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A 1950s Micro Apartment Is Renovated for Modern Times

George is among several identical studio apartments that once housed nurses in the 1950s in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. With just 28 square meters, the micro apartment needed a major renovation to make it work for today’s standards and that’s where J-IN’s Douglas Wan comes in. All internal walls were removed and with a new steel beam installed, the interior no longer required load-bearing walls to keep the ceiling up. That opened the design plan up to just about anything.

The new living space takes up a large portion of the square footage, blocked from front door by a corridor of wooden storage. The same light plywood continues into the living area with a floating multipurpose unit that goes from a large seating area for eight people to a bed that sleeps two in a matter of minutes. Built-in storage surrounds it and keeps things concealed when not in use.

Back on the other side of the storage wall is the all-black kitchen, which benefits from a pass through opening that allows light to pass through.

The bathroom is clad in floor-to-ceiling black tile with red grout for contrast.

Photos by Sherman Tan.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.