For the couple that lives in this small, old apartment with their almost-teenager daughter it was obvious that even though its size interfered with their plans to enlarge the family, they couldn’t let the apartment go.
A perfect location, quiet neighborhood, and an enchanting green garden a short distance away drove them to come to me and challenge me to turn a two-bedroom 73m2 apartment into a three-bedroom apartment with the same total area.
The smaller the space is, the more planning is required in order to use it efficiently. The creation of many storage spaces for holding objects of daily use causes the objects to “disappear” and thereby maximizes the lighting and living space.
My clients are diverse people with intensive lives. During the day they work in high-tech, and when they get home, they become creative. He is a well-known and successful author, who writes imaginative and witty books, and she plays the guitar and loves music. After several talks it was clear to me that it was important that the house, despite its size, would help them relax and relieve some of the sensory overload resulting from too many materials and textures.
The long entry hallway, which was dictated by the way the apartment was built, was used efficiently by embedding entry, service and laundry cabinets which blend into the wall on one side, and on the other side, I used practical elements of high hanging bookshelves, a mirror that doubles the feeling of space in the hallway and a long, low cabinet which leads into the main area of the apartment and adds additional storage space.
The apartment has a challenging L-shaped space. By first destroying all of the inner divisions, enlarging the various openings and using the significant 3.2 m height, I was able to create a gallery bed in the daughter’s bedroom, which in turn allowed me to add an extra room between the master bedroom and the bathroom.
The master bedroom has a big, low window which makes the room feel larger and makes looking outside possible even when lying down.
The bathroom uses the same colors and materials as the rest of the apartment; oak, cream and light blue.
Despite the proximity of the open kitchen, the dining area and the living room, a perfect proportion is maintained between the various functions. Using one clear and consistent design language makes the room feel open. The high windows that surround the house make the greenery on the window sills connect the outside with the inside.
The physical proximity between the buildings which is characteristic of an urban environment, required the addition of curtains for privacy.
