A clever renovation saw this studio turned into a tiny triumph with a distinctly feminine feel.
Like a magician who pulls a rabbit, a dove and an impossibly long string of silk scarves out of a hat, interior designer Karin Montgomery Spath has squeezed an incredible amount into this studio unit. In just 30m2, plus 7m2 of balcony, she’s aced owner Mary Fitzpatrick’s wish list.
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When Mary bought her end studio on Auckland’s Newmarket/Remuera border, it was in need of some TLC, but it was also affordable and in a lovely street, and had good light. “The block was built in the ’60s and was all concrete – it looked brutalist,” says Karin.
Whereas many would have stuck with the open-plan layout, key to the transformation was dividing the home into dedicated spaces. Karin commissioned a deep shelving unit to separate the living and sleeping areas, providing privacy, storage on both sides and cubicles for displaying décor items – including the TV, which swivels 180 degrees so it can be watched from the living area and the bedroom. “We developed a pull-down blind for it, so the wiring on the back isn’t seen,” says Karin.
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Mary eats out a lot and the dining table can be used for food preparation, so the kitchen bench is just 1.4m long; similarly, says Karin, the bar fridge is “plenty for one”. The custom-made cabinetry overhead reaches to the ceiling.
Specially designed furniture is also crucial to this spatial success story. The sofa (which doubles as a bed for visitors) is on timber legs, creating more of a sense of space than furniture to the floor. On the other side of the divide, the king single bed is also on legs. Beside that is a wall-hung desk, which Mary paired with a piano stool she inherited from her father and finished with a fluffy cushion.
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The home’s concrete-block walls were plastered and painted in Resene Half Black White, and the renovated bathroom has the same all-white palette. Moments of colour appear in the gilded kitchen, a ruby oriental rug, the millennial-pink sofa and the green front door, which echoes the plants in the vertical garden on the balcony.
This precisely measured – and rather magical – makeover has turned the studio from brutalist bunker to sweet retreat. “Mary loves it,” says Karin. “It’s her anchor – a place to call her own.”
Words Claire McCall
Photography Matthew Williams