L ast week on a balmy spring evening, Ronnen Goren and his partner had dinner in a small pavilion on their terrace for the first time. Inside, an Aga stove was keeping their home warm. They could have retired to their sunken lounge room and cocktail bar for a nightcap, had the mood struck.
This domestic scene took place in a semi-subterranean former laundry in inner Melbourne – a space of less than 40 sq metres that was renovated at the end of 2024. On 29 October, the “exuberant” reimagining of the damp basement space in Toorak, on the grounds of the heritage-listed Quamby apartment complex, received the Emil Sodersten award for interior architecture at Australia’s National Architecture awards.
Originally designed as a service space by the acclaimed Australian architect Roy Grounds in 1941, its recent rebirth was overseen by Timothy Hill of Partners Hill. The project, titled Studio8, has transformed a poorly executed 1970s apartment conversion into an ambient retreat that belies its tiny footprint.
In 2022, despite the apartment’s “grim” condition, Goren says he and his partner were drawn to its “amazing location” and its “heritage and provenance”, not to mention the north-facing courtyard that’s almost bigger than the apartment. They lived in it as it was for about 18 months, “just imagining what it could be”.
That’s where Hill – whose interest in converting secondary spaces into quality housing stock dates back to his university days – came in.
“I saw it as a huge privilege, because I was able to run a sort of a test case,” Hill says. “Making little houses is a very particular sensibility. It’s not just squashed big. Every 25mm counts.”
When working with such a small internal footprint, Hill says some trickery is required. Entering the property, he explains, one has to walk through the courtyard, all the way to the end of the building to the front door, then loop back around through a “micro-hall” to the bedroom, “so it feels like the bedroom is a mile away”.
When entering from the terrace, a grand round table – a nod to Grounds’ penchant for circular courtyards – functions as an entry table, a work from home desk, dining table, cocktail bar and storage. This gives the space “the generosity of a salon” beside the sunken lounge, Hill says. Split-level floors, seldom found in small spaces, add a sense of movement and demarcation of space. “You’re on little journeys everywhere you go.”
As a general rule, but especially in smaller spaces, Hill is opposed to open plan design, which can make it “feel like you’re living in a storage container”. In order to avoid the “indignity” of what he refers to as “kidilis” (kitchen, dining, living spaces), a separate micro kitchen – still large enough to house the Aga – has been preserved with an integrated kitchen bench-cum-breakfast nook.
Rather than clutter the sleeping quarters with built-in robes, storage for clothes is in a walk-in across the hall, “which makes it feel enormous and gives the bedroom a lot of graciousness”. The thick walls and tranquil green colour scheme, Ronnen says, make the space feel like a “cocoon”.
“The sleep quality is great … it’s enveloping and kind of nurturing in a way.”
One of the bedroom walls is completely carpeted, while the living spaces feature other strategic sound absorbent materials: cork panelling is used for a feature wall in the living area while the upholstery is “gluttonously dense”, Hill says.
Having all design choices do “at least” double duty is imperative, Hill says. In the tiny bathroom a single piece of bent pickled steel joinery functions as a vanity bench, support for the basin, the enclosure for the laundry basket, space to hang towels, the toilet roll holder, and space for a toilet brush. The entire piece is held together with just four screws. Throughout the home, storage is secreted under tables and in walls.
Thanks to improved waterproofing technologies, converting old – and odd – spaces is easier than ever, Hill says. “It’s already built and it already has infrastructure, so it’s incredibly good value and incredibly good for the environment.”
