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Having lived in New York City, architects Kim Lai and Tom Orton are no strangers to apartment living.
Upon returning from the United States, the founders of architectural studio We Are Humble moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Fitzroy, developed by Neometro.
Even when Kim and Tom started thinking about upsizing and having a family a few years ago, the couple didn’t plan on leaving the inner city for a traditional suburban home — they just needed a bigger apartment.
It was around the same time they heard about a new Neometro development in Brunswick, which was conveniently located right near their studio.
‘Once we saw the fun, loft-style apartments they were offering, we were in,’ Kim says.
‘We bought off the plan, and during the process we found out that we were having a baby, so the extra space was definitely needed!’
Buying off-the-plan also gave the couple the unique opportunity to customise their home in a slightly unconventional way, combining two studio apartments with help from the project’s architects MA+Co and Neometro to create a single large-scale studio, spanning 110 square metres.
‘The big “move” that we made was positioning the bathroom and the kitchen in the middle of the space, which creates an entry and a bedroom without building walls around the whole bedroom,’ Kim adds.
Beyond this strategic planning decision and the separation of the bathroom, the home has no formally assigned rooms. But that works perfectly fine for the creative family, who have also brought most of the furniture with them from their previous apartment, except for all the new pieces they’ve introduced for their now four-year-old son, Tai Lo.
‘His bed is like a little tent, which means he can escape into it if he wants to because his space isn’t actually defined by walls. His red shelving acts as playful storage but also looks really fun and creates a little room divider, even when they’re empty,’ Kim adds.
‘I think largely we like the idea of flexibility; we love that all of the big items in our space are furniture, so we can move things around and reorganise the space, like a teenager rearranging your room and making it feel completely different.
‘For a long time, we were searching for a warehouse to convert, but this is like the perfect middle ground.’
It helps that the apartment has expansive windows, high ceilings, and robust finishes, giving the couple’s colourful ‘stuff’ some breathing room. Outside, open-air courtyards act as the ‘lungs’ for the distinctly red-toned complex.
Plus, Kim and Tom have an astoundingly short commute to work, having moved the We Are Humble office to the ground floor of the same apartment building. They’ve even opened a casual cafe from their studio space too, dubbed Drip, offering exclusively hot and cold filter coffee on tap.
‘Owning your own business in a creative field, you’re always borrowing from your personal to your business life — everything is so intertwined,’ Kim says.
Their studio and cafe have become like an extension of their home too, like the ‘living room where you invite other people into’. It’s certainly a unique arrangement, but one that’s unlocked a wonderful sense of community for the family and their neighbours, who are known to come together for an excellent street party.
