b'life above groundApartment living has come of age with individual interiors and better designs. O nce upon a time, we couldnt imagine why anyone wouldShannon says people are more aware of the benefits of paying for swap the quarter-acre paradise for an apartment. Now, manygood design and materials. Weve learnt from the past that good of us couldnt imagine life without them.design is worth paying for. Were no longer trying to pigeon-hole So what has changed since our early forays into apartment living?peopleintosmallspaceswithnolightorventilationandpoor Are they still fairly homogenised places with standardised layouts andorientation. all-white interiors?Its taken us a while to warm to apartment living, says interior designer Shannon Joe of Warren and Mahoney Architects says cheap and blandJennie Dunlop of Dunlop Design. The original apartments had their is out. Theres currently a lack of the middle ground apartments. Itfaults as they werent purpose-designed for living and many were needs to be economical but well-designed, and offering flexibility.very small. Every inch of an apartment must be useable. Open-plan living hasThanks to urban design panels and councils, that has changed. Says become the norm, but owners, especially retirees and grandparents,Jennie: Now we have an aging population wanting to downsize now also want a separate, smaller sitting room where they can relax,and move from a house on a big piece of land. Theyre saying, I read or watch television.dont want to go to a retirement village and I dont want a tiny boxy 34'