This brick apartment in Carlton hadn’t been touched since it was first built in the 1970s.

There was carpet covering an old vinyl floor, a small, enclosed kitchen, patterned wallpapers in the cupboards and windows as thin as paper. That is, until Jim Ross got his hands on the 40-square-metre place last year.

Drawn to its character and abundant natural light, Jim embarked on the arduous task of stripping the apartment back to its brick and concrete bones to create a clean slate.

‘I didn’t want to only pick materials — I also wanted to manually learn the different aspects of building, from electrical wiring to laying floorboards,’ Jim adds.

The vision for the redesign

With a vision to turn the old apartment into a chic home and Airbnb (now available for bookings), Jim sought to give every space inside a significant facelift.

‘I wanted the apartment to be bright, warm and not go too contemporary, to respect the buildings era.’

‘I didn’t want new clean floorboards as I’ve always preferred dark Parisian apartments aged floorboards. I was also inspired by the carpentry of a little salon in Le Musee Giacometti in Paris, formerly the house of art nouveau designer Paul Fouro.’

He even designed the interiors himself, collaborating with his partner, architect Elvire Borrione and cabinet maker Simon Boetkler.

Modernising the tired ’70s home

Working with the limitations of the compact apartment, Jim focused on opening up the floor plan as much as possible, while keeping the plumbing in place.

‘I opened the wall that was separating the kitchen to the living space, which made such a big difference letting all the northern sunlight through,’ he notes.

In the kitchen, new spotted gum joinery was installed, topped with stainless steel bench tops and sandy-beige tiles on the splash back.

The rest of the interiors feature a light walnut stain, while the bathroom combines a vintage pedestal basin salvaged from an old Toorak mansion. Much of the home’s charm comes to life in the cosmetic details, like romantic wall scones and homewares from a French auction house.

One of the things he kept was the original popcorn ceiling, which they sprayed white as a ‘nod to 1970s insulation’.

The challenges and surprises

Jim worked on the renovation most days, sometimes by himself or alongside trades — learning from an experienced French-Italian tiler as they covered the bathroom walls from floor to ceiling.

‘In four to six months, you learn a fair bit,’ Jim adds. ‘The best part of the renovation was working as you go. It was finding solutions and redesigning along the way.’

‘The biggest surprise was never finding the gas pipe that once connected the old stove that was there from the 70s. A blessing in the end, as I was forced to go electric.’

Advice for managing the budget

By managing the entire project, Jim says he ended up coming in ‘close’ to what he originally budgeted, with the total cost coming in at $114,400.

‘I saved a lot on not using a builder and interior designer, and also by working there every day,’ he says. ‘I then could use what I saved to spend on fixings and furniture.’

He advises other to also adopt a slow approach, ensuring you get the fundamentals right from the start to avoid delays and budget blow outs.

‘Don’t make any compromises on the little things that make the detail,’ Jim says.

Budget breakdown

Trades
Cabinetry (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, entrance): $16,000
Recycled floorboards plus sanding: $6000
Carpentry: $12,000
Plumber: $1000
Electrician: $1000
Bricks: $900
Render : $6000
Plastering: $1250
Tiling: $6000
Caulking: $800
Total: $50,950

Kitchen
Appliances: $7500
Stainless steel benchtop + integrated sink: $5500
Tiles: $4800
Tapware: $1300
Mirror: $800
Fittings: $800
Lights: $850
Total: $21,550

Bathroom
Tiles: $3500
Tapware: $3200
Pedestal basin: $500
Light: $400
Mirror: $800
Steel: $600
Fittings: $600
Total: $9200

Bedroom
Bed head: $650
Lights: $1200
Total: $1850

Other
Double glazed windows: $8500
Timber/glass doors: $2400
Curtains: $3200
Venetian blinds: $1200
Door handles, plus other fittings: $450
Balcony touch ups: $500
Heater: $1700
A/C: $3500
Skip hire: $1000
Material to carry out work: $8000
Total: $30,450

Renovation total: $114,400

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