A guide to maximising your apartment space

75% of North Sydney LGA residents live in flats or apartments, an astonishing 54% higher than the NSW state average. Another 12% or 4,121 of residents live in townhouses or semi detached dwellings.

The vast majority of Northsiders thus live in high density places, trying to make the most out of smaller spaces. Not only this, more people are opting to work from home with census data from 2021 revealing 60% of North Sydney LGA residents were working from home at least some of the time. Despite the fact this number may have skewed high due to COVID restrictions at the time, there is no doubt that more people than pre pandemic levels are ditching the office.

Enter Camilla Ingall. Originally from the Central Coast, she has made a home in Kurraba Point after moving down a decade ago.

She has extensive experience in the interior design industry including everything from furniture to flooring, rugs, lighting and staging homes for sale.

Three years ago Camilla founded her own design firm called Unfolded, specialising in interior styling practice, for residential, commercial and hospitality projects. Knird Bar in Crows Nest had Unfolded design its interior.

Who better to talk to about maximising high density apartment living than a local North Shore interior designer? So, we sat down with Camilla to find out all the hacks to making the most out of smaller spaces.

Maximising your living space

Apartment living rooms in apartments often have multiple purposes from dining to study, entertaining, storage and more. Camilla has some simple tips to make the most out of the living room from maximising space to design aesthetics. Her first golden rule is to always take time to work out the proportions and furniture dimensions. “If you’ve got the communal living space where you have to navigate a dining area, a living area and a study it’s best to work out the proportion of the space equally. So don’t overdo it with a large modular sofa that’s going to take up three quarters of the space but not have a dining table.”

Another key design aspect to consider is colour as this can impact perceptions of space.

“Work on focussed pallets and stick to it. A lot of colour can tend to overwhelm a space. Instead, confidently work with a few colours.”

Mirrors can also increase the feeling of space and are also great for improving the amount of light in the room. Bringing the outdoors in through plants is another quick trick to bringing the space to life however Camilla cautions to make sure you have a chat with your supplier to make sure you get the right plants for your space, taking into consideration factors such as light, temperature and water needs.

Working from home

Only three months after Camilla established Unfolded, Covid reached the shores of Australia.

People who had never had to set up a home office before were forced to make it work regardless of space. With many still opting to work from home for a variety of reasons, it looks like this trend may be here to stay.

Camilla told us one of the biggest mistakes people make working from home is having your desk or work space in your bedroom.

“From a mental health perspective, if you cram your desk into your room you’ve got a dual function space and if you are going to sleep at night worrying about what you are going to do at that desk tomorrow morning. You’re not clocking off or separating your sleep and work routines.”

She recommends moving the desk into the living space. Even if you don’t have separated spaces or rooms it is possible to section of the are without putting up walls such as incorporating rugs.

“Rugs can help to define an area. For example having a round rug under your desk can help to visually separate that area from the space.”

Brightening the bathrooms

Bathroom standards and styles have changed vastly in just a few decades. Out are mint tiles, green walls and brown baths, replaced by monochrome, clean looks.

If your bathroom is stuck in the 70s Camilla recommends moving towards a lighter colour pallet. Not only for a modern look but also darker colours in bathrooms makes the area feel smaller. “In a small bathroom you want to think of neutral colours. Keep it light,” Camilla recommends.

A simple, shorter term fix to transform the pallet is to spray tile paint. Even if you don’t own your place Camilla says “due to the relatively low cost and labour requirements for this job landlords may be more open to allowing the improvement.” Tile spray paint on average costs between $20$30 per can.

While mixing up the colour pallet can make your bathroom feel bigger, there are also easy solutions to freeing up the physical space. Picking up a storage mirror is a simple way to free up space while also adding the utility of a mirror which can improve lighting in the room. Another quick lighting fix from Camilla is investing in LED lighting strips, best attached along a mirror but can also be effective in brightening up any section of the room with little installation required.

Brilliant Balconies

For people who live in apartments, typically the balcony is the only outside area. Crucial for fresh air, sunlight and sometimes a stunning view maximising the utility and aesthetics of your balcony is very important in places with limited space.

Camilla recommends “herb and green walls as they will help make the apartment feel more like yours, providing a garden feel, even in a tighter space.”

Long linear pots are particularly good as they slot into smaller spaces without sacrificing too much ground area. As for enjoying time on the balcony, Camilla says two chairs and a side table is especially preferable, similar to sidewalk seating at cafes.

“But if you really want to maximise the space, use a bench with cushions.”

A long slim bench can provide storage space underneath and even double as a side table.

Balconies can also be used as a primary dining area for those who can’t fit a table inside or maybe want to utilise their living room as a home office. One of Camilla’s hacks is to pick up a bar stool and table arrangement, instead of your conventional dining table set up, to utilise outdoor dining without cramming the space.

Let it flow!

Airflow in apartments can at times be difficult to manage leaving stale air and the potential for bad smells to linger. An easy way to improve you may not have thought of is using light fittings to install fans. Any electrical outlet in your ceiling can have a fan.

Camilla says most landlords will approve it, especially if you pay for it yourself. Luckily it’ll only set you back around $200.

Privacy screens can also help as they allow you to open up the windows that you might have not for privacy reasons.