A girl working in the fashion industry wanted to decorate an apartment in a monolithic-brick house, which was built several years ago. The initially chosen loft style was enriched in the process of implementation with new features that brought a touch of ethnicity and cape code to the interiors; A close look will notice the details borrowed from the classics. The original combination of various style components helped to create a unique atmosphere in the home.
The owner of the apartment needed a spacious studio that combines a living room, kitchen, and dining room, a separate bedroom with a bathroom located next to it, as well as a guest bathroom. In addition, it was necessary to equip as many storage spaces as possible. It was planned to arrange a recreation area on the balcony at the studio but without frills.
A loft was chosen as a style guide during the discussion, however, the customer, who took the most active part in the selection of finishing materials, later decided to make some changes to the design – the experts took into account her wishes.
Redevelopment
The apartment, almost square in plan (only one of the inner corners has a small rectangular recess) is located in a high-rise building, from its three large windows on the outer wall (two extreme windows open onto a balcony and a loggia) a beautiful panorama of the city opens up, a lot of light enters the openings. During the redevelopment, they tried to emphasize these advantages of the dwelling. In addition, the apartment has three water risers, to which it was convenient to “attach” the bathrooms and the kitchen. Without affecting the load-bearing wall between the current bedroom and the kitchen, the partitions were dismantled, which made it possible to arrange a bright studio with two windows; the passage between it and the entrance area was expanded. The space of the latter was reduced by constructing a niche for the closet. At the entrance, a neat laundry room was equipped in the compartment provided by the developer, which was narrowed down and equipped with sliding doors. Adjacent to the laundry room is a bathroom with a shower. The entrance to the bathroom was arranged from the side of the bedroom. Right behind the last door, in the walk-through area, a niche for a built-in wardrobe was equipped, and a place for a dressing table was found against the wall opposite the door.
Exclusive Details
The apartment has a lot of items created specifically for this project. So, the loft aesthetics of the studio are set not only by the general proportions of the room, wall and floor decoration, but also by spectacular shelving made of wood and metal with characteristic elements – brutal metal ribbons with carnations, which are sheathed on the edges of the shelves and framing sections with drawers, made of metal and stretch marks. The bar (aka dining) table on a metal frame and the coffee table are also made to order, their rectangular wooden tops are also placed on metal frames. In the bathroom, the washbasin is complemented by a custom-made blackened metal stand-console. Such details with laconic transparent silhouettes fit well into loft-style rooms. On the balcony next to the living room there is a wardrobe made of solid oak with order decor,
Repair
The old screed was replaced in the apartment, the walls were leveled with plaster, the waterproofing of wet areas was strengthened, and new partitions were erected from tongue-and-groove blocks. The ceilings in the rooms were leveled with drywall, in the bathrooms – with the help of stretch matte structures. The walls were partly painted and partly covered with decorative plaster or tiled to look like clinker bricks. The walls of the bathroom were decorated with mosaics. The balcony and loggia were insulated, and higher-quality double-glazed windows were installed in frames pasted over with wood-like film. In the rooms, window frames were made of glued wood, window sills were made of artificial stone. The radiators were left uncovered – they were painted in a color that contrasted with the shade of the walls, and instead of a radiator, a floor convector was installed in the bedroom. The audio speakers of the system located in the living room were taken out to the bathroom and bedroom.
Space saving
When designing a small apartment, you need to remember about ease of movement; overall details, shutters of doors and windows should not eat up space. So, for example, the window in the living room can be tilted towards itself, and in order to fully open it, the sashes move. The door to the bathroom is also sliding: a panel of frosted glass with an upper suspension is shifted to the ledge of the partition, next to which there is a small pocket on the side of the bathroom. A sliding transparent door is also equipped with a shower compartment in the bathroom. The solution of the kitchen is noteworthy: since the length of the working composition is 3.2 m, which is not much, and the bar table has no storage places (due to which the interior seems more airy), the lower modules have been increased in depth by 20 cm (standard depth is 60 cm). Thus, all kitchen utensils were placed in cabinets, clearing the work surface. In addition, an oven model with a microwave function was chosen for the kitchen.
Loggia, bedroom, and bathroom are on the same open axis, making them seem more spacious. in addition, such a compositional technique allows you to appreciate the variety of finishes and combinations of materials
Design
Interior design is based on loft aesthetics, which today is usually combined with elements of various styles. Initially, the interiors were planned to be decorated neutrally and sparingly, the walls were partly painted white and partly finished to look like bricks (partitions between windows, protruding structural volumes of risers, etc.), and in the living room, they were to be covered with decorative cement-like plaster (in the bedroom, the plaster had to imitate a silk moire surface). However, in the end, they settled on patterned floor tiles: for example, in the hallway, a black and white ornament stylized as a mosaic reminds not so much of a Mediterranean interior, but of the entrance part of a classic mansion. In the bedroom, the floor from the entrance to the dwelling to the wall behind the “dressing room” mirror (as the hostess calls the dressing table area) is lined with polychrome tiles and is associated with an oriental carpet. In the bathroom, the wall behind the toilet is lined from floor to ceiling with patchwork tiles. In addition, several piers and door niches are painted in cobalt blue, giving the depth and coolness of the interior.
Thanks to the combination of loft aesthetics, ethnic and classical elements, one gets the feeling that different time contexts have long coexisted in this modern apartment.
Individual approach
The apartment has low ceilings (initially 2.8 m, after renovation 2.7 m), so instead of voluminous pendant lamps, built-in models were used in all interiors. Only the bar table was accentuated with three cone shades arranged in a row on low suspensions. It is noteworthy that in the studio the hostess decided to completely abandon the curtains – at night, a panorama opens from the windows with a bewitching scattering of lights. But metal curtain rods were still attached so that during house parties the owner could hang garlands of LED lamps from them. For greater convenience, sockets were located near the windows, on both sides of the window sills. The dressing table is illuminated in an original way: the mirror is framed by light bulbs built into the frame without shades.
Thanks to carefully thought-out compositional solutions and well-chosen furniture, the interiors seem more spacious: built-in objects optically decrease in volume, “weightless” mirror (wardrobes) or achromatic (kitchen) facades give the rooms depth and airiness,
thin frames of tables and chairs easily let in light from the windows. There is very little textile, besides it is plain (blue, beige-gray) – curtains and a removable headboard cover in the bedroom, upholstery of the sofa and armchairs in the living room. Contrasting textures and colors attract attention and look decorative – for example, radiators and window sills painted in brown of the same color set off well like a vibrating “masonry” of walls imitating bleached brick. High skirting boards, paneled doors and doors, a classic “fireplace” portal, and traditional frames in the bedroom create an elegant environment, but without glamorous accents. Convenient trajectories of movement also provide for long-light perspectives.
The customer did not have any specific wishes in terms of style – the main thing is that the apartment looks modern, and during the discussion we settled on the concept of a loft. The final appearance of some elements of decoration was not formed immediately. For example, the hostess first chose laminate flooring as flooring, but later it was decided to til the floors in the passage areas and the hallway with ornamental tiles, and in the living rooms – with natural wood. We created the design of most of the furnishings ourselves – they were made to order. A convector was built into the floor of the bedroom, as a chest of drawers was installed in the wall where the radiator could fit. All water taps in the apartment are equipped with Aqua-stop systems.
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