A COMPACT apartment in one of Newcastle's landmark buildings is on the market after undergoing an award-winning renovation.
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The one-bedroom studio apartment is located on the ground floor of the inner-city art deco building, The Moorings, which is positioned high overlooking King Street.
Designed by renowned Australian architect John Oldham, the complex was constructed in 1933 to provide housing for employees of the BHP steelworks.
Mathew Iuliano from Mavis Property is listing the apartment with a guide of $440,000.
"It is an iconic building in Newcastle and the way that it has been renovated is incredible," Mr Iuliano told the Newcastle Herald.
The 26-square-metre apartment at 3/199 King Street is the creation of a Newcastle-based architect who purchased the property in 2017 and transformed the space with a clever design that aimed to maximise the space and provide plenty of storage.
"We moved from Sydney when we bought it and gutted the whole thing and took it back to, essentially, just the structural elements and then we slowly went about rebuilding it piece by piece," the owner said.
"When we bought it, I think we thought that if we could last six months in it then that would be a win and it would be a fun experience making the space.
"Then we fell in love with the building and ended up staying for four-and-a-half years."
The first transformation was the bathroom which made the most of the space by installing a shower above the bathtub.
Placing the kitchen at the centre of the apartment was an integral part of the design which earned a commendation for interior architecture by the Institute of Architects Newcastle Chapter in 2020.
"For us, the thing we didn't like about small apartments were the kitchens which were always really terrible," he said.
"We were really adamant that we wanted to have a proper kitchen that could be the centre of the apartment.
"The initial move of putting the bedroom where the kitchen used to be and placing the kitchen at the centre of the apartment has been really successful."
Incorporating premium Birch plywood and solid Tasmanian Oak timber transformed the space with a multifunctional kitchen bench and dining table, a couch, multi-purpose shelving and built-in storage.
The kitchen features a Gorenje induction cooktop and oven, while window planter boxes from Newcastle-based Herb Urban provide a space to grow fresh herbs.
Storage options are cleverly tucked away throughout the studio.
A platform was built to accommodate the bed and it was designed to provide extra space to sit when friends or family visit.
"We built the bed up so that when we have people over, they can sit on the edge but then everything underneath is 100 per cent storage," the owner said.
"The bed lifts up and the floor folds up in places, and the front is all drawers so the whole thing becomes a big storage unit for the apartment.
"It makes it really easy to live small if you have enough room to put all of your stuff away."
The current highest price paid for an apartment in the complex was $320,000 in 2020, according to CoreLogic.
The property is open for inspection on August 12 from 12.15pm to 12.45pm.