Croydon Park Unit

We were engaged by a young couple who had recently purchased their first home in Sydney’s Inner West. Located in Croydon Park, the two-bedroom apartment sits within a well-maintained 1960s red-brick apartment building and provided a solid foundation for a home that could evolve alongside the clients’ plans to start a family.

While the apartment offered generous natural light and character, it lacked sufficient storage and had not been significantly updated since its original construction. The clients also required the second bedroom to function as a home office in the short term, with the flexibility to convert back into a bedroom in the future. This presented an opportunity for a carefully considered design response that maximised storage, functionality, and adaptability within the existing footprint.

By relocating the bedroom door, we were able to introduce a full-width built-in wardrobe positioned adjacent to the room entry. An IKEA-hack solution was developed to align with the clients’ budget, utilising standard IKEA carcasses to optimise the available space. Custom doors were then designed and fabricated in collaboration with local joinery specialists, So Watt Joinery, allowing the new joinery to integrate seamlessly with the apartment’s interior.

The bathroom presented a number of challenges, including an inefficient layout, limited storage, and significant waterproofing issues. A complete reconfiguration was undertaken in close collaboration with the builder, involving the relocation of plumbing fixtures to improve functionality. A new false wall was introduced to conceal services and enable a full-length shower niche and a ceiling-height shaving cabinet. The result is a contemporary bathroom that meets current standards while delivering generous storage and improved usability.

Although the apartment building included a communal laundry, it did not adequately meet the clients’ day-to-day needs. As part of the kitchen upgrade, provisions were made for an integrated washer–dryer, plumbed refrigerator, dishwasher, increased benchtop workspace, and additional storage. This intervention significantly improved the functionality of the apartment while remaining within strata constraints.

Our services for this project included Concept Design, Strata Approval, Construction Documentation, and Contractor Negotiation.