Small living spaces and the central business district are like apple pie and ice cream – they will always go together. Jimmy Harous’ East End apartment is no exception to the rule, but by means of mysterious sorcery this small space has been made to feel light, spacious and quirky.

 As a rather dapper 30-year-old English teacher, Jimmy’s impeccable aesthetic and intellectual tastes have a strong presence in his home.

Books on art, popular culture, some (very) obscure titles and the necessary literary classics line his shelves, the placement of objects is faultless and mindful, while his walls are tasteful with hangings of Man Ray, Egon Schiele and… David Bowie.

Despite its small size, the apartment feels spacious and light – a testament to Jimmy’s understanding of space – and something he attributes to the smattering of architecture studies he undertook.

A light filled lounge

The master bedroom

Now a teacher at Unley High School, Jimmy made the decision to move further away from his workplace when he decided to take up residence in the CBD. Prior to this apartment, his last home was in Urrbrae.

“Urrbrae was nice, but I found that I just wasn’t going anywhere because I was too lazy,” he says. “So I decided that I wanted to either move to a bigger city interstate or create that experience by moving into Adelaide’s CBD.

“I was thinking about moving to Sydney at one point, because I felt like I wasn’t really engaging with Adelaide; and then I started thinking perhaps I need to engage more with Adelaide rather than expecting Adelaide to engage with me. So I moved to the East End, which has led me to go out more often. I wanted to be immersed in Adelaide’s culture, and it’s worked really well because I can pop out and go for a walk to Rundle Street or Hindley Street – even grocery shopping becomes an exciting event.”

Jimmy’s first six months as a city dweller have been full of excitement. As the notorious “Mad March” flew by he saw its construction, its execution and its disassembly from the view of his balcony, which is his favourite feature of the apartment. Being on the top floor, the view is breathtaking with a panorama that shows off the contrast between green hills to the east and the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle below.

An English teacher needs a well-stocked bookcase

Art is a recurring feature

“I get the best of both worlds really. I don’t feel like I’m boxed in and that’s why I like being close to the East End and all the parks,” says Jimmy. “That was an important thing for me, and why I picked this particular apartment as opposed to others within the CBD, I didn’t want to feel like I was living in a smoggy city as opposed to a beautiful green city.”

The building itself was designed by architectural firm Brown Falconer for Housing SA, who set out to create affordable housing within the CBD. There is a mix of homes in the complex – some are rented at affordable prices, some set aside for social housing and some rented and sold at full market value.

“Housing SA were trying to create more of a global community, which was something that really appealed to me,” says Jimmy. “Because the apartments were available to a wider range of people, it is quite representative of the city itself.”

How Jimmy sees the city skyline

Top level living suits Mr Harous

As well as its inclusive urban community, another appealing aspect of the building is the passive design elements and environmentally sustainable principles. With a gas-boosted, solar-powered hot water system, toilets that run on rainwater and a central atrium for electricity-free temperature control, Jimmy feels comfortable that his slice of city living doesn’t come at the cost of animal habitats worldwide.

“You could tell there was a lot of thought put into the design of this building, it just seemed really considered,” he says. “Apparently the development was a product of love and I think that comes across, because it feels like a happy building.”

Minimalism at its finest

The central atrium provides electricity-free temperature control

Sharing his home with his ‘pet’ plants – of which his favourite is Mandrake, a pot-bellied fig rescued from the prison of the terrarium it was sold in – Jimmy seems to have found a home that satisfies both his need for the city buzz and his desire for a space he can shape in his own way. In resisting the pull of the bigger cities on the eastern seaboard, he managed to find what he was looking for just down the road.

Quirky details make the home

Mandrake the pot-bellied fig

The home cinema