10 years ago, if you were to utter the word ‘apartments’, people conjured up thoughts of tight, cramped spaces, impractical layouts with bedrooms doubling as living areas, and endless flights of stairs.

Today, though, it’s a very different story. From customisable floorplans, state-of-the-art wellness centres and 24-hour concierges to oasis-like gardens and high-tech appliances, apartment living is at the forefront of cutting-edge architecture and innovation. Looking to the future, here are the top three design trends set to revolutionise the apartment market even more.

GREEN LIVING

While once considered the norm for apartments to lack open spaces and access to nature, when purchasing apartments today, buyers crave a connection to the great outdoors. As a result, developers are seeking to stay ahead of the curve by either maximising outdoor spaces or focusing on creative communal areas that can transport residents to a tropical destination with the click of a lift button.

With this trend only just starting to take hold, the buildings of tomorrow are likely to feature entire floors dedicated to vertical and traditional gardens, pools, and alfresco dining areas, while solid walls will cascade with hanging vines and creeper plants, as architects seek to soften the hard surfaces with greenery.

This has been a key factor in the design of one new apartment project, Magnolia on St Kilda Road, where lush central gardens surround an expansive lagoon-shaped pool, flanked by the building’s eponymous trees and sunken relaxation areas. For those wanting to enjoy the outdoors from the privacy of their own apartment, oversized balconies have been designed to optimise the incredible views out to either the bay or the oasis-like gardens below.

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS HAVENS

Health and wellness has become an important factor in apartment living in the past few years, and will continue to be a top priority for people in the years to come. Buyers now want to know how their living situation can affect their health, looking for something beyond the standard basement gym to help keep their health in check.

Future-focused developers are now incorporating unprecedented levels of health facilities into their developments, ranging from Olympic-length roof-top running tracks to resident-only yoga studios and wellness spas. The apartment building of the future will surpass even these impressive facilities, with in-house nutritionists, relaxation floating tanks and dedicated meditation pods just some of the amenities that could become the norm.

CUSTOM SPACES

No longer content to buy an apartment that is a carbon-copy of every other apartment in the block, modern buyers are increasingly demanding a more customised approach to apartment living. Looking ahead, developers and designers will need to work collaboratively with purchasers to create bespoke homes that suit their needs, within each apartment’s floorplate.

Developers are already finding themselves responding to requests for tailor-made floorplans, with several apartments at Magnolia the result of amalgamations and collaborations with purchasers.

Adding to the element of customisation, unique sliding screens inside each apartment allow residents to adjust the light and airflow to their living spaces. This innovative design offers multiple different interior configurations to suit the time of day and mood, thus creating a more practical way to enjoy modern apartment living.

It seems that the future of apartment living is no longer defined by perceptions of days gone by, but how the clever use of this space and recent innovations in design are helping to revolutionise the way we think about apartment living. With more people living in apartments today than ever before, the future of apartment design is already here. And with buildings like Magnolia already pushing the envelope of what’s possible, the future of apartment living is even more exciting. Find out more about Magnolia today by calling 1300 859 711.