After 10 years living in New York City, the owners of this petite apartment had grown nostalgic for life in Australia.

There was no location more appropriate for their Sydney homecoming than Bondi — a suburb famous for encapsulating the quintessential and internationally-recognised Aussie existence.

‘They imagined their daughters growing up and enjoying the iconic Australian beach lifestyle in Bondi,’ says Milly Meares, director of Together Design Studio.

The couple bought a classic interwar apartment with a bedroom positioned at either end of its 55-square-metre footprint. The home’s desirable north-westerly aspect was wasted on the noisy street-facing bedroom, leaving little natural light for the closed off living room and kitchen.

‘A disconnect between the kitchen, dining, and living made all three spaces feel small and was not conducive to modern living,’ explains Milly.

Together Design Studio reconfigured the floor plan to address these shortcomings, leaving only the rear bedroom and entrance foyer footprints unchanged.

Individual rooms positioned one after the other were transformed into more free-flowing zones through the removal of a wall between the original living area and front bedroom.

The latter was relocated to the ‘private’ realm at the rear of the apartment, making way for the kitchen and living area in the ‘public’ realm.

The impact is twofold, creating a quiet retreat for the bedrooms away from the busy street, while injecting light into the communal spaces.

A darker interior scheme delineates the relatively untouched art deco rooms from the lighter and contemporary spaces, with a plywood arch marking the transition.

Milly says direction for this materiality and colour was influenced by the context of the apartment’s natural surroundings: the rock formations of the cliffs, the grittiness of the sand, and the soft reflections of light on the water.

Whitewashed timber floors, plywood cabinetry, soft clay porcelain mosaic tiles, sheer linen curtains, brushed nickel tapware, stainless steel benchtops, and Taj Mahal quartzite further characterise these coastal references.

In the kitchen, new joinery provides much needed storage space and pays homage to the curves of the original cabinetry.

The completed project is a testament to how relatively simple interventions can transform the everyday experience.

Milly says, ‘The quality of light now gives the apartment such an incredible sense of space that it was lacking before. The clear delineation of living and bedroom zones makes the apartment feel more liveable and generous.’

It’s now a home reflective of the clients, Together Design Studio’s ethos, and its famous location. Milly says, ‘It feels effortless, much like life in the iconic beachside suburb.’

This story originally appeared in Issue 01 of The Design Files magazine.