WE'LL TAKE MANHATTAN
The van der Meers have created a new concept in overnight accommodation in Melbourne.

In the heart of Melbourne is a smart looking, fully equipped apartment. Its not quite a hotel or an ordinary apartment because it has an ethos and it is part of a "sequence" - The Maju Sequence. It is, in fact, a new concept in overnight accommodation.

Maju's owners, Sydneysiders Geoff and Alison van der Meer, created it as their home away from home, with the secondary purpose being to share it with other like-minded people who want a hotel alternative. Their design aim was to incorporate the sensual, intellectual and social as a holistic concept within the space.

East meets west in this Manhattan - style living space. This urban loft sits in a commercial building on the corner of Bourke Street and Hardware Lane. Previously an office block, the roofline reveals where the walls used to be and the van der Meers have retained the big industrial door as part of the charm.

"The apartment is our sanctuary. We have the whole floor and its very private. When we come home from the hustle and bustle of work and the city we rarely bump into other people," says Geoff van der Meer.

The Maju Sequence consists of two other luxury apartments. One is on the fifth level of Sydney's heritage Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo and the other in Queenstown, New Zealand. The concept is multi-faceted.

"Firstly these are homes for my wife and I and our children, that's partly the reason they're located where they are. We used to live in Melbourne then expanded our business to Sydney. We still have a large office in Melbourne and we come down here a lot".

Living in Sydney's northern beaches, the van der Meers regard the Finger Wharf property as their weekender and Queenstown has a special connection for them - New Zealand is their country of origin and they honeymooned in Queenstown.

Long-term rental was not an option because they wanted to use all three of the properties and the décor had to suit their taste and lifestyle. The van der Meers also wanted all three properties in superior locations with great investment potential.

The Melbourne apartment has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and can comfortably house a family or two couples. They have designed the décor themselves creating a minimalist Asian-style look.

The van der Meers collect innovative and thought-provoking art and some lovely pieces are featured in their apartment.

Red appears in blocks creating a warm contrast in the space. As you enter a red inset strip of wall backs a striking giant New Guinean statue of a fertility goddess. Antique Chinese musical instruments have been mounted on a red wall hanging and Asian-style artifacts from various Melbourne and Sydney design stores offset the simple elegant furniture. An antique Italian olive jar from Supply and Demand and various urns meld with the modern streamlined kitchen.

Part of the fun for Alison was the search for the right look that also equaled style and comfort. She designed the lounge suite, called a Manhattan, and commissioned City Living to create it.

The dining suite is simple and stylish and has a timeless, almost Asian quality. Made of wenge wood stained a chocolate color, it is a one-off piece from Empire Homeware.

"The whole place was white when we bought it. I wanted to give it color and vibrancy, make it relaxing. Is beautiful here at night. We have designed the lighting very carefully. Although there are enough lights to sink a ship, they all have a role to play and a lot of them focus on artifacts and art work," says Alison.

Juxtaposed with the homely ethnic feel are high-tech "playthings" such as a home theatre, large TV screen, library of CDs, 50 DVDs and Dolby Digital surround sound. A TV is mounted on the wall of both bedrooms.

We've gone for superior fit out in all of the properties. They all have state-of-the-art toys so naturally the concept evolved to the point where we wanted a regular group of like-minded people who have the same ethos as us, will treat it like their home and won't steal the towels. Trust must be implicit," says Geoff.