Tucked away in a quiet laneway in the heart of Darlinghurst, behind the brick shell of an old warehouse, sits one of Sydney‘s most striking inner-city residences.

The one-bedroom apartment on Printers Lane has just sold for $2.01 million, offering its new owner a rare slice of the city’s industrial past transformed into modern living.

The home is part of the Shepherd & Newman printery conversion, a warehouse built in the early 1900s that has since been adapted into just nine residences.

Inside, the apartment is defined by scale and atmosphere: lofty ceilings, exposed brick and heavy timber beams bring a raw authenticity, while double-height steel-framed windows flood the 102sqm space with light.

Solid timber floors stretch through open-plan living and dining areas, complemented by a stainless steel kitchen with Smeg appliances and a mosaic-tiled bathroom framed in glass.

Selling agent Thomas Nati said warehouse apartments like this have become increasingly hard to find.

‘There aren’t many of them left in the city,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘They’re very rare and when they do come up, they’re very popular. Artists and chefs live in this building – it’s very creative.’

Printers Lane itself is easy to miss, tucked away from the traffic of Oxford Street and the nightlife it is famous for, yet only a short walk from Hyde Park and the CBD.

Darlinghurst has always thrived on contrast, once home to working families, then artists and bohemians, later the epicentre of Sydney’s nightlife.

Today it is one of the city’s most desirable postcodes, mixing small galleries and laneway cafés with independent grocers, boutique gyms and terrace houses.

Living here offers both anonymity and connection: residents slip out their front door into a quiet alley, and within minutes are part of the city’s cultural heartbeat.

The apartment itself is as suited to entertaining as it is to day-to-day living.

Its dramatic scale makes gatherings feel like events, with guests seated beneath the original rafters and conversation carrying easily across the open plan.

The building’s communal rooftop terrace, with its skyline views across the CBD, provides another layer of atmosphere.

On summer evenings, the space lends itself to long drinks as the sun sets behind the city towers, while Darlinghurst hums below.

Hosting here is less about formality than about mood – the blend of heritage and skyline, privacy and proximity, making even small occasions memorable.

For the previous owner, the property was held as an investment and the time felt right to sell.

For the buyer, the appeal is clear: a rare home that combines industrial heritage with contemporary comfort, in a suburb that continues to reinvent itself while remaining one of Sydney’s most creative enclaves.

Hidden down a laneway but minutes from the heart of the city, it is a property that reflects exactly what makes Darlinghurst unique.