The minimalist concept of a modern, comfortable, and laconic dwelling was implemented in unusual ways, which, among other things, made it possible to realize the main decorative task: to visually increase the size of a small apartment.
The owner of the “two-room apartment”, located on the fourth floor of an old brick house, is a very energetic and busy person. The architects had to create for him a light, modern interior, not overloaded with furniture and details, with a practical wear-resistant finish. Each element of furnishings and design had to be selected in such a way that it would serve for a long time, and be convenient in the process of operation and maintenance. It was necessary to design a bedroom, a combined living and dining area, and provide for a workplace.
Glass and mirrors in the interior
Glass and mirrors can adjust the proportions of even miniature rooms. In this project, they are used unobtrusively and non-standard. So, in a radiant white kitchen (glossy facades, quartz countertops), an apron, a frieze ribbon between the ceiling and cabinets, and panels on the wall in the area where the peninsula adjoins are made of dark brown painted glass.
This unexpected contrast emphasizes the beauty of a rational composition, creating an effect of depth. Structural beams protruding half a meter from the planes of the ceilings were lined with mirrors in order to optically level the massive volume. Along the window, they were “balanced” by a false plasterboard beam with backlighting.
Redevelopment
The corner apartment with four windows and a standard structure – a rectangle, inside which there were two rooms, a separate bathroom, and a kitchen, connected by an L-shaped corridor – was significantly refurbished.
The former non-bearing partitions between the rooms were dismantled. In place of the corridor, a spacious entrance hall was made – its area was increased due to the nearest room, and the bathroom was combined and expanded, adding to it a part of the walk-through zone.
The kitchen, dining room, and living room were combined, placed along three windows facing one side, and separated from the hallway and bedroom by a diagonal partition. The bedroom was arranged next to the fourth window facing west. The balcony was attached to the living room and the partition between the two windows was removed, the expanded opening was reinforced with a metal structure, having received the appropriate permissions from the necessary authorities.
Layout: non-standard and practicalThe study was arranged on a small balcony. In the place where the window sill blocks were removed, the balcony slab was reinforced, then the frame of the fence with the roof structure was built. Next, they leveled the floor, installed windows and insulated all planes.
A countertop was mounted along the entire length of the balcony. The floor in the office was slightly raised relative to the level of the floor in the bedroom due to the “pie” of insulation. The working area is a semi-autonomous space, in addition, the balcony has excellent insolation. A valuable find was a voluminous partition-wardrobe between the living room and the dressing room. The bedroom has two entrances: one through the swing door from the hallway, the second through the sliding glass partition of the dressing room.
Repair
The screed was completely replaced in the apartment, the floors were tiled with wood-like porcelain stoneware tiles, and electric heating was installed under them. New partitions were erected from tongue-and-groove blocks. The walls were leveled with plaster and partially covered with textured paint, and partially finished with mosaics.
In the bedroom, the walls, floor, and ceiling were soundproofed. Stretch ceilings were made in all rooms, lowering their level as little as possible. The bedroom and living room were equipped with air conditioners, the outdoor units were moved to the outer wall facing the courtyard.
Design
Each element of planning and design is closely related to others, but at the same time, they are all subordinated to a common goal: to create a feeling of a larger, more transparent, free living space. The studio layout was an important step towards the realization of this idea, and the diagonal partition gave a dynamic composition and also contributed to the optical increase in the depth of the rooms. Coloring became an important component of the interior: almost all the walls of the apartment are covered with white paint with a light texture, window sills and most of the furniture is of the same color, and blotches of dark brown and gray only emphasize the “luminosity” of the main planes.
There is not much furniture, large-sized items are built-in and practically merge with the background, and even the TV stand in the bedroom seems to be pushed out of the wall at an angle. The multiple enlarged fragmentary “portrait” of the cat visually changes the scale and actual dimensions of the studio.
Almost all interior doors of the built-in wardrobe, the frieze between the ceiling and the upper border of the kitchen cabinets, and the kitchen apron are made of glass; voluminous ceiling beams are finished with mirrors. Most of the day, the window openings are open, and only black-out curtains are provided for them.
Lighting fixtures – curtain lighting, balls above the semi-bar table, lights hidden behind the stretch ceiling of the bathroom and hallway – provide an even matte glow. Mosaic with small tesserae also contributes to the visual expansion of space: in the bathroom, all the walls are decorated with it, which creates an image of shimmering depth; the walls of the hallway are decorated with light gray mosaics.
When choosing an apartment, the customer took into account such criteria as proximity to highways and metro, a quiet area, proximity to a park, high ceilings, and a balcony. The owner spends a lot of time on business trips, and therefore his own home should become for him the embodiment of a dream of a relaxing holiday. The apartment is lit by the sun almost all day, so Roman blinds with thick lining were provided in the living room (they will come in handy when watching TV). And in the bedroom they hung full-fledged curtains with a blackout lining. An important accent element was the mosaic panel on the kitchen wall. For a long time, the customer could not choose one of the many panel plots we proposed: we wanted it to be unusual and at the same time not boring. As a result, we settled on a photo of our beloved cat. It turned out very original – the cat became the “face” of the apartment, although it lives in a different place.
The most important thing about our X that it is for
those who are in a hurry
