From Sydney to St Kilda: Why this lifelong renter decided to make this beachside suburb home

• Who: Hayley Hughes, marketing coordinator
• Where: A one-bedroom apartment in St Kilda, Melbourne
• Rent: $290 a week

Hayley Hughes is a lifelong renter whose former addresses range from country Victoria to Sydney and Tokyo. 

More recently, after a stint in a Fitzroy sharehouse, the marketing coordinator and fashion influencer decided to live alone for the first time. 

When searching for a suitable home to rent in 2018, Hughes looked at listings across Melbourne’s entire inner city. “As a non-driver, being as close as possible to public transport was a must, as was being within walking distance of supermarkets and bars and restaurants,” she says.

Hughes had previously lived in Melbourne’s northern suburbs but found herself most attracted to properties in the south-east.  

“I had never lived on the other side of the river in Melbourne … I quickly discovered that St Kilda had very affordable apartments that also had desirable features like arched doorways, floorboards and plentiful storage in older-style buildings often surrounded by beautiful gardens,” she explains.

“When I compared that to the offerings in my budget in the northside suburbs of Preston, Brunswick and Coburg, I learnt that all I could find there were brown-carpeted tiny apartments in buildings surrounded by concrete.”

A month-long search for the ideal rental ensued before Hughes discovered her eventual St Kilda apartment. 

“It was my favourite out of everything I had viewed,” she says. “The location, just a two-minute walk to the tram or the beach, was beyond my dreams, and the apartment itself had the most beautiful bones with amazing built-in shelves in the lounge room perfect for me to display all my favourite things.”

The inspection was incredibly busy, so Hughes was ecstatic to learn her application was successful. 

“The inspection was so crowded I didn’t notice that there are two purple feature walls – one in the bedroom and the other in the lounge room. I believed all the walls were white, so that was a bit of a surprise come moving-in day!”

In the four years since, Hughes has made this apartment her eclectic pink sanctuary. With the freedom to style exactly as she pleases, she’s relished the opportunity to make the place entirely her own.

“There’s no compromising on your aesthetics when living alone,” she says. “I also love being able to be as clean or as messy as I feel, without having to worry about upsetting anyone except myself.”

Hughes’ interior decorating style is an extension of her fashion taste, which she’s documented online since 2006 via her former blog, Fashion Hayley. 

She describes the space as pink, bold and a little eccentric, combining pieces from local artists and stores, as well as vintage furniture. “My style is also a little retro ’60s-inspired, which is a decade I draw a lot of inspiration from.”

A vintage-inspired shell-shaped bedhead from Brosa is her pride and joy, along with a curved art deco dressing table bought off Facebook Marketplace for $40.

Hughes also loves the community feel of her apartment building, which features a shared garden and a WhatsApp group chat – “a godsend during lockdown!” she says.

“I do miss having my own garden, but my building has a beautiful and well-maintained garden with a weekly gardener that always impresses people when they visit.

“I honestly don’t ever want to leave as this apartment is perfect for me, but I am considering moving out with my boyfriend to a bigger two-bedroom apartment in the same area in the near future. Hopefully we find something equally as perfect.”