Apartamento Apiacás

Cris Farhat

• Architects

Mari and Félix came to us with a fifties’ building that went through a renovation in all its apartments. In this context, we faced ourselves with high ceilings and all the qualities of antique apartments, and the bonus of the infrastructure renovation. The couple has a little girl, Nina. Together, they combined their interests and needs, and asked us to focus on a custom-made joinery that would solve their issues and reflect their personalities.

What guided the project? What were the inspirations?
We projected the apartment following a coherent aesthetic language, in order to achieve a multifunctional furniture. The colors have a huge importance as a background, valuing the woodworking even more, in addition to bringing a slight boldness by the use of so varied hues. We were guided by the idea of exploring the spaces in the best way and bringing harmony to each corner of this home.

Main points of the project
The bookcase in the living room crosses the largest wall in the apartment, with a specific function in each stretch - a cloakroom/bar in the entrance, a support bench in the balcony and a TV’s rack in the living room. The steelwork is incorporated by family’s decor objects, and gives lightness to the whole group. The kitchen was a real challenge, due to the fact that none of the layouts had enough space for the fridge. The solution was the design of a woodworking tower to be the home appliances niche, which in its behind has the function of a coat rack. In the couple’s bedroom we also wanted to suggest something special. It started with the idea of applying a different wallpaper, and then we decided to mix a headboard made of natural straw with a handmade mural by Lanó.

Curiosity
We believe in multifunctionality of custom-made furniture, and we recognize its importance in the solutions we present to our client, when we can solve two or more of their issues in the same space. We believe that this was the strong quality of this project, where the major challenge was presenting great spacial solutions with harmony.

What was the main interior design plan for this project and how did your indoor garden plan apply here?
We designed the whole apartament using a coherent and permeable aesthetic in its greatness, reaching a multifunctionality through the furniture we designed.
As a background, the colors enrich the carpentry and bring audacity with the hue's variety. As we noticed the garden as an important living environment for the residents, we planned to focus it with a strong color (blue) highlighting the green of the plants. It has also become an extension of the room, where it is possible to have a generous integration between these two environments.

Would you explain more details for the indoor garden plan, like which materials did you use for a planter and how did you arranged plants etc.
We designed a concrete bench with a linear planter to the wall, where the vegetation was planted so that they could gain more space and depth of soil than in conventional vases. We also designed a water drainage system, so as not to retain moisture in excess of harming selected species. We left the walls free for aerial vases and climbing plants that will start to grow soon.

Which plants or trees you used here and why did you choose them?
We suggested half-light plants, such as Monstera, Anthurium and Purple Lambari. Although the garden is in the open, the incidence of sun is low, leaving the environment shady for most of the day. We also suggest some vases with Peperomia and Hera for the other environments, creating a harmonious interior design throughout the apartment. According to your experience, what is a key for a successful planterior (plant + interior) design? - Since I want to cover two projects of your studio, maybe two different person can answer each question.

We always consider plants in all our projects, they bring the environments to life in a welcoming way. The secret to success when using them is to always respect your natural lighting and ventilation needs. Choosing the appropriate pot is also a good way, because in addition to allowing the plant to live healthier, the design of these objects helps a lot in the aesthetic composition of the environments.