When the current owners first acquired this St Kilda apartment, the house was a simple studio in a simple 1970s brick building.
The 27 square meter floor plan lacked separation between spaces – especially from the awkwardly located bathroom which is immediately visible upon entering.
Tsai Design designed the apartment renovation to serve as the owners’ home for part-time and short-term residence.
“They are based in Europe but need to make regular trips to Australia for work and family, so they decided to purchase the apartment as a permanent base when they visit Australia, but also have it as a rental unit when they are away.” explains Jack Chen, Director of Tsai Design.
Repositioning the bathroom door was key to the apartment’s transformation. Tsai moved this from the center of the apartment to the edge – out of direct view upon entry – and covered the room with reflective laminated joinery to create a distinctive “pod”.
“This started out as a simple mirror finish. It was the client themselves who actually suggested getting it in a brass finish to add a bit of drama and be easily Instagrammable to promote the short-term rental on social media,” says Jack.
“We tend to use mirror as a material a lot for small spaces, because it helps distort the perception of the size of the space.”
The capsule cladding – executed by JG Interiors – is also exceptionally practical, featuring one side that can be used as a foldable desk, and pantry storage on the kitchen side.
Additional storage space is stylishly integrated into the joinery surrounding the mounted TV.
The bathroom borrows space from the kitchen, which has been reoriented to face the window, again creating the illusion of a large space.
“They didn’t need to set up a full kitchen, because they’re not great cooks and prefer to eat out,” Jack explains.
While the apartment’s bedroom is still technically a studio, it is now defined by a floor-to-ceiling blackout curtain that provides complete darkness as required by the owners and jet-lagged Airbnb guests.
Jack likens the renovated apartment to a “big jewelry box.”
“Everything is connected,” he says.
Surprises unfold as one ventures inside the home, revealing terracotta accents in the bathroom interiors, and blue and yellow accents when opening the copper-clad capsule panels.
The 27 square meter studio now hosts all the features one would expect from a traditional home, and looks great while doing it.
