The secret’s out, folks- they’re just not making land any more.

With space at an all-time premium, new builds are working their ways up rather than out, and with house prices so damn high, the once-shunted apartment life is fast headed towards becoming the new norm.

There are a few things to keep in mind when moving into your new tiny palace up high… here’s a solid six to get you started.

Now, ordinarily I’m all for breaking the rules (Pattern clashing?...YES. / Using dark colours to brighten a room?... Oh mama, I swoon), but in the case of body corporates, breaking the rules can end you up in hot water with not only the threat of fines, but also the additional cost of having to remedy or replace any offending items.

While Bodycorp rules largely refer to public / common areas of the building and grounds, there are often clauses relevant to the individual tenancies snuck in there too. Some common clauses include:

~ You must request permission before installing additional lighting / adapting electrical components (to limit the risk of some cowboy cutting off inter-tenancy power / voiding warranties!)

~. All window treatments must all be of uniform colour as viewed from the building exterior- most commonly, white (to protect the integrity of the architects design)

In summary: always ask permission rather than beg forgiveness- more often than not, what you are requesting shouldn’t be too big an issue anyway. And remember to always thoroughly read through the do’s and don’ts before making any internal changes or buying anything you could get pulled up on later!

If you plan to hang anything heavy or delicate on your walls or from your ceilings using permanent fixtures, (read: floating shelves, TVs etc.) you’ll need to know what those walls and ceilings are made of in order to ensure you’re using the fixtures and fittings suitable for that material.

Many inter-tenancy / structural apartment walls these days are made with solid concrete and often have very little-to-no cavity behind the GIB, which means you can’t run cabling behind with ease (Sorry, frame TV!) or hang shelves without some more serious hardware – you may need to compromise and consider alternate layouts and positioning, or be prepared to hire the big-guns to help you out and get things exactly as you’d like them.

Whether on the inside looking out, or the outside looking in, privacy is important to the overall comfort of your home and the way you live in it.

If you’re a fan of walking around in the nude (hey, no judgement here) but you are the proud owner of floor-to-ceiling windows, you might want to consider a little modesty screening… could sheer curtains or window tints help to keep things less revealing? After all, secrets are best kept that way!

As well as protecting your privacy, consider your overall outlook. If your building is in a less-than-desirable area and overlooks an ugly business or road, could similar tips and tricks be employed to make what you see from your building look a little better?

When purchasing furniture for your apartment, you not only have to take into consideration the size of the rooms you’ll be living in, but also all the common areas you need to travel through to get it all up there in the first place.

You’ll want to measure the lift (if you’re lucky enough to have one!) and the stairwell too… making sure you note the widths and heights at their narrowest & shortest points for extra brownie points. If your stairs have sharp turns or your building corridors are like a rabbit warren, you’ll need to make note of how tight a turning circle you’re working with at any bends as well.

If you have a long way to go to get your furniture from the loading bay (which isn’t always near the door FYI!) up to your new digs, you might want to consider looking for furniture that is either able to be dismantled and moved in pieces, or is just built with lighter materials in general. Your moving mates will thank you.

Just because you have a small space doesn’t mean you can’t live big. Think about how you best like to spend time in your home before you commit to any purchases! Do you like to have group movie nights or people over to stay? Do you need space to roll out your yoga mat each morning, or practice your dance moves? With some careful decision making here, spaces can easily bend and flex to accommodate whatever lifestyle you lead.

For example, if you live alone and don’t love to entertain, you probably wouldn’t find too much use in having a formal dining table. Great news!- This means you can dedicate that space to whatever else your heart desires... a home office maybe? A larger couch to sprawl on? A potting station? (Yeah, so that last one… that’s all me.)

NB: It can often help to live in your space for a little while to understand what things are ‘missing’ and that would complete your dream lifestyle if you had them. Even something as simple as having somewhere to put your keys when you get home, can make your space flow that little bit better. We’re all about 2% incremental happiness over here.

Like it or not, moving in to an apartment block essentially means that you’re entering into a community of sorts. No longer just a side-by-side situation, you will directly share walls, floors and ceilings with your neighbours, so it’s imperative that you try to get along and keep them informed on anything that might affect their own enjoyment of the property.

Now obviously some neighbourly noise is inevitable, however whenever possible, if moving in or planning works to your apartment, try and schedule everything to happen in one go (or at least within a certain respectable timeframe!)- and be sure to let your neighbours know.

Give ample notice if you need to use the loading bay and lift (You’ll probably need to tell your building manager this too, to arrange for protective curtains to be hung!) or if you are planning to have noisy trades on site- it’s only polite, and the consideration for others will (hopefully!) be returned in kind when they intend to do the same.

6 Sneaky things to remember when designing for apartments!