1209/8 Kavanagh Street, Southbank, Vic 3006

Perched high on the 12th floor of Triptych, right in the wonderfully cultured chaos of Melbourne’s Arts Precinct, this two-bedroom corner apartment has space, sunlight, greenery and just enough attitude to know it has something pretty special going on. Being a corner apartment means one very important thing: windows. Lots of them. Beautiful northern light pours through the home, bamboo floorboards bring warmth underfoot, and ducted heating and cooling throughout keeps Melbourne’s four-seasons-before-lunch behaviour firmly outside.

The open-plan living and dining area is genuinely spacious. Not “we squeezed in a two-seater sofa, therefore it’s a living room” spacious. Properly spacious. Bring the oversized couch. Add the dining table. Invite everyone over. Regret inviting everyone over. There’s room for the whole emotional journey. The adjoining stone kitchen is fitted with premium Miele gas burners, oven and dishwasher, ready for whatever culinary personality you happen to have. MasterChef on Monday, Uber Eats by Wednesday. This kitchen supports both journeys.

Both bedrooms are generously proportioned, while the main bedroom has clearly negotiated better terms, featuring an entire wall of built-in robes. Clothes, shoes, jackets and those online purchases you definitely intended to return three months ago – hide them all beautifully. The central bathroom is spacious, but the real plot twist is the full-size separate laundry. Yes, an actual laundry. With space. Behind its own door. Not a washing machine awkwardly hiding in a cupboard somewhere. Luxury comes in many forms.

Slide open the doors to your private balcony and soak up the northern sunlight and open outlook. Morning coffee belongs out here. So does an evening wine. We’re not here to dictate your beverage schedule. And when you feel like a little more outdoor space, you don’t need to go far. Also on Level 12 is Triptych’s Village Garden, an elevated communal garden shared by just three floors of the building. The current owners have always treated it as their own front yard – a lovely green space to step outside, relax and breathe without actually leaving home. It’s the kind of feature you simply don’t get with most apartments in Southbank or the CBD.

If the Village Garden is your front yard, then the Royal Botanic Gardens, around five minutes away, can comfortably be called your backyard. Everything else is wonderfully walkable too. The NGV, Arts Centre Melbourne, Southbank Promenade, Yarra River and CBD are all within easy reach, while the new NGV Contemporary is currently taking shape nearby, adding another major cultural destination to an already extraordinary part of Melbourne. Leave the car downstairs. Chances are, you won’t need it very often.

Speaking of downstairs, your car gets its own secure space and your collection of suitcases, boxes, Christmas decorations and miscellaneous things you’re emotionally unprepared to throw away gets something better than the usual apartment storage cupboard – a generously sized 2.4m x 1.4m storage cage on its own title. Driving electric? Triptych is EV friendly too, with the ability to install your own EV charger in the car park if required.

And then the building starts showing off. There’s a concierge, heated 27-metre lap pool, fully equipped gym, communal garden, yoga deck, landscaped outdoor spaces and secure lift access. At some point you may need to remind yourself that you actually live here and haven’t accidentally checked into a boutique hotel.

There are apartments you inspect, nod politely at and forget about by dinner. We don’t think this will be one of them. 

Welcome to Triptych.

- Owners Corporation Fees: approx. $8175 per annum
- Council Rates: approx. $1820 per annum
- Water Rates: approx. $800 per annum