Apartment for a couple without children, around 60 years old. The couple has a contemporary taste, and they are active socially and culturally.
They wanted an apartment that could be used for both everyday living and entertaining. Spacious, integrated areas that could host friends but also be functional for daily use. A relaxed style, yet sophisticated and contemporary. Subtle with touches of joy, like a burgundy armchair.
Designer furniture pieces as the Jader Almeida sofa, Fahrer Design dining table, and Geraldo de Barros chairs (Dpot). Wall panels covering the walls create unity between spaces, and the use of wood makes the environment cozy.
Renovation. The spaces were completely reworked: 3 bedrooms were transformed into 2; two rooms became a master bedroom with an attached office and closet for him, and a separate closet for her. A wardrobe was created in the circulation area where there wasn’t one before. In the living room, space for a home office was created by taking a portion of the kitchen area. A balcony was integrated into the living room to expand the living space. In the kitchen, a small dining area was created.
Conclusion: The space was conceived as a blank canvas, considering all layout possibilities. This approach allowed us to optimize the space and the layout of each area.
The apartment was new, so it wasn’t necessary to change the plumbing. The electrical work was only modified to accommodate the new layout: repositioning and resizing outlets and lighting fixtures.
The concept of the project was to create a neutral and sober base, yet sophisticated, to highlight the custom furniture pieces. From the start, the client expressed a preference for shades of gray over beige tones.
I believe the definition of the spaces and the positioning of walls and furniture. It bothered me to have the main wall of the living room with the entrance doors, access to the kitchen, and the powder room door. So, we created a large panel in cabinetry with built-in doors that followed the panel. This way, the doors disappeared, and a unified wall was created. By inserting the TV unit niche in the space that was initially the kitchen, we managed to create a focal point to highlight the continuity of the panel.
Not from the property itself, but the Geraldo de Barros chairs for Dpot and the Dpot buffet were part of the client’s existing furniture collection and were reused in the new home.
The biggest difficulty was achieving a layout that met all the needs, both from a functional and aesthetic point of view.
The panel on the main wall of the living room, which contained the entrance doors, access to the kitchen, and the powder room, was made with matte laminate (which, in addition to having no shine and a more matte finish, has a velvet-like texture). For the dining room wall, we wanted a distinctive material that would stand out. We decided on a stone mosaic, and it made sense for it to be gray to match the neutral base. We kept the base the same color, only changing the texture.
Living Room: We designed a panel to integrate the entrance doors, access to the kitchen, and the powder room, while also housing a TV shelf. The choice of gray came from the client, who, despite liking wood, didn’t want the entire house to be made of wood. The TV unit is made of wood to stand out within the gray panel. A built-in niche was created inside the panel to house the TV shelf. Opposite the wall with the panel was a large window with a balcony closure. The two adjacent walls remained. One was used for the bar with a mirrored niche (occupying the full height), and on the other was the existing buffet. We decided to work on the buffet wall with a different finish. However, since we wanted a unified design, we kept the gray color and introduced a different texture: stone.
After defining the walls, it was time for the furniture. The layout had already been defined from the beginning of the process, before detailing the cabinetry. We wanted a large, important sofa to make a statement in the living room. The Jader Almeida sofa was the perfect choice, with a wooden panel on the back for this purpose. In addition to being super comfortable, almost the entire sofa space is usable for sitting (since the arms are just wooden panels). With its straight lines and contemporary design, the sofa marks the living/tv area and is complemented by two Fahrer Design armchairs.
The back of the sofa is beautiful and serves as a partition between the living room and dining room.
In the dining room, we have a large table with two pendant lights above. On one side, there is the wooden buffet (with a stone wall behind it), and on the other side, the bar (housing a wine cellar and mini bar) with upper and lower cabinets, and in the middle, a bronze mirror niche (the bronze mirror reflects like a regular mirror but is more discreet and sophisticated). In front of the bar area, there is an armchair. This space was thoughtfully designed for the client's mother, who lived with them, to sit, watch TV, and knit.
Next to the bar area and adjacent to the living room, there is another space with two armchairs, a side table, and a floor lamp.
The idea was to create a darker, scenic, and dramatic environment. To achieve this, we used dark stone, a dark vase, and walls with textured concrete-like wallpaper. The highlight is the Anêmona light fixture from FAS Lighting, where the stems open into flowers when turned on. It is undoubtedly the focal point of the powder room.
Kitchen: The major challenge in the kitchen was fitting everything into a small space, while also incorporating a dining area. We used some wooden finishes to make the space feel cozy.
Master Bedroom: The cabinetry was the key element in this project. Everything was meticulously studied and fitted into the available spaces. A partition between the bedroom and the office was created using panels, and there is a desk in the home office.
The home office houses the closet for him and provides access to his bathroom. In the bedroom, we managed to fit a wardrobe, a TV unit, a bed, a bed panel with headboard furniture, an upholstered headboard with directed reading lights, and even an ironing board, as requested by the client, which is integrated into the cabinetry. In the entrance hallway, there is a closet for her that gives access to her bathroom. The colors are neutral, with shades of gray and fendi in the cabinetry, joinery, and upholstery.
There was a "tree of happiness" that had been with the client for over 30 years and needed to be incorporated into the project. Nothing like a plant to bring life to a space. So, we placed it in the corner between the dining room and the living room.
Team:
Project and construction supervision: Carla Dichy Arquitetura
Project management and execution: Maria Cláudia Cunha
Photographer: Marco Antonio
Materials Used:
Dining chairs, Buffet dinner: Dpot
Sofa: Jader Almeida para Dpot
Dining table, Living armchari, Living table: Fahrer design
Reading room armchairs: Decameron
Reading room tables, pillows living: Codex Home
Armchairs bar: Brentwood
Rug living: By Kamy
Dining room pendants, Dining room floor lamp: Lumini
Mosaic wall: Mosarte
Cabinets: Ornare
Chair: Novakasa Décor
Office chair: Hermann Miller p Atec
Bedside sconces: Puntoluce
Curtains and tapestry: Casa Picolo tapeçaria
Wallpaper: Fast Décor
