautiful brick wall looking out to this amazing northern and
01:46eastern aspects with the natural light.
01:50So we designed the curtain to be able to be used with dual purpose. So if someone was
01:56working in the office nook just giving them that extra element of privacy so that
02:01the living space can be separate from the office.
02:05At the end of the day and you just want to be lounging around in the living quarters we
02:10can just block the kitchen off so you don't have to look at the dishes and things like
02:14that.
02:15And as well as a delineation of space it's also a textual element. It helps acoustically
02:20it also softens visually.
02:23It was important for us with the kitchen that we integrated all of the appliances. We didn't
02:29want the visual distractions of seeing fridges and dishwashers and things like that. It's
02:33all integrated into one reasonably compact unit like a joinery element within almost
02:38the living space.
02:40We do have a full fridge, freezer, oven and a dishwasher in there as well.
02:48Having a purpose built dining bench rather than a table and chairs what we saw as important
02:53the dining bench then acts as a secondary sofa. It integrates the meals and the living area
02:59as one big lounge room.
03:00That design flow was really important to us as well having that continuity across the
03:06spaces.
03:08On the existing brick wall where the protruding bricks we used a brass angle and some blocks
03:13of plywood where we could create a movable or adjustable shelving system.
03:21With the master bedroom we actually incorporated the bed into the existing built in robe. So
03:27what that allowed us to do was create a nook for a queen size bed while still having enough
03:32room at the front of the space for the kids to play on the floor and things like that.
03:37We also added in an extra hanging rail for those occasions when we do have more clothing and
03:43things to hang up so that we weren't taking up too much floor space.
03:48The apartment has floor to ceiling glazing so we wanted to try and maximise the light coming
03:54in but also try and add a little element of privacy. So we popped on some perforated steel screens
04:03on the bottom glazing and that's really allowed us when we want to put the blinds down to still
04:09have privacy but also let filtered light through. It also gave us some security when the children
04:14were playing in front of the glass.
04:21The original kitchen which we converted into the second bedroom. We've created a raised plinth
04:28of plywood storage boxes. In addition to adding additional storage which is really important
04:35in a small space. It also allows the services from the original kitchen to run underneath and
04:43connect to the new kitchen.
04:44It was definitely a really good playground as well for the kids up there.
04:52The original glazing we wanted to try and add an extra layer with having a curtain over
04:57the top so it could act as an acoustic barrier and also a privacy barrier as well.
05:02It would have a more cocooned kind of feel rather than public feel of what the kitchen might
05:07have had in the original building.
05:10The bathroom is the one room where we decided to do a little bit of a change up and maybe
05:16bring in a little bit more modern colours, textures. So we did do a bit of a concrete render over
05:21the top of the existing tiles.
05:23So we kind of saw this the bathroom as like a bathing kind of like a vault or a cave.
05:29We created a little wall hung storage unit out of Formply as well as the vanity and the
05:36area where the washing machine kind of lives. We also used black perforated steel in the bathroom
05:43just to screen some of the like the visual bulk of a washing machine.
05:49The whole fit out is constructed out of a limewashed plywood. We chose this material for a number
05:55of reasons workability, affordability and durability. So you can bang it up the kids can use it and
06:02it's not a precious material which is really important as well.
06:04And these amazing old buildings they're so solid that they really do have so much life to live and
06:12we just wanted to breathe some new life into it.
06:14Which is really important to us from a sustainability point of view but also from a point of view of
06:19housing affordability and what is considered a liveable space for a family.
06:25Mightn't be worth double- Ihnen.
06:25BWAY BWAY
06:26m
06:26y
06:26y
06:36ĹĽy
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