Shakira: My name is Shakira and was first introduced to Milieu by my friend Jeremy, an architect while both living in Perth. I was looking to move into property from being an urban designer and Jeremy told me ‘If you’re going to sell out, at least work for someone doing good work.’ He showed me Milieu’s profile and luckily I was contemplating moving to another city so I cold-emailed the team and surprisingly got a callback and was eventually offered a job, that’s when my Melbourne adventure started. I worked at Milieu for 6 years as a Design Manager and recently moved to Development Victoria.

Richard: My name is Richard, I’m a hobby musician and run a small business based in Warrandyte with my brother.

I found out about Milieu when I started dating Shakira who was in her early years of working there. I knew they were boutique developers and got to know their projects over the last few years from visiting Milieu Open Homes and seeing completed developments.

Shakira: We both live very social urban lives which means we also need a place to retreat and recoup. Ensuring our home enables an ease in life was a top priority.

Location was really important to us, proximity to bars and restaurants, Princes Park, the train and tram and grocery stores. I’ve always wanted to be someone who practices what they preach, working as an urban designer and now in apartment development and city building, living a walkable life is something I was looking to engrain in our everyday.

Aspect was an important factor for me but less so for Richard (who has no issue functioning in the cold and grey). Being able to access direct sunlight as often as possible is important for my physical and mental well-being. It’s easy to forget how claustrophobic being surrounded by buildings can feel sometimes, staring out to the horizon and a large extent of the sky has been a calming presence in our lives now that we live on level four.

The layout of our home was very important and we made some changes to suit our lifestyle. Being a couple, I think that two bathrooms in a smaller apartment doesn’t lead to the best living outcome for owner-occupiers. This is a hang-up of an investor’s mentality to apartment living and understandably so, as typically they are valued higher but it didn’t make sense for us. We spend most of our time at home around the kitchen, so ensuring our kitchen was spacious so we can cook and entertain was important. We ended up removing the second bathroom and increasing our kitchen to accommodate our lifestyle desires.

Richard: It's comfortable and it makes life easier to live. All the joinery throughout our space has been thought through so well, there’s good quality storage for everything we need but not enough for us to become hoarders. It makes us really consider what we need and why.

Shakira: We LOVE our concrete ceiling as it brings extra height but more importantly, looking up to the inconsistent finish with colour and texture differences along with the odd crack and leaf pattern is so much fun. The subtle character of the concrete connects us to the reality of the building and structure.

We made a few customisations to our apartment including a deep green carpet to our bedroom and full height timber doors. These simple changes have added so much character to the space.

We really have so much thanks to give to DesignOffice and Fieldwork for designing a building and interior space that makes us so happy and proud. The deep consideration they give to the way people experience space and modern life has truly made our day-to-day lives so much easier and enjoyable.

Richard: This is the first time I’ve lived in an apartment and living above ground is a big change from small brick-and-mortar houses. I had a lot of biases toward apartment living, I thought there would be more sacrifices but it's been a really welcome surprise to understand the clever use of space which has made our life more compact but a lot easier and a lot more comfortable. There’s so much less maintenance which is great because in today’s working life we’re all getting busier and working longer hours. The last thing you want to do when you get home or on the weekends is clean and fix things. The temperature is also always really consistent and when we need to, it’s easy and efficient to heat and cool our space.

I’ve also really enjoyed being a few steps from Sydney Road with all the amenities, we walk to get almost anything we need. Previously when in a house, the car was such a necessary commodity and now our feet are sufficient.

Shakira: The sense of community and how friendly everyone in the building is has surprised me, it’s not as common these days to know your neighbours but we have really positive experiences bumping into our neighbours daily. Also knowing if we were ever in a bind we can legitimately reach out to people in the building and trust they have our backs is a good feeling.

I also love the transport options and proximity to the park, it’s made exploring and moving around the city so accessible.

Richard: My best friend bought the apartment directly below us… so a weeknight usually entails a group message, meeting in the lobby, then heading out to the Sporting Club or Good Days for a pint and dinner. We may end up at one of our houses after for a nightcap.

Shakira: It’s important that our home maintains the feeling of calm (we also like to minimise mess and cleaning) so although we host dinners, we prefer to head out.

Richard: Music is a big part of both of our lives, creating a music room and living room centred around some good quality speakers and a small studio space was an important starting point.

It was a slow process as we started from a blank slate and have been chipping away, it’s not finished yet. We want to make sure everything we own feels purposeful and has a memory attached to it while suiting our collective style.

Shakira: I’m very conscious of the colours and material palette to maintain a connection to nature while also promoting the emotional state we’re looking to feel in each of the spaces in our home. Comfort is very important to me, it’s crazy when I go into people’s houses and their furniture is good looking but so uncomfortable!

Richard: I have a green thumb so have brought the plant life, some of these plants I’ve had for almost 10 years. Having life in our apartment helps our house feel like a home.

Richard: Our old timber speakers and stereo brought an old style and sound to our new space and instantly made it feel like home.

My collection of watering cans are meaningful, I use them regularly and I bought them with the intention of keeping them forever.

Shakira: Our couch was a meaningful purchase for me, I really wanted something light and fluffy to snuggle into and forget the stiffness that our daily lives sometimes cause.

I also love all the nicknacks, they’re momentous from travelling and act as reminders to keep experiencing the world. Our vase from Sicily, my horse from Mongolia, rocks and shells from oceans and rivers across the globe.

Shakira: On a work-from-home day, I enjoy waking up slowly because Richard’s left the blinds open slightly and the door ajar for the sun to wake me. I’ll have a tea and breakfast at our island bench followed by some work. Richard often comes home for lunch, we don’t eat lunch together but we get to hang out and chat about how our days are going. Richard finishes work earlier, so the first thing he does to wind down is clean (vacuum or take the bins out or buy groceries across the road for dinner), he may then have a 1 hour power nap. When I finish I’ll go for a run around Princes Park, then come home to cook dinner before we wind down for the night.

On the weekends, we sleep in!