Share Your Space: A $550 two-bedroom Sydney apartment with a 'sunset hallway'.

Age: 30 

Job: Senior Podcast Producer

Rent: $550 for two bedrooms. 

Location: Woollahra, NSW (home to the most beautiful trees in Sydney and one of the best pubs The Lord Dudley).

Lifestyle:

I got lucky. Really lucky. 

Three years ago, one of my best friends bought an apartment in the leafy suburb of Woollahra and guess who she chose to be her roommate? Me! 

Living with your landlord (and a first-time landlord too) has had its challenges. In the last three months of 2019 I lived with no blinds over my windows which take up half the wall next to my bed. My roommate is one of those crazy people who enjoys waking up to natural light so unfortunately didn’t understand the importance of proper blockout blinds. The promise of new blinds kept getting delayed. I lost more and more sleep. And tension in our apartment rose. It exploded one morning. After being woken up by the harsh summer light at 5am, I sent a firm message to my roommate and later that day we made an emergency trip to IKEA to buy some temporary blinds.

Aside from that though (I swear I’m over it), the positives have far out-weighed the negatives.

For an absolute steal, I get to enjoy the benefits of a suburb that is quiet and homely but within walking distance to great shopping, pubs and more vibrant parts of Sydney. All while living with one of my best friends.

So, take us inside:

Living/dining room:

Unlike the other apartments in the building, ours hasn’t been renovated since it was built in the 60s.

Luckily my roommate’s mother, who is rather quirky and slightly crazy, gifted us some of her old furniture and glassware. It’s a bunch of eclectic pieces that fit in well with the original, retro style of the apartment.

The television cabinet doubles as a liquor cabinet. It was acquired while she was living as an expat in China. It makes us look far more sophisticated than we are.

Image: Supplied. 

We also scored this beautiful desk and chair (pictured above). It’s a saviour for days we work from home. Just having a bit of separation from the kitchen, which is still only a few metres away, makes a difference. 

These “wine glasses” are so fun. 

Image: Supplied. 

They don’t hold a lot of wine but that’s not the point. Where else have you seen anything like them? The only downside is that they are very fragile. We’ve already broken two. But my roommate’s mother is a thinker. She only gave us half the collection. We get the other half when we break a few more and the set needs replenishing.

The couch is one of the only new pieces in the living room. Don’t let the harsh exterior fool you. Yes it is a lime green colour and as couches go, pretty firm. But beneath all that it’s hiding an excellent sofa bed. Past guests have reviewed it to be even better than their own beds.

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I love a good coffee table book. And it’s important to have a good mix. You never know what will appeal to your guests! I actually bought Paris Hilton’s autobiography when I was in year eight and obsessed with American pop culture, mostly Paris Hilton. I stopped short of buying a velour juicy tracksuit and a Von Dutch trucker cap. Who would’ve thought years later I could convert Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose into a coffee table book. It’s been a hit! The Hamish and Andy Power Moves coffee table book comes a close second.

Image: Supplied. 

The sunset hallway:

One of the apartment’s best features. 

An artwork painted by yours truly with a red light lighting it from above to invoke the feeling of a sunset. 

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It’s fitting as after sunset comes nightfall... and next to the sunset hallway are our sleeping quarters.

Bedroom: 

I’ve already mentioned my roommate’s quirky mother. She hooked us up with an interior designer, Amanda, who is even more eccentric. Around 80 years old, Amanda has peroxide blonde hair, is always wearing bright red lipstick and loves giving us relationship advice and telling us stories about what Double Bay was like back in the day. 

When we were single, Amanda gifted us a large canvas artwork of a naked woman, to attract some “mojo” into the apartment. We hung it above my bed. It added some much-needed colour to my plain, white bedroom. It was the main (and only) feature... until a few months ago when Amanda took it back without any notice!

To compensate for the lack of colour and my room suddenly looking like a university dorm room, I bought sage-coloured bed sheets (bamboo...it’s the best) and these velvety, green pillows from Fantastic Furniture. It’s made a big difference and has brightened up the room while I decide on new artwork for the wall.

Image: Supplied.

You may have noticed my room is small. Until recently I was using a wooden stool as a bedside table. It made the whole space look cluttered and gave my roommate anxiety. Now all my books and random knick knacks are hidden in my beautiful, new bedside table from Fantastic Furniture. Just looking at it makes me happy.

Image: Supplied. 

Kitchen:

The kitchen is tiny and has limited bench space so we decided against a microwave. It’s really not so bad. What is, is that we don’t have a dishwasher. So I’m forever washing up and our drying rack has to be emptied multiple times a day.

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Our pride and joy is our knife block; there’s always room for a good set of knives.

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Outdoors: 

The balcony doesn’t have the best view. 

But it does have two bright orange chairs which make me want an Aperol Spritz anytime I look at them. We also made friends with our upstairs neighbours via their balcony during COVID. Good times with Aperol and friends.

Image: Supplied. 

Bathroom:

This is where you see the retro style of the apartment really come to life. We’ve kept the original blue tiles but upgrades made to the shower and cabinet were a godsend. 

The mirrored vanity allows us to store a lot more than the original fitout - a very old school sink and mirror. They also look sleeker.

Image: Supplied. 

The subtlety of this sign is great and makes any male visitor feel immediately self conscious about doing a number two. Magic.

Final thoughts:

After having a retro interior style forced upon us, I’ve grown to appreciate unique pieces of furniture and art, something I’ll take on when I (hopefully) own my own place.

Apartment living has many benefits. We’re friends with many people in the building and are close to the hustle and bustle of the city. But the space is small. We realised this more so during COVID. Ideally I’d love a slightly bigger place. They say you can’t have it all but one day when I’m a big-time producer (or CEO), I’m sure I’ll own the penthouse and have the best of both worlds.