The chance meeting that inspired a Sydney couple to completely redesign their home

The owners of this gem of an apartment in Darling Point renovated it to stunning effect a couple of years ago, having been introduced to the designer Hans Freymadl.

They found his functional, rationalist approach to design a perfect match for their own tastes, and fell in love with the first set of ideas he drew up.

Their pad at 96/35A Sutherland Crescent already had plenty going for it. It sits on the penultimate floor of a fabulous 1960s Syd Fischer development, accessed via a suspended walkway, and boasts harbour views and a north-easterly aspect.

Now, immaculate cabinetry in American riven oak brings both style and an extraordinary amount of storage to the space.

Oodles of recessed shelves for everything from a television to crockery, books to soap are hidden behind cunning sliding panels and touch-to-open doors.

Freymadl has lived in a small inner Sydney apartment himself and understands the importance of having a place for everything.

He also believes architecture and design should make the everyday “patterns of life” more satisfying.

“A more rewarding experience should be the by-product of a well conceived space,” he writes on his website.

“Even the most mundane daily activity should have some poetry to it.” This place would certainly make for a life less cluttered and complicated, if not poetic.

Everything in the kitchen is integrated, including a novel refrigerator in a drawer. The suspended timber cabinet that runs the length of the bedroom is a thing of beauty, as are the colourful fabric panels that run down one of its walls.

There’s excellent cross-ventilation so the apartment is easy to cool in summer and the sunny aspect means heating is rarely required in winter, the owners say.

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The building also has a pool, a charming communal entertaining area with an industrial-strength stainless-steel barbecue, and a boat ramp.

The apartment’s lock-up garage – an extremely valuable asset in this parked-out part of town – sits at street level. Its door looks like a manual original from the 1970s – a tiring decade during which people also had to manually wind car windows up and down, would you believe – but it’s actually automated and opens and closes obediently at the click of a button, 21st-century style.

Di Jones agent Mitchell Dansey has set a $1.1 million price guide ahead of the property’s May 9 auction.