The family of four downsized to a two-bedroom apartment
When downsizing to a two-bedroom apartment in northwest Sydney, Fiona Ho was faced with crafting a single 3m by 2.8m room that combined comfort and style for her eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.
Using her background, with a bachelor of interior architecture and working for 10 years in corporate as an interior designer, she created the shared room with a $1,000 budget.
MORE: Hidden gems: Most affordable homes in each Sydney region
The family-of four decided on an apartment due to affordability
Ms Ho said the family who were in the Sutherland Shire area and moved north to be closer to work, but apartments were the only fitting price.
“The affordability of housing was just too expensive,” she said. “Because of a smaller space, we went for things that were more compact in size, but at the same time it would be something that has more functionality.
“In the past, we would have a coffee table that only works as a coffee table, whereas now I would be choosing a coffee table that has storage inside or there’s pullout little stools that the kids could sit at.”
Ms Ho’s daughter and son were sharing a room in the new apartment
Ms Ho said another tip was styling upward rather than taking up the floor space. This was something she had seen in interior design across higher density Asian countries.
“They use furniture and every little space to maximise the storage and usage of small spaces,” she said.
Ms Ho used a 50/30/20 rule, spending the majority of budget on the big, staple and high-quality furniture and less on smaller and adaptable inclusions.
Ms Ho used a 50/30/20 rule to design the bedroom
She kept a budget of $1,000
“I put half of my budget into good quality, high-functional furniture main pieces, the Ottoman, bedframe and the mattresses,” she said.
“I go for 30 per cent on other things that would be part of that whole design, such as a rug or bookshelf.
“The 20 per cent, I spend a lot of time going for second-hand, such as Facebook (marketplace), a second-hand store or things that I can replace easily when they go, ‘mum I don’t like that colour anymore’, I can easily change it.”
MORE: ‘Out there’: Laundrette home conversion to wow buyers
Small details can be updated as the children age
Ms Ho budgets less for the smaller details
With two windows in the room, Ms Ho said they could not use a normal bunk bed,
deciding on the ‘Kiki’ white timber bed with pullout trundle and storage drawers from Luxo Living.
“We were looking for a bed that has the functionality for two kids, without taking up too much floor space and not blocking the windows,” she said
The trundle bed from Luxo Living
“It is something we would use quite often back in the Asian countries where we had small, compacted bedrooms.
“You can have one kid on the top, a pull out trundle at the bottom.”
Ms Ho said you can pull out the trundle at night when the kids go to bed and in the morning push it back in to have floor space for them to play.
“What I also love about the bed is between the two beds there is also three storage drawers which is so amazing for them to put their toys, clothes or anything,” she said.
With downsizing and compact-living a reality for many families, Ms Ho shared some advice.
“Always have a list of things that you must-have and things that you want and work out your calculations,” she said.
“Stay with a neutral palette, because that’s how you keep things really timeless.
“You can change things over time, like a bed quilt cover you can always freshen it up, using different colours to make it suitable as they grow.”
English (US) · 