Apartment in Tetris Hall by S+O architects /Olga Protsenko, Sasha Tereshchenko/
AREA: 71.6 m2
LOCATION: Kyiv, Ukraine
YEAR: 2022
PHOTO credits: Sergii Savchenko
In general, the purpose of the redevelopment of this apartment was to create a clearer zoning of the apartment into two separate rather autonomous zones: an intimate private zone (the master block, which includes a bedroom, a wardrobe and a bathroom) and an open public one (a recreation and leisure zone, which includes the space at the entrance , storage, kitchen, living room and guest bathroom).
After slightly re-planning the space and moving the walls at the entrance, it was possible to highlight a large niche, which houses a large wardrobe for storing outerwear and household items. Visually, it is divided by colors, according to the purpose and to highlight the part of the closet where the niche for outdoor shoes is located.
The main room of the apartment — kitchen and living room — is as spacious as possible. A large number of windows and their low windowsill make the space filled with air and natural light. Instead of a dining table in the kitchen, this function is performed by an island with semi-bar stools. Such an island adds to the functional sense of the kitchen and increases the space for storing kitchen equipment, and due to this, it was possible to avoid upper hanging cabinets above the work surface, which makes the overall look of the kitchen more modern and comfortable. And also visually lighter and unloaded. For the same purpose of visually "lightening" the space, the side rack of the island is made of glass, as if it were hanging in the air.
All cabinet furniture is made to order by Ukrainian manufacturers. Most of the furniture, and the body and facades are made of chipboard, except for the kitchen, where the facades are made of light natural wood veneer, which makes the room warmer and more homely.
The floor in most rooms is an oak parquet board. Its warm color and natural texture make the apartment cozy and homey. Curtains and light, natural-colored textiles were used to frame the windows to emphasize the atmosphere of coziness and softness. In addition, the textiles of the curtains are selected exactly in the color of the walls, so the entire living room looks bright and almost monotonous, as if in one color. This makes the room minimalistic and quite restrained. And only some bright terracotta splashes of textile elements, like a pouf or bright pillows on the sofa, add liveliness and contrast.
It can be seen that a certain systematicity is also added to the apartment by the graphite elements of the fittings, such as: door fittings, electrical fittings such as switches and sockets, track lights, faucets in the bathroom and shower sets. This is how a repeated rhythm and leitmotif is created, uniting the room into a common idea. In addition, the motif of rounded or radial shapes, such as: a large round mirror at the entrance or in the bathroom, the shape of poufs or pillows, as well as the rounded shapes of sanitary equipment and faucets, are also unifying. This also contributes to building a complete picture of the design of the apartment.
Lighting in the premises is provided by built-in magnetic track lights, which makes the appearance of the apartment more modern, but at the same time it is also a very functional concise solution. Magnetic tracks allow you to move the lamps along the tracks and direct the lamps as needed, illuminating the necessary areas. In the bedroom, these tracks are turned vertically, thus creating a continuation of the line of tracks on the walls. The apartment has many warm LED lights that create an evening mood in the apartment.
Right here, near the entrance, a small bathroom is planned, which combines many functions at once: in addition to the main equipment of the bathroom, there is a washing machine and dryer, there is a boiler in the furniture, and there is even a small shower cabin for guests or for the use of the owners ( for example, in the morning, when all the residents of the apartment gather at the same time). Many different storage shelves are hidden behind uniform facades that also serve as the installation's cladding. A large mirror with lighting expands a small space and adds air to the room. On the floor and in the shower, porcelain stoneware under marble is used, as the most practical material. But the walls of this room in the dry areas are decorated with bright terracotta plaster to emphasize the lively mood of this apartment and visually unite the walls with the ceiling. Given the fact that this room is not the main sanitary unit of the residence, the bright color will not be stressful in the long run.
In the living room area there is a multifunctional two-sided sofa. This sofa fills the space, but due to its unusual configuration, it becomes a place for creative self-realization: on the one hand, such a sofa is convenient to watch TV or out the window, and on the other hand, it can be used as an additional seat near the kitchen island, especially at home parties or in informal communication.
The master block classically consists of a bedroom, a wardrobe and a bathroom. The dressing room was left open to combine the space and make the room more spacious. The color scheme of the furniture coincides with the dark, deep color of the ceiling, so the ceiling seems to turn into a wardrobe niche, deepening it and visually separating it from the main bedroom space. Separately, the walls in the bedroom should be noted, they are very diverse here: mirror elements, decorative plaster with stripes and fragments with plaster panels are used in the decoration of the walls, which break up the homogeneity of the walls and make the space more interesting and playful. A red soft ottoman and a pillow on the bed add liveliness to the restrained gamut of the room, just like the rest of the apartment.
The master bathroom is spacious and functional. The main value of the shower cabin here is its rather large size, as well as a comfortable bench with lighting inside the cabin, where you can sit down or put the necessary things. It is visually divided in height by two different colors of porcelain stoneware, as if the terrazzo from the floor extends slightly onto the walls. And the ceiling, according to the same principle as in the rest of the rooms of the master block, is of a deep dark color, which visually distances it and makes it look like an endless starry night sky.
