Tiny Melbourne apartment with built-in furniture by Tsai Design

By Penny Craswell

It’s not easy to fit a home into a mere 50 square metres, but tsai design has achieved it, thanks to their use of pretty much every trick in the book, including some incredibly clever built-in furniture. The existing apartment, located in the incredibly stylish Grand Hotel building in Melbourne, was not only tiny but also dark and uninspiring, with a windowless kitchen tucked at the back of the space.

With this renovation, the client instructed tsai design to create a space for her (and her cat) that was not only brighter, but also clever, using space-saving transforming furniture. A half-height partition wall was torn down to create an open living space and the kitchen built here thanks to an l-shaped kitchen bench constructed in one corner whose hidden appliances almost make the kitchen recede from sight.

The fridge and pantry are concealed in cupboards on the other side of the room, while over 8 metres of benchtop continues from the kitchen around a corner into the bathroom behind a hidden door. The dining table on the opposite side of the room was custom designed for the space – the Drop Leaf Table ordinarily seats two, but can be unfolded to seat six and is also available separately from the designers.

What was the kitchen is now a timber-clad bedroom and walk-in wardrobe. A full-height mirror evoking Hollywood dressing rooms folds down to reveal a queen-sized bed, while the wardrobe can be accessed while the bed is up or down.

“This timber clad room is crowned with an elegant timber vault embracing the existing arch of the doorway to create a cosy, warm timber nook at once part of the now bright and welcoming open plan living, yet intimate and enclosed,” says the design statement. “This variety of spatial experience in such a small environment demonstrates living generously in a small footprint.”

More on tsai design

Published with BowerBird