A bland white and cream, 18-year-old apartment that had been a long-term rental for university students was transformed into a beautiful long-term HOME for a downsizing couple.
In a great location on the edge of Canberra City just 180m from The Shine Dome, 500m from the lake's edge, less than 1km from the centre of the city and ANU, 50m from a new light rail station and adjacent to the very hipster area known as New Acton, we could see its great potential.
The very large complex (300+ apartments) is known as the Metropolitan and its external cream and grey facade is anything but inspirational or hipster. Located at a busy intersection, for most people it blends into the adjacent and monotonous multi-storey commercial buildings that continue all the way into the city. We had never even noticed it. We were too distracted by the historic buildings and funky apartment blocks in the other directions!
I had half-heartedly been looking at 2 bedroom downsizing options for a couple of months.
Unlike most apartments this one had good orientation (with two windows facing due north) and was not overglazed. Too much glass is a big problem that causes problems in apartments with both overheating in summer and condensation in winter. Importantly, the west facing windows were fully shaded from the summer sun by large established fruit trees. The tree canopy provided valuable cooling and a gorgeous connection to outdoors.
