George St, Fitzroy

Draft House is a 35m² apartment in Fitzroy, Melbourne, designed for a novelist, Pip Finkemeyer. The project focuses on using a combination of adapted modular systems, clever storage solutions and IKEA hacks to allow the space to shift between living, working and rest.

A concealed desk folds into a compact cabinet, while a series of curtain-lined zones soften the apartment and allow spaces to open and close as needed — including a bedroom enclosure that replaces traditional wardrobe doors. In the kitchen, layered elements such as a pegboard wall and a fold-out work surface expand functionality without increasing footprint.

Material decisions were guided by restraint and continuity. The existing floor was removed to reveal and polish the concrete slab, extending throughout the apartment and into the bathroom to create a unified base. A deliberate use of colour defines each zone, responding to the client’s creative brief and reinforcing a sense of identity within the compact layout.

Rather than minimising the apartment’s scale, the design leans into it, treating constraint as a framework for more intentional, adaptable living.