{"id":793212,"date":"2026-07-11T09:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T09:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/793212\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T09:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T09:13:11","slug":"repaint-curate-trinkets-and-go-curtain-crazy-how-to-give-personality-to-a-boxy-bland-apartment-australian-lifestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/793212\/","title":{"rendered":"Repaint, curate trinkets and go \u2018curtain crazy\u2019: how to give personality to a boxy, bland apartment | Australian lifestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ll recognise the hallmarks. Banners with renders of utopian urban dwellings \u2013 a marriage of contemporary lines, streamlined surfaces, open-plan living spaces and floor-to-ceiling glass, alongside manicured green spaces and lifestyle imagery of young professionals and families. Not necessarily the vision of a quarter-acre block with a white picket fence but in urban centres the Australian dream of home ownership is being recast<\/a> in the form of white-cube, new-build apartments.<\/p>\n

In the US, \u201c5-over-1\u201d buildings<\/a> are fast becoming ubiquitous, while in Europe, where apartments have always been smaller, there\u2019s a rise in shared-space models with communal kitchens and amenities. Shanaka Herath, a senior lecturer at the school of built environment at the University of Technology Sydney, says: \u201cWe know that land costs have been rising, construction costs have been rising, so what the builders do is that they build smaller and more affordable units.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bedroom in Jono Fleming\u2019s Sydney apartment. Photograph: Jacqui Turk<\/p>\n

In Australia, he says, \u201cThe combination of high demand and construction costs with limited supply encourages compact apartments in the cities as a model.\u201d<\/p>\n

But how does one make the space between these generic walls feel personal as well as practical? An off-the-plan apartment owner and artist, Ben Mazey, says even when the foundations are basic, like a supermarket sponge cake, \u201cYou can do the icing yourself, and you can make it yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finesse the finishes<\/p>\n

Having a bath was on Mazey\u2019s wishlist when he bought a two-bedroom apartment in Melbourne<\/a>. With the help of an interior designer friend, he made changes early on. In the kitchen, he had custom stainless-steel cabinetry and handles installed to replace the original timber-veneer fronts, and added a stone island bench and stone tiles underfoot, instead of timber flooring. In the bathroom, he bypassed the half walls of taupe tile and chose floor-to-ceiling white \u201cnorm-core\u201d square tiles, and had his desired bath accommodated into the layout.<\/p>\n

Yenn with Wonton in her studio apartment. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

To create his \u201cCarrie Bradshaw moment\u201d he repainted his walk-in-wardrobe a vibrant shade of pistachio, separating it from the main bedroom. \u201cPaint\u2019s straightforward, not that expensive and can absolutely transform a space,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Cat Yenn, a designer and artist, has been in her studio apartment in Sydney<\/a> for two years, sharing the space with her partner and her rescue chihuahua, Wonton. Visual division is crucial to avoiding chaos and clutter.<\/p>\n

Curtains add \u2018softness and warmth\u2019 to Yenn\u2019s home. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cI took inspiration from small Italian apartments and went curtain crazy,\u201d she says. \u201cI found gingham fabric and ended up making curtains to cover my fridge nook and exposed shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n

This introduced \u201chandmade touches throughout the house\u201d, adding \u201csoftness and warmth\u201d.<\/p>\n

When the designer and stylist Jono Fleming moved into his new-build two-bedroom Sydney apartment nearly a decade ago, it came with quality architectural elements including generous architraves, satin cornices, brick feature walls and steel doors.\u201cThe details were just really beautiful,\u201d Fleming says, \u201cand really uncommon in an off-the-plan apartment\u201d.<\/p>\n

The brick wall in Fleming\u2019s living area has become an ever-changing gallery of artworks, books and magazines. Photograph: Jacqui Turk<\/p>\n

These features have informed some of his most striking decorating choices. The brick wall in the living area has become a stage for an ever-changing art wall, with trailing ivy and an open shelf for treasured magazines and books.<\/p>\n

While adding a brick or tiled feature wall may be unrealistic for many apartment dwellers, using paint or wallpaper can create an interesting backdrop. Similarly, installing new doors can be costly but changing handles, architraves or cornices is more budget-friendly. Even these subtle tweaks can make an outsized change to your overall perception of a space.<\/p>\n

Pick flexible furniture<\/p>\n

Fleming\u2019s favourite furniture trick in an open-plan living area is to place two of the same sideboards together, because it\u2019s cheaper than bespoke joinery, \u201cand looks really good\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive yourself styling and storage space. It makes your room feel more grounded, intentional and elongated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sideboards provide storage and space to display favourite objects and sentimental pieces. Photograph: Jacqui Turk<\/p>\n

Open shelves grouped together across a wall create opportunities to display potted plants, favourite books, souvenirs, artworks and objects. In small spaces, furniture needs to be multi-functional \u2013 stools and ottomans are great for when guests visit, while extendable drop-leaf dining tables work well for entertainers.<\/p>\n

As to finding furniture, Mazey suggests you \u201cget on Facebook Marketplace\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m forever on there and there\u2019s beautiful oak furniture for $150. I have some lovely things in my place but I feel like everything in my house either costs less than 50 bucks or more than two grand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jono Fleming and his husband Ryan McGregor. Photograph: Jacqui TurkTell a story with decoration<\/p>\n

Personal displays are the best way to bring character into an otherwise sterile space. Fleming\u2019s home, which he shares with his husband, the interior architect Ryan McGregor, has knick-knacks on their sideboards and side tables: ceramics and sculptures grouped by tone, candles in glassware for colour, a table lamp for height.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything has a story from somewhere we\u2019ve travelled, or it\u2019s from an artist that we like or from a favourite shop,\u201d McGregor says. \u201cAsk yourself what is the story of your home? What do you love and what is it that you keep going back to? I think art and objects are staples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yenn says art displays \u201cworks best when you \u2026 connect them visually with harmonious colours\u201d. A self-confessed \u201ccollector \u2013 not hoarder! \u2013 of chairs and trinkets\u201d, she lives in a petite home out of financial necessity, and says its scale forces her to be strict about what she buys and what she keeps.<\/p>\n

Her apartment also serves as her art studio. \u201cIt\u2019s my favourite thing to get out of bed and see paintings in progress,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The living area of Fleming and McGregor\u2019s apartment. Photograph: Jacqui Turk<\/p>\n

For Mazey, \u201cobjects that you genuinely respond to\u201d aren\u2019t an exercise in excess.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has absolutely nothing to do with your budget because you can do it on the smell of an oily rag.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You\u2019ll recognise the hallmarks. Banners with renders of utopian urban dwellings \u2013 a marriage of contemporary lines, streamlined…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-793212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}