Share Your Space: Inside a couple's two-bedroom Sydney apartment that follows the 'rule of threes'.

Mamamia's Share Your Space series asks everyday women to share all the juicy, specific details about their home. How much do you pay in rent? Who do you live with? Where did you get your furniture? It's pulling back the curtain on real estate in Australia, and allowing us to really see how the people around us live. This week, a 29-year-old living in Glebe, Sydney, shows us around her home. 

Age: 29

Job: Assistant Head of Content

Mortgage: Lol more like RENT. I pay $375 a week. And that's... each. Which I know is a lot. And I only pay that because I lived with my partner’s family for six months this year. 

Location: Glebe

Lifestyle: We (my partner and I) are right between two beautiful parks which I love, and walking distance from Glebe Point Rd which is full of cafes and restaurants and my favourite book shops. It has energy, but there’s nothing pretentious about it. I’ve lived in Glebe since I moved out and love it. 

So, take us inside:

Bedroom/s:

We’ve got two bedrooms, but one is a study, where we have a space set up each. 

Here’s our bedroom. When we piled all our furniture together we discovered that we had not one but TWO televisions and so we controversially decided to put one in the bedroom. This decision divides people. Some people think it messes with the feng shui or something. I think watching murder docos in bed is the dream.  

Also. Two words. Bed. Threads. We chose linen that was white and an oatmeal colour and every night we jump into bed we laugh with joy because it feels so GOOD. 

Image: Supplied. 

I love this little bedside table that looks like a tree stump. It’s my partner’s, not sure where he got it, but I know you can get them for about $100 on Facebook Marketplace. 

Image: Supplied. 

I also love this plant I bought from Bunnings. It’s been beautiful to watch it grow. It’s the first thing I see in the morning, and I’ve just noticed how much bigger it’s getting. Makes me feel a ridiculous sense of accomplishment.

Image: Supplied. 

Also shout out to this artwork we got recently that I’m absolutely IN LOVE WITH. We’ve not had an opportunity to put it up yet, but it will go at the end of our bed. It’s by lady startup Emily Brett who you can find on Instagram @elb_artist. She specialises in mixed media art and is ridiculously talented.

Image: Supplied. 

Now to the study…

My bookshelf is my pride and joy and if it were up to me there would be one in every room in the house. Including the bathrooms. I scrolled through Pinterest a lot to work out exactly how I wanted my bookcase to look. In fact, I reckon this was the last thing I bought because I found it so hard to find one I loved. It’s also one of the only things we bought new because we’re low-key obsessed with Facebook Marketplace. This has a Scandinavian vibe, and cost me $159 from Fantastic Furniture. It’s still available right here.

Image: Supplied. 

Image: Supplied. 

The two desks were originally from Freedom furniture, but I got them second hand on Facebook Marketplace for less than half the cost. We thought the glass made the room look bigger, and I like how the timber goes with the details of the apartment.

Image: Supplied. 

Bathroom/s: 

We ended up with two bathrooms, because my partner hates clutter, and thinks my bathroom inevitably has too much stuff in it. This wasn’t such a big deal for me, but now I’m stoked. 

My bathroom is massive, and has SO MUCH shelf space. I can have perfume/make up out where I can see it which brings me a lot of joy. It also means I can throw my limbs every which way when I’m fake tanning which is an added bonus.

Also, I’m always throwing clothes/towels over my white ladder which you can see in the corner of the pic. I bought it for $10 off Facebook Marketplace. 

Image: Supplied. 

Image: Supplied. 

Lounge/Dining area: 

This couch is second hand, and the coffee table/s are second hand from Facebook Marketplace. We knew we wanted something marble because it went with the kitchen island and lightened up the room. It’s one of my favourite pieces. I also bought this decorative tray from Adairs and these pieces of Eucalyptus (is that the technical term??) for $5 and they last FOREVER. Even when they die they still look pretty. I saw on Pinterest people having ‘moments’ in their home with three stacked books and a candle or something on top, so I’ve been experimenting. An interior designer once told me about the rule of threes - which is that every vignette must have three/five things. Basically, an uneven number. It’s very true.

Image: Supplied. 

Image: Supplied. 

(I took this picture a while back when we didn’t have a fridge yet. And I’ve now added a few things. But you get the vibe.)

Image: Supplied. 

This is above our couch and it’s by a friend and photographer @lukelattyphotography Highly recommend his stuff!

Image: Supplied. 

Kitchen: 

The island really sold this apartment to us. My partner loves to cook and it makes such a difference having the added bench space. Also lots of storage.

We wanted backless stools to really open up the space and these ones are from Freedom Furniture. 

Image: Supplied. 

Outdoor space: 

I bought this table from GUESS WHERE??? Facebook. Marketplace. For about $270 I think, but it has a warranty of like 15 years. I discovered that outdoor furniture is really, really expensive, and so we looked everywhere for a good deal. I like how this table has character, and an unusual shape. 

The chairs are from Ikea and are good because we can stack them in the corner if it feels a bit cluttered. We basically rearrange the outdoor area depending on whether we’re having guests over. Our palm adds some life/greenery too. All our plants are from Bunnings because they have a warranty thing that basically says if it dies you can bring it back and get a new one. But so far so good!

Image: Supplied. 

Image: Supplied. 

Final thoughts: 

I’m really happy with our place, and know it’s because we were in the rare position where we could wait months and months to find one we loved. The market became a bit more affordable during COVID and we were able to pay less for this than we might have otherwise. It’s walking distance to work but not right in the heart of the city. We’ve really taken our time to furnish this place, and choose pieces that go together. In the past I’ve always rushed. I’d like to dedicate my new place to FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE which is where I’ve spent the majority of my year thus far.

You can catch up on our previous Share Your Space stories here:

• Share Your Space: Inside a $490 two-bedroom apartment in Sydney overrun with bookshelves.
• Share Your Space: A couple in their 30s who completely renovated their old Victorian terrace.
• Share Your Space: Inside a beach-side apartment, with second-hand buys and lots of plants.
• Share Your Space: Inside a $650 one-bedroom terrace in Sydney, with a puppy who likes to eat everything.
• Share Your Space: Inside a $650 two-bedroom house, with a lot of Ikea accessories.

Feature Image: Supplied.