The small apartment, located on the 22nd floor of a modern residential complex, is spacious and bright, and the interior looks fresh and relaxed from any angle. The owner often travels abroad for work and therefore is accustomed to the modern European organization of living space. The open layout highlights all the advantages of the synthesis of three styles: loft, Scandinavian, and minimalism.
The owner of the apartment clearly outlined the image of the home – Scandinavian aesthetics combined with modern minimalism. The style also predetermined the color palette: light colors in contrast with black gloss, terracotta, and shades of turquoise. The interior was to be light and spacious, well insulated in all areas.
Redevelopment
In plan, the apartment looks like an elongated rectangle with two windows and a large loggia along the entire width of the outer wall. The developer initially determined the location of the bathroom and ventilation ducts, close to the entrance area. The door to the apartment is located on the wall opposite the windows and opens into a small hallway, on the left side of which there is a bathroom, on the right side there is a wardrobe. An open passage leads to the kitchen and dining areas, located along the longitudinal wall on the left, closer to the window. Opposite the dining room the group, next to the second window, a living room was arranged, and a sleeping area was placed between the latter and the dressing room. Thanks to precise calculations, it was possible to fit a toilet with a washbasin into the small bathroom, a shower compartment in the corner between them, and a washing machine to the right of the front door.
The sleeping area, located almost in the very center of the apartment, can “dissolve” in the common space (only the welded metal frame remains visible, to which glass “screens” of the walls and curtains are attached), which is important in an open plan. In addition, with the help of curtains attached on both sides, it can turn into a kind of light box, without creating a feeling of crampedness and heavy volume. Textile curtains not only add coziness to the sleeping area but also allow you to postpone cleaning if necessary without compromising the aesthetics of the interior (the curtains can simply be closed). The open side of the box and the sliding door to the adjacent ventilated dressing room on hot days open the way for a light “breeze” from the air conditioner. The TV screen is placed in a built-in mini-stand.
Repair
The owner decided to use only natural materials. The apartment was screeded, new partitions were made of brick, and some partitions were finished with the same material (in the hallway, along the outer wall, in the bedroom area). The ceilings were not covered with plasterboard; their concrete surfaces were covered with light beige paint. The thick transparent glass of the walls of the sleeping “lightbox” on a metal frame contrasts with the brutal materials. The floors in the living areas were covered with bleached parquet boards with chamfers, which helped to imitate a solid board.
Open-type wiring made of white retro cable and its distribution on the walls and ceiling serve as additional decorative accents
Design
Large panels of transparent glass, separating the sleeping area from other areas, glare and create the appearance of a light, airy interior
A stylish and relaxed atmosphere was created thanks to precise calculations and contrasting combinations of colors and textures. In the entrance area, brutal brickwork is combined with black glossy door panels, black gloss is present in the decoration of the kitchen facades, but the rest of the rooms seem to dissolve in the radiance of white light. To adjust the furniture to the size of the home, they decided to make most of the items to order – a shelving unit, a TV cabinet (aka a bar counter), kitchen modules, a sofa, a bed, and all the doors were made according to the sketches and drawings of the author of the project.
Overhead spotlights were connected to dimmers, which made it possible to vary the brightness of the light streams, and change the lighting intensity and mood both in the studio as a whole and in its individual zones. Having arranged the furniture, the direction of the rotating lamps was adjusted taking into account the mise-en-scène. We chose a contrasting finish for the bathroom.
The type of the house is monolithic frame, from the height of the 22nd floor the city center is perfectly visible. Natural light penetrates into the interior through the glazing of the loggia, so maximum insolation in all zones was created due to the open layout and finishing with light materials. The main task was to create modern apartments with minimal effort and using inexpensive materials and techniques. Interior design solutions did not require intervention in the original layout and did not require approvals, which speeded up the delivery of the project – the work, including repairs, took only 3 months. The loggia was not radically insulated; on the contrary, ventilation hatches were installed at the ends (they are needed for the air conditioner to work). The Prado radiators initially chosen by the owner were not changed. Taking into account the modest dimensions of the premises and the general design style of the apartment, we made a compact bar counter, installed a hidden hood and a built-in refrigerator.
