I live in Brunswick, an inner city suburb of Melbourne. So, I have been inside many apartments. Both for myself when I was looking to buy and for clients. This week I had a meeting with a prospective client in East Brunswick and was reminded of how small and compact one bedroom apartments can be. So here the top 5 reasons not to live in a one bedroom apartment in Melbourne.
The average size of a Melbourne apartment
The average size of a one bedroom apartment in inner city Melbourne is 55sqm. This doesn’t mean much to many people so let me give you a picture of room sizes.
A bedroom will just fit a double or queen bed and two bedside tables no more than 50cm wide. The wardrobe is generally small and might fit the clothes for all seasons of one person but not two.
The kitchen is usually about 2m, the sink in the kitchen is about 40-50cm wide. So it’s possible you won’t be able to fit a large pot in it. There is limited storage space, and limited counter space.
Apartments tends to be narrow rather than wide. In a living area you could fit a two seater sofa and the distance between the sofa and TV is no more than 3m. So fitting a coffee table in between the sofa and TV and having room to move is tricky.
With this overview of the size of an apartment you can start to see that a minimal lifestyle is preferred. One where you spend a lot of time outside the apartment and you have few things.
1) Apartments can have limited natural light
If you like lots of natural light an apartment may not be for you. Generally speaking the light in an apartment comes through the living area and bedroom.
Which means the bathrooms don’t have a window and the kitchen doesn’t get direct sun light.While everyone is different and you may not care, as a Melbourne interior designer, natural light is important to me.
I chose my apartment because it has windows in every room and the natural light is incredible.

2) Apartments have limited storage space
If you have a lot of stuff and need a lot of storage space, don’t live in a one bedroom apartment unless you’re prepared to have a storage unit.
Some apartments will have a cage but these are small and inconvenient to access. So when I work on apartment projects I try to add as much storage as possible while taking a less is more approach.
For example for the prospective client I met this week, I suggested a gas lift bed and a vertical TV unit so that he could get rid of a bookcase, by placing stuff from the bookcase in the tall TV unit. That’s why my furniture sets are ideal for apartment living because they’re minimal.
3) Apartments can be noisy
Apartments are noisy. A good apartment might have double glazing so the external sounds might be manageable but people next to you, above and below will be heard.
Foot steps, music, muffled talking, dogs barking, babies crying and so on. In an apartment you are living in close proximity to many people.
So you will be impacted by this sound. Over time you might get used to it and be able to block it out but it’s worth noting, that if you like quiet, don’t live in an apartment.
4) Apartment kitchens are small
If you like to cook a lot and have a lot of appliances, don’t live in an apartment. As mentioned above to start with the sinks generally tend to be small.
Making cooking and washing pots and pans difficult. For example, I love my slow cooker, this wouldn’t fit in a sink in an apartment and it would take up a lot of counter space.
5) Apartments can give you cabin fever
If you like to spend a lot of time at home or work from home, an apartment, especially a one bedroom apartment can be boring.
Doing everything in one open plan living space can feel a bit like cabin fever. I often recommend to people in small apartments to consider external spaces.
For example a café, or cowork space is a good option to spend some time away from such a confined space as the open plan living area of a one bedroom apartment.
I get the appeal of a one bedroom apartment but so often I come across people who treat their apartment like a two or three bedroom home.
That is they have a lot of stuff or want to entertain a lot of people and struggle to facilitate all this in such a small space.
A one bedroom apartment is ideal for city living. Working from an office, spending time socialising, exercising or doing a hobby outside the space.
Think of big cities like London, New York or Paris, small spaces encourage people to spend more time in external spaces like cafes, pubs, gyms, parks etc.
When I lived in London, I lived in small spaces. One time I lived in a bedsit with a shared bathroom. I didn’t entertain at home, instead I went out. My kitchenette was suitable for basic cooking for one. I used a laundromat and public spaces such as cafes to work in or commons to walk and exercise in.
I adjusted my lifestyle to suit my accommodation. So if any of my top 5 reasons not to live in a one bedroom apartment resonate with you, have a rethink. You might need to make a lifestyle adjustment.