Photography by Tess Kelly
Tsai Design have transformed a small one bedroom apartment in Melbourne, Australia, into a livable and functioning space.
Upon entering the small apartment, there’s a custom designed wall unit that features a flexible pegboard wall, creating a place to hang jackets, keep umbrellas and store shoes. The other half of the pegboard wall has fixed dowels for wine bottle storage.
Photography by Tess Kelly
The entryway opens up to the living room, where there’s a window seat surrounded by shelving and cabinetry. Subtle silvery blue woven vinyl flooring gives the apartment a contemporary reference to the traditional tatami straw flooring and brings a softness to the space.
Photography by Tess Kelly
When not in use, the TV is concealed behind cabinet doors.
Photography by Tess Kelly
The living room also doubles as a home office / study, with the desk, computers, and lighting, hidden behind cabinet doors when not in use.
Photography by Tess Kelly
A sliding door, with a whiteboard on one side, can be closed to hide the bedroom from view. The door has been constructed from a translucent polycarbonate panel, to allow light from the bedroom to pass through.
Photography by Tess Kelly
A narrow cavity between the kitchen shelves and the wall hides the dining table. It slides out via a sliding door mechanism, and the table then folds down, creating a light floating effect to the table top. The dining chairs are also fold away, minimizing space waste from furniture.
Photography by Tess Kelly
The kitchen, surrounded by wood, is 13 feet long, with the fridge and a washing machine hidden within the kitchen cupboards. Black has been used to contrast the wood, from the matte black countertop, to black sink and taps, and kitchen utensils.
Opposite the main cabinetry of the kitchen is a wall with further cabinets and open shelves. The cabinets provide much needed storage and a place to keep electrical appliances such as the toaster, coffee machine and rice cooker permanently sit.
Above the lower cabinets are open shelves with hidden lighting, that are used for storing glassware, and on the very top shelf, a space dedicated to a whiskey bottle collection.
Photography by Tess Kelly
At the end of the kitchen and to maximize the benefit of a north facing window in the bathroom, the wall between the bathroom and kitchen was demolished and an internal window was installed. A switchable film has been applied to the internal window, allowing the glass to become frosted to provide privacy to the bathroom at the press of a button.
Photography by Tess Kelly
The wood that’s featured in the kitchen, also forms the backdrop in the minimalist bedroom. The timber wall cladding becomes the headboard, with a small cut-out revealing a small wall panel that folds down to form the bedside table. At the end of the wall panel is a concealed door that leads to the bathroom, with only the leather door pull to indicate something more beyond.
Photography by Tess Kelly
The timber look is even continued to the bathroom, with timber texture porcelain tiles covering the floor and walls. A green wall, that can be seen from the kitchen, creates an outdoor environment. A fold-out clothes drying line is hidden away from view within the wooden wall.
Photography by Tess Kelly
A glass shower wall separates the shower from the rest of the bathroom, while the frosted window between the bathroom and the kitchen can also be seen.
Photography by Tess Kelly
Here’s the floor plan that shows the various hidden elements within the apartment.
