CREATING A STYLISH home sometimes requires simply removing the blinkers and waking up to the potential within the four walls. British-born Pete Millward and his Japanese wife, Tomoko Okamura, saw beyond the original boxed-in rooms and dreary bathroom of their 1,000-sq-ft Happy Valley apartment when they noticed how much natural light the place captured, and its views towards Mount Butler.
And being friends helps with communication, but that doesn't necessarily make the design process easy. 'I think the important thing [when choosing a] designer, is that you've got to like their style and you've got to brief them properly,' says Millward. 'But then you leave the details up to them. You have to trust them and not get too involved.'
Situated at the end of a low-rise 1950s block with windows wrapping the corner of what was previously a bedroom, the owners saw the potential to convert this area into a semi-outdoor space. 'I had my heart set on a balcony and on making it spacious,' says Millward. 'And we wanted an en-suite bathroom and wardrobe space but had no idea how to go about it.'
The final layout was conceived by Johnny Kember and Millward on the back of an envelope in a bar. Now the bedroom sits on a mini-pavilion, screened off from the living-room by sliding glass doors. 'I might be playing music or chatting to friends when Tomoko's gone to bed, so she can close the doors and pull the blinds without being disturbed,' says Millward.
The bathroom was previously accessed only from the corridor. K plus K blocked off the old doorway and shifted the rear wall of the living-room forward. The new space became a closet and dressing area accessible from the bedroom and adjoining bathroom.