Freemans Bay: Cross that bridge

5/1a Centre Street, Freemans Bay.

This city apartment artfully combines style and safety.

Security was foremost in Kylie Tate's mind when she bought her central city apartment two years ago.

As well as wanting a home close to her Ponsonby Road business, the Auckland fashion designer needed somewhere that she and young daughter Molly could feel completely safe.

"I didn't want a house in a suburban street with lots of doors and windows that was vulnerable to being broken into," says Kylie, who owns the Mummy's Tummy and Redhead Clothing fashion labels.

The solution was a spacious, three-bedroom apartment, which has been converted from a former brick warehouse behind Auckland's Victoria Park Market.

The apartment was designed by architect Mal Bartleet and is one of five spaces in the old warehouse that were converted 10 years ago. Businesses operate in the other four.

One glance around the apartment and it is obvious the redesign has stood the test of a decade. Its style has not dated and solid fittings and features make it look as though it could have been refitted recently.

Kylie says the area has the advantage of feeling "inner city" without being noisy, or hemmed in by high rise buildings.

"It's close to Ponsonby and the city. There's a hustle and bustle about this part of town. It's full of creative businesses."

Kylie was attracted by minimal maintenance and the fact that the Centre St building has no body corporate fees.

The apartment's neutral style has also been a perfect backdrop for her ever-expanding collections - of art work, photographs, furniture and art deco objects.

"I'm a good spender. There's nothing like hunting and collecting, I say. I like to mix all sorts of styles and this apartment has allowed me to do that without everything seeming too cluttered."

Every room has ample storage space, including a walk-in wardrobe behind the bed in the master bedroom, and a wall of cabinets set flush into the lounge wall that hide the TV and entertainment centre.

Throughout the house, including the kitchen, marine latches on cupboard doors mean you only need to push their surfaces lightly to open them.

The absence of handles also means the storage spaces blend into the walls and add to a feeling of spaciousness.

A lock-up car park, which is inside the building and adjoins the house, has a mezzanine storage level above it.

After entering a common foyer from street level, you come into the two-storey apartment midway between both floors.

A wooden staircase leads off the entrance hallway, either upstairs to the two bedrooms and a bathroom or down to the open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen areas.

The lounge features a Jetmaster log fireplace and a small, but light-filled, internal paved courtyard that also adjoins the kitchen.

Because the living area is partly below street level, it could have suffered from not getting enough natural light.

But by designing the upper floor so that its rooms wrap around the edges of the apartment walls, the architect has allowed natural light to flow down from upstairs, creating an atrium feel.

Subtle lighting that shines up from the jarrah floors at night time also creates a candlelight effect.

"It's quite a stunning apartment at night," says Kylie.

A woven metal bridge that leads from the upstairs rooms to a north-facing outdoor deck allows extra light to flow down into the dining area.

The original warehouse was built out of solid, double brick walls. They not only keep the apartment warm in winter and cool in summer, but also block out noise.

" It doesn't actually feel as though we're in the middle of the city."

Most of the interior walls have been kept white to add to a feeling of spaciousness and show Kylie's art collection in its best light. But bright pumpkin and aubergine walls are a feature of the living area.

Kylie has decided to sell her inner-city haven so that her daughter can be part of a community with other children.

" I want to move into a street that has lots of kids in it. I'm also running out of walls to put all of my art work on."

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Floor area approx 200sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected above $700,000.

INSPECT: By appointment. CONTACT: Maxine Lees, Ray White, Ponsonby, ph 376 2186, 021 659 995 mob.

FEATURES: Mal Bartleet-designed apartment close to Victoria Park Market and central Auckland, Jetmaster log fireplace, elevated deck.