Transforming a tired apartment into an inviting contemporary home!

Welcome behind the scenes of this epic renovation, transforming a tired apartment into an elevated tranquil retreat.

Before kicking off this project, our client’s apartment in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Camperdown, was untouched since it was built in the early 2000’s. As a result it was tired, dated and needed much love.

The client’s brief was to make her apartment feel more like ‘her’ and an inviting home. She wanted it to feel comfortable, light and fresh, and be a place where she could proudly entertain friends and family.

Our main areas of focus for this renovation were….

  • Space planning to optimise the small footprint of her apartment. This included redesigning the bathroom and open-plan kitchen and living room.
  • Refresh and modernise the dated bathroom, laundry and kitchen.
  • Design and create zones within the open-plan living area for entertaining, dining, relaxation and also to add a WFH space!
  • Create that special feeling that our client desired – for her home to feel comfortable, inviting and highly liveable, with a fresh contemporary vibe!
Artwork in kitchen design

We’re happy to say that we successfully achieved our design goals and our client now loves the way her home functions and feels. Yay!

Check out the before and after photos below, of transforming a tired apartment. Plus, read the 5 most impactful design choices we made for each space!

Kitchen

When planning the space, we knew the most important addition was going to be an island bench, for 3 reasons….

  1. To ‘zone off’ the kitchen, separating it from the living area. An island bench helps sperate the cooking and food prep area from the comfy, inviting living space in a social and friendly way.
  2. Create a dining and entertaining zone, somewhere our client can either enjoy her weeknight dinner or as a spot for nibbles and a glass of wine when entertaining friends and family!
  3. Plus we literally doubled the kitchen storage by including soft close drawers underneath the island bench!

The kitchen went from drab to fab with all the other design elements as well – crisp white cabinetry that went all the way to the ceiling to give lovely clean lines, a beautiful, engineered stone benchtop and splashback, contemporary pendant, timber shelving above the fridge and the gorgeous stools too.

We created a beautiful, timeless and functional kitchen!

Before, Progress
Renovation Camperdown Project
After
Kitchen renovation, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design
Renovation Camperdown Project
After
Kitchen renovation, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design
Renovation Camperdown Project
After
Kitchen renovation, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design

Bathroom and Laundry

One of the most outdated spaces in our client’s apartment was the bathroom. With dark corners and lack of storage, we were excited to revamp the layout of the bathroom. Our goal for the bathroom was to bring relaxed luxe vibes and to make it feel cohesive with the rest of the home’s design. So, a fresh white colour palette with timber elements to warm up the space and brushed chrome fittings were the perfect combination to achieve this.

The most impactful choices for this space was….

  1. Changing the layout by removing the bath, that was barely being used by our client, and instead installing a custom double vanity that provided loads of storage and counter space. (Not to mention the additional storage in the wall-to-wall shaving cabinets.)
  2. We created a larger shower space, to bring those luxe bathroom vibes!
  3. Added more luxury elements such as the heated towel rail, fresh stone-look floor tiles and built in timber shelving.
  4. Replaced the laundry cabinet doors with white cabinetry which lightened and brightened the space!

The bathroom is now a tranquil, luxe oasis!

Before, Progress
Before bathroom renovation, McMillan Design
After
Bathroom renovation, Camperdown Project
Before bathroom renovation, McMillan Design
After
Bathroom renovation, built in timber shelves, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design
Progress bathroom renovation, McMillan Design

Living Room

The living room was the first area you saw when walking into our client’s home, so it needed to tick all the design boxes in this brief – be inviting, warm and cosy, lightened and brightened and zoned for multipurpose use.

We renovated this space top to toe with gorgeous new timber flooring, fresh paint, new furniture and furnishings.

This layered and luxe look ticked all our clients’ boxes, making the space feel elegant, contemporary, and inviting.

Before, Progress
Before living room renovation, Interior Design, McMillan Design
After
Living room renovation, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design
Before living room renovation, Interior Design, McMillan Design
After
Living room renovation, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design
Before living room renovation, Interior Design, McMillan Design
After
Living room renovation, McMillan Design

Study Nook

To deliver a study nook for our client, we used the inverted wall that already existed and housed the TV (you can spot it in the ‘before’ photo). In contrast to the fresh white walls, we brought warmth with timber for the desk, drawer and shelving. We added a discrete storage cupboard that’s adjacent to the desk, the ideal spot for the printer and office supplies to be tucked away. This allows the desk to be easily kept tidy and is especially fabulous for additional storage.

The study nook is a functional and stylish addition to the home and it perfectly met the needs of our client!

Before, Progress
Before study nook renovation, McMillan Design
After
Renovated study nook with timber shelves, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design
After
Renovated study nook with timber shelves, transforming a tired apartment, McMillan Design

Loggia (indoor outdoor balcony)

A loggia is such a fabulous addition for an inner-city apartment like this where space is limited. It can be used all year round because with its indoor-outdoor format - you feel connected to the outdoors with full visibility to the gardens etc, but you’re also protected from the elements with the adjustable shutters.

But this space was not being fully utilized by our client, so we updated the tired floor tiles with beautiful large-format tiles and created purpose for this space by adding a dining table and gorgeous planters to bring the outdoors in. It now serves as an additional dining space that can be used all year round – for entertaining or as a spot to enjoy a good book and a cup of tea (or wine) while admiring the view!

Before, Progress
Before balcony renovation, McMillan Design
After
Renovated balcony with timber dining table, McMillan Design
After
Renovated balcony with timber dining table, McMillan Design

I hope you enjoyed going behind the scenes of this renovation makeover! Plus seeing the 5 significant design choices we made to transform the home!

We are delighted with how elevated the home feels as a result of the renovation, and so is our lovely client! From the space planning, design decisions, selecting the colour palette and fittings, careful curation and styling of furniture and décor, we were able to create a home that delivers on the client brief – a home that feels more like ‘her’ and is inviting, comfortable, light and fresh, and where she can now proudly entertain her friends and family.

If you’d like more renovation tips – check out our previous renovation blog post here….. and if you want to see behind the scenes of another renovation project, click here.

Or if you’re looking for some support with your home renovation or decoration project, then please get in touch with us!  You can click here to book a complimentary 20min Discovery Call, we’d love to chat about your project.

 

Anna x