Name: NEVER TOO SMALL: Calm, Bright Minimalist Apartment, Brisbane 35sqm/375sqft
Uploaded: 2024-06-05T15:59:27.000Z
Duration: 9 min 34 s
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Adverbs of degree

Our initial reaction to the apartment was just how it almost felt like you're in a treehouse with so much greenery and these beautiful windows that opens up to it.

And what was really important to us was that this became a space that you wanted to spend time in, not a crash pad between going to cafes and restaurants in the city.

Participle clauses

Part of the thought process in creating this apartment was more about slowing down and not having a lot of busy parts, but making it feel like this really calm space.

That's how it got its name, the Slow Down Apartment.

At Never Too Small, we work with architects, designers, crew and clients from around the world.

We work in a fast-paced environment and have to wear a number of different hats in a day, and we work odd hours and odd places.

Most of us work from a laptop on a small screen, so the Asus ZenScreen portable monitor range allows us to have a second screen, which is quick and easy to use.

We love how slim and lightweight this monitor is, and how effortlessly it slips into our bag.

It's great having a large dual monitor setup that we can just pop off the stand.

This monitor also flips vertically, which makes reviewing different video formats really easy.

The battery-operated ZenScreen is super handy for when we shoot out on location, and it's really simple to just AirPlay the script to the monitor from our phones.

And the stylus function makes it quick and easy to review and sign off documents when we have off-site meetings.

The Asus ZenScreen range of portable monitors have been a great tool for us, both in the office, at home, and when we travel, and have definitely improved our efficiency and productivity.

Don't miss out on the limited-time promotion, and click on the link in the description below.

Promotion runs from 23 to 30 November 2023.

This apartment's based in New Farm, which is a suburb just next to Brisbane CBD.

The location has really changed over the last five years, and has become quite busy and bustling.

We think the building was probably built around the 1920s and 1930s.

The building's this Art Deco building, which kind of feels a bit oddly out of place in

But there's a whole heap of worn charm, and as soon as you enter into the front door, the whole place feels a whole heap brighter.

This apartment was designed for two young professionals.

During COVID, this couple ended up moving up the coast from Sydney with about 20 of their friends, and they loved it so much they decided they didn't want to come back, and this project was born.

When we first got to the apartment, there was a relatively big hallway area.

It had a weird little cupboard with services off the side of it.

There was an odd-shaped bedroom, poorly laid-out kitchen, living, dining area, and a bathroom that felt quite tight.

We removed the wall between the hallway and the living area to increase the sense of space, and relocated the kitchen, counter-intuitively closing off a window, but improving the overall feel.

We also added a study TV wine unit into the living space.

We relocated the door to the bedroom, allowing us to better plan the space with built-in joinery, and the odd cupboard off the hallway became a laundry.

Part of trying to create a sense of calmness in this apartment was around limiting the amount of materials and finishes.

So we've got open floors, white walls and joinery, and elements of grey throughout.

In the living room, we added a storage unit that's split into three.

The work component is really the study, which is located next to the window, just to get the best light.

Not only does it become a nice surface to work on, but it also just feels like a nice shelving unit in itself, and has integrated lighting for work at night.

In the middle, our rest component has an integrated TV, with a black backdrop just so the TV totally disappears.

Behind the TV, we've got space for wires to be connected to all the AV equipment stored below.

Above the TV, there's a whole heap of extra storage for just all those things that you need in an apartment.

Lastly, we've got the play, which is our wine rack, combined with a bit more extra storage for any other bottles, drinks, glasses, overflow from the kitchen.

Having a wine rack was part of the brief from the get-go.

We love doing it too, because it really adds a sense of luxury and reinforces the idea that living in a small apartment doesn't need to be a compromise.

The furniture was laid out in the living space to help separate that living area and the kitchen and dining.

Relocating the kitchen seemed counterintuitive, and not the obvious thing to do, because it meant we had to block a window.

But that really increased the sense of space in the apartment.

The kitchen has a concrete top, with a light grey joinery underneath.

Above the bench, everything was white, so that it just disappeared into the wall, and the kitchen became as unimposing as possible.

The overhead cupboards are curved at the end, so they softly transition into the wall, and finish short of the ceiling, so we could use that space to light the whole room.

We also added some lighting to the counter below.

Under the bench, we integrated all our appliances, which included the fridge, dishwasher, combination microwave, oven, as well as a bin.

The dining nook really becomes a continuation of the kitchen.

It's probably our favourite part of the apartment.

It's just so nice sitting and being hugged by that corner window.

The windows were in terrible condition, and we were luckily able to replace them with

Like for Like, which meant we could add double glazing that both helped acoustic and thermal insulation.

We custom built the seat and cushions, and included some storage underneath.

The block had a communal laundry, but the client from the outset was really keen to have their own washer dryer.

There was this kind of leftover cupboard space, which we repurposed as a laundry.

We replaced the hinged door to the bedroom with a sliding door.

The sliding door's got a mirror on the bedroom side of it.

Adjacent to the door, we've got our full-height storage, hidden from the view from the bed.

This full-height robe has built-in lighting and timber veneer internals.

The main bit of storage in the bedroom is actually low.

That really helps increase the sense of space and gets away from the idea of feeling like you're sleeping inside a cupboard.

And then it has all these added functionalities of somewhere to drop a bag or have books displayed.

When we first got the apartment, there was a double bed in the space, and it just didn't feel right.

The space felt too small to fit a double bed in comfortably.

So instead, we went the other way and just decided to go with the king bed in the room.

To make that work, we built in joinery wall-to-wall, integrated lighting into it, and had a shelf behind the pillows that could then become the bedside tables.

The whole bathroom is finished in a light grey concrete tile.

Our clients didn't come to us with many requests, but one of them was to have a double shower.

So when we ripped out the old bath, we replaced it with an oversized shower space that gave us room for two shower heads.

We then redid the vanity unit to make it as slim as possible, with still adding enough space for bench storage.

Behind the mirror, we've got LED strips, and above the shower, we've got a recessed lighting detail that really adds to this cool hotel vibe.

Integrated into that lighting detail above the shower was also the exhaust fan.

The toilet's hidden behind the shower, which is particularly important in case the bathroom door is left open and you don't see it when you walk in the front door.

A lot of people have this idea that it's okay to live in a small apartment in the city because you've got shops and cafes and public spaces, and that becomes your background, as if an apartment's just this place to sleep at night.

 I think apartments, well-designed, really should function as any other home, and should be the space that you just want to spend time and relax, and is your escape from the busyness of that city, without ever feeling like you're in a confined box.