Integrating daily life and the moments of hosting guests into a single home was the starting point for the renovation of an older apartment. The result is BALU Apartment, a project by Studio Elã, that follows the concept of residential retrofit, balancing the contemporary with the affectionate.
The renovation of the 85 m² apartment began with an almost complete demolition. The walls separating the kitchen and the laundry area were torn down, and the layout gained a new logic: the kitchen opened up to the living room, the laundry area was compacted, a powder room emerged where the service bathroom used to be, and the master suite gained a walk-in closet.
The style combines minimalist, industrial, and vintage touches, evoking a "modern grandmother's house." The inspiration came from the building's history: the original parquet flooring was recovered and restored, while the custom joinery received details such as the cork covering one of the office walls, forming a large mural.
The absence of the property's original floor plan led the team to discover columns and beams during construction. In the powder room, cut joinery concealed structural protrusions in the walls, and in the suite, a column that prevented the expansion of the shower enclosure gave rise to a built-in niche with a masonry bench.
The appliance tower with retractable doors in the kitchen opens for everyday use of the microwave, oven, and beer fridge, and can be closed when residents host guests, integrating seamlessly with the living room.
Functionality is also expressed in the pistachio-green modular sofa, which converts into a guest bed, and in the dining table, which changes shape to adjust seating capacity. Classic-design chairs with straw seats and a TV rack in ebonized wood complete the room, while in the office the residents' pop culture collections coexist with musical instruments.
The lighting combines electrified tracks with adjustable spotlights, lending an industrial touch, along with an articulated-arm wall lamp above the dining table that functions both as a light source and a sculptural piece. Hanging plants on the open shelving in the kitchen and living room bring lightness to the composition.
The bathrooms combine blue and white tiles in varied compositions, and the suite's walk-in closet received a door system that opens at a free angle, providing access to all stored clothing.
BALU Apartment shows how a retrofit can preserve the memory of a building while also meeting the needs of those who live there today. Each solution emerged from a specific challenge posed by the property, resulting in a home ready for both everyday life and entertaining.
