to us tiny spaces are fascinating
we believe their unique appeal has to do with their proportions
their size makes them easier to dominate to turn them into a personal world apartment is located
at palermo a neighborhood of buenos aires the building lies on a 100 meter long cobbled street
it's a peaceful and quiet area in a busy neighborhood our clients are two sisters
one of them is a permanent resident and the other tends to travel frequently
it was intended to be home of one shared if needed or ready for short time rental if they wanted to
the original unit was too fragmented for its size and had almost no sunlight
in just 42 square meters we had five different rooms and just two windows
the original unit had a narrow kitchen at its back besides it it was a laundry in the center of it
with no access to natural light the living room firstly we unified the kitchen living
room and laundry into a single larger space to improve natural light we enlarge
the only existing window that was shared by these three rooms and the original bedroom door
was repositioned into the corridor for a better functionality and a cleaner look we wanted to
achieve a space that was more comfortable for the day-to-day use and with a contemporary look
the entrance of the apartment is directly through their living room everything was
arranged in a way so that the access door is not faced directly during any activity inside
the living space is organized by a kitchen bench and in front of it wooden shelves
we place a storage unit from floor to ceiling to take full advantage of the vertical space
and we arranged some shelves for books and records
we also have a folding bed for guests beneath the shelves
in the kitchen area we thought a small cooktop was a better choice so that more countertop space was
available for food preparation in front of the countertop we placed a table to be an extension
of the cooking area a place to have breakfast to eat or even do some work if you need to
instead of having a splash back made of quartz we opted for a very glossy paint this paint is
intended for industrial use but is easy to clean up after cooking and is much cheaper
the storage has wavy glass doors
that were common on the 70s and bring back some of the original character
we opted for a neutral concrete floor which is better for cooking and for a cleaning up
doors and drawers have custom fretwork instead of handles for a cleaner design we chose math glass
because of privacy reasons but at the same time it softened the light that came into the apartment
our clients participate actively with making the design process very
fluid they brought a wallpaper for the bedroom and some objects that stand their personality
we kept the original wardrobe we also added some handles and painted the original doors in white
the bedroom has a small balcony that can be accessed
through a double glazed metallic door which is original to the apartment
it has a beautiful sunlight in the morning and nice view to the trees on the street
the bathroom was completely renovated but keeping its original skin to avoid plumbing problems
we use guatamu plywood terrazzo pin tiles black fixtures
and a backlit mirror that gives sense of bigger space
we place pink tiles in a vertical way to accentuate the height of the bathroom
we choose carefully each material and finish to accomplish simple aesthetic with a sense of warm
some materials are shared throughout all of the apartment for a sense of continuity
but each space has its own character and color accent
even though buenos aires is a big city with no space problems
small living is a cultural reality and goes beyond space availability people
want to be closer to the places they like and the people they want to be with
design can turn small spaces into joyful places