Clever consideration of small spaces makes this apartment grand
Architect Stephen Collier worked on a small apartment in Potts Point. Here’s some top tips.
The Byron Hall apartment block in Potts Point is well loved by its residents. Built in the early 1900’s, the polished brass and marble fixtures in the foyer combined with charming wood panelling is a testament to how much the modern caretakers appreciate this period dwelling.
Even the lifts are in pristine condition, but while the architecture of the time is old-world and pretty, the interior of this dated apartment in the block left much to be desired.
When architect Stephen Collier was hired to bring space and light into an apartment in Byron Hall, he was not facing an easy task.
“The building is so loved by the residence, but because of when it was built and the nature of apartments at the time, they are so small and the rooms don’t really flow well,” he says.
“When you walked into the apartment you came into a dark corridor that led into a living room at one end and a small study. The main bedroom was awkwardly positioned between the kitchen and the living room.”
He doubted the apartment had been renovated before with period and dated decor doing nothing to “alleviate that feeling of claustrophobia”.
The most outstanding feature of the apartment it its original state was the views to city the kitchen and bathroom.
BRIEF:
To convert a small study beside the entry and bathroom into the main bedroom to give a 65sq m apartment a bigger sense of space.
ARCHITECT:
Stephen Collier, collierarchitects.com.au
BUILDER:
Building Partners, buildingpartners.com.au
THE SOURCE:
Lights Viabizzuno viabizzuno.com
Appliances Miele miele.com.au
Tapware Vola (Candana) candana.com.au
Light show:
Getting direct sun into the apartment was step one of the design process.
Chopping out a sizeable section of a wall to gain light might have been an option elsewhere, but Stephen says that would have been a very expensive job. More importantly when working on an old building it’s important to retain as much wall as possible to maintain the character of the original build, not to mentional the structural intergirty of the apartment.
“So , when I saw an opportunity to enlarge a door opening, I took it.”
The main bedroom, that was once in the middle of the apartment, is now the dining room and the former study was turned into the bedroom.
“To make the bedroom a functional space, we widened the door to twice its width. We ended up with a bedroom connected to the bathroom with a T-shaped door.
“Part of the door was original and the other half is new, which enabled us to make the study a workable bedroom. The owner lives on his own and most if the time this door can be left completely open unless he has guests.”
There is plenty of storage in the bedroom, which is narrow space but also fits a double bed comfortably.
Working through the details:
Stephen’s motto for working on smal sites is: “think through the tight spots and work with them”.
The kitchen, with inbuilt washing machine, is a clear example of this. Designed like a galley in an aeroplane, it’s an incredibly tight and functional space. Dark and moody, it features a hatch through to the dining, living and sunroom with discrete views to the CBD.
“That’s what city living is all about - how to make best use of small space.”
“It’s a central room of the whole apartment and becomes a gathering space. I have always been fascinated with how designers of aeroplanes and caravans make things really small and functional,” he says.
“That’s what city living is all about - how to make best use of small space. If they are thought through carefully, it doesn’t matter if it’s small as long as it works.”
The kitchen and wall leading into the dining room is painted in a custom Porters Paints hue, which mimics the work of Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier.
“I have used colour to increase the sense of space and connection between the kitchen and dining room.”
Takes all trades:
The project was only 65sq m in total, but it took a myriad of trades to come together to complete.
A lot of thought went into the small project, and in many ways it was more difficult to manage than a large home as the trades had to be careful not to overlap. In total, the design process took about three months, with construction carried out over four months.
Engineered floorboards had to be cut on site as they wouldn’t otherwise fit in the lift, although the impressive stainless steel kitchen benchtop did just manage to squeeze through.
“It was one of the hardest or most interest jobs I have worked on. The benchtop is one sheet of pre-welded stainless steel and we only just managed to get it in the lift - it was touch and go there,” says Stephen.
The impressive terazzo floor in the bathroom was also poured and mixed on-site.
“There were also other obvious issues as there is not much inner-city parking for the tradies, but that was the least of it.”’
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