Loui Burke, content creator and creative director of Goldie + Ace, grew up on a 30-acre property in the Hunter Valley, NSW. But since moving out of home, he’s exclusively lived in city apartments.
‘My thought process is/was, if you’re going to make the effort to move [to the city], you might as well live in the city.’ He explains. ‘I like the energy of a city, and then head back home for a break when I need it.’
In fact, Melbourne’s vibrant city-scene is what made Loui fall in love with Victoria in the first place. ‘I’d walk down Flinders Lane and Little Bourke Street and admire the city apartments, and imagine living there myself,’ he says.
He spent four years living in Richmond and then another three in Hawthorn – diligently searching for ‘the perfect heritage-style apartment’ everytime his lease was due for renewal – before scoring an apartment right in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD; on Little Bourke street.
The late 1800s/early 1900s building was once the head office for the Melbourne City Power Station, and was converted into eight separate apartments in the early 2000s.
Loui’s 110sqm place features covetable high ceilings and large windows – a score for small space apartment living. ‘I love how calm the space feels,’ he says. ‘The industrial old-world shell with all the rough edges and large beams just brings so much interest and added texture to the space that compliments my style.’
The style in question is organic and calm, with a muted and layered colour palette of browns, creams with touches of amber and green. ‘What lacks in colour, I like to think I make up for in texture,’ Loui says.
The tranquil, retreat-like space strikes a stark contrast to the noisy bustle of the CBD, where there’s always something going on. Loui explains; ‘I love the contrast of that clean urban cityscape with a more rustic, honest interior look and feel.’ A little slice of Loui’s rural roots, in the heart of the city.
