London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

This Converted Warehouse Apartment Is The Dream Melbourne Rental!

This Converted Warehouse Apartment Is The Dream Melbourne Rental!

The converted warehouse apartment of writer and founder of beauty brand Fluff, Erika Geraerts, located in Collingwood's old Foy & Gibson complex.

There aren’t many Melburnians who’ve rented the same inner-city property for eight years, but when your place is this good… you do everything you can to hold onto it!

Writer and founder of beauty brand Fluff, Erika Geraerts, is the proud long-term renter of this converted warehouse in Collingwood. The apartment is part of the old Foy & Gibson complex – a circa 1887 factory that provided goods to the Foy & Gibson department stores, and employed over 2000 people at its peak.

Today it’s a close-knit residential community, and one of the few true ‘New York-style’ warehouse conversions in town. Take a look inside!















The converted warehouse apartment of Erika Geraerts is essentially just one large room, and that’s exactly the way she likes it!

The writer and founder of beauty brand Fluff has been living here since 2013, and slowly furnishing the space ever since. The apartment is part of the former Foy & Gibson complex – reportedly the largest factory in the Southern Hemisphere at one stage in the early 1900s. The factory was converted into apartments in the 1990s, representing some of Collingwood’s most sought-after real estate for renters and homeowners alike. ‘I’ve never experienced a neighbour community like this, and I don’t think I’d have it any other way,’ Erika says.

Erika loves the building’s large industrial windows and the ‘blank canvas’ nature of the interiors. ‘Waking with the morning light and seeing it fill the room is my favourite way to start the day,’ she says.

Ask some people where they bought their furniture or homewares and they won’t remember – but not Erika. Point to anything in this home and she’ll happily tell you where she found it, and why it’s the perfect piece for the space. ‘Everything tells a story, everything means something to me – even the salt and pepper shakers,’ she says. ‘There was a point where I wanted to challenge myself to find pieces that I liked, not because anyone else did, but because I felt something when I looked at it or sat in it,’ she says.

It’s not just aesthetics Erika is concerned with, but also the experiences her home offers. ‘I want my space to feel comfortable, but speak to my personality, and the people who come over for dinner. That’s why every chair is different; I started with one around the dining table, and slowly found different ones over the years.’

Soft lighting, local art, vintage Italian furniture, and plants bring warmth and texture to the space, tying everything together. Erika has purchased most of her vintage furniture from Smith St Bazaar, including her cherished Edra Spiral Tatlin black velvet sofa. ‘I consider [the owners of Smith Street Bazaar] Eddie and especially Eryca close friends; they understand my style and my apartment and have been so amazing in showing me pieces and introducing me to designers’ work that I would never have imagined, but have fallen in love with over time’ Erika explains.

Eight years is a long time by Melbourne renting standards, but Erika hopes she’ll be living here for another eight years and beyond. ‘This space has been my saving grace over the years. I can’t imagine ever not being here in some capacity.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×