Aptly named to reflect the vision behind the 35sqm/375sqft home, Slow Down Apartment was designed to be “a really calm space in which the clients wanted to spend time in, not a crash pad in between cafes and restaurants.” To create a soothing environment, Swartz avoided the need for too much loose furniture or complicated fold-away pieces. Instead, he added a wall of custom joinery to cater to the three essential elements of the couple’s life — work, rest, and play.
Split into three and featuring a home office niche, integrated TV and a 68-bottle wine rack, each individual section can be revealed or hidden as needed by a sleek sliding panel. Part of the client’s brief from the beginning, the wine rack adds a touch of luxury to the space, while “reinforcing the idea that living in a small apartment doesn’t need to be a compromise,” as Swartz says.
To create a restful ambience, the apartment has a soothing white and light oak palette with splashes of grey, echoed throughout the different rooms for continuity. Verdant greenery is visible throughout the large living room windows, providing a welcome pop of colour and connection to nature.
The decision to relocate the kitchen meant that one of the windows would be closed up, yet the new placement allowed the compact living area to feel more open and spacious. White kitchen cabinetry, so cohesive it almost vanishes into the walls, ends with built-in bench seating with integrated storage neatly tucked into a corner.
Swartz's careful considerations are most obvious in the bedroom, which was formerly a cramped space with barely any room to walk around. Rather than attempt to free up space, he designed a bed niche structured to fit around a king-size mattress to create a cosy bed nook, complete with a built-in headboard featuring lighting, power points and compact shelf space. A low dresser was also inserted opposite to add storage space without diminishing the room’s visual and actual footprint.
To accommodate another of the clients’ requests, Swartz replaced the old bathtub in the polished grey concrete bathroom with a double shower; conveniently placed to hide the toilet from view as well.
“An apartment should function as any other home […] and should feel like an escape from the busyness of the city, without ever feeling like you’re in a confined box.”
Brad Swartz
His clever design choices and meticulous attention to detail have created a space that perfectly encapsulates that concept, not only meeting the owners’ expectations but surpassing them.
Take a look at some of Swartz's other small-home designs, including fan-favourite Boneca, the creative Loft Houses built on the site of two rear-lane residential parking spaces, and the home he previously lived in - Darlinghurst Apartment.
Images by NeverTooSmall & Cathy Schusler
