00:02My partner and I rented this apartment and the landlord agreed to let me redesign the
00:08whole unit and I renovated and built everything from scratch. It was a bit tricky to build
00:17furniture for this space because the walls are not perpendicular to each other and none of the
00:22corners are square. We wanted to live in a fully equipped and functional place that could fit our
00:29musical instruments and many other important objects while maintaining a nearest central space.
00:39My name is Cristiana Felgueiras and I'm an artist, maker and content creator behind YouTube channel
00:46Get Hands Dirty. The apartment is in downtown Porto, Portugal.
01:00This is the old part of the city with many historical buildings, very characteristic
01:05tile work that can be seen in the facades. We are a few minutes walking from the river and we
01:16are also
01:16close to the theater, sold cinema and cafes. It's a lively and lovely neighborhood.
01:27This used to be a commercial building built in the late 70s with offices and small businesses. Most have
01:35been converted in the last few years to small apartments.
01:42This space was originally a small office with a wooden wall divided into rooms. It didn't have
01:48anything, just a toilet. The toilet walls were removed and the whole space was cleaned and freshly painted
01:55before we came in. We chose materials that could fit within a low budget that still looked good.
02:02The division of the new space was made with a wardrobe working simultaneously as a privacy wall when the
02:10entry door is open. The planning of the space was made so that the glass door would be closer to
02:16the
02:16kitchen and the window closer to the living sleeping area. The furniture was built around the walls, leaving the center
02:24of the space mostly empty.
02:30The entrance is divided from the rest of the space by the back of the wardrobe.
02:36There is an entry closet in the corner where we store mostly sports and household items, shoes and coats.
02:46With a custom-built entry closet and wardrobe, I was able to eliminate the angles of the space but keep
02:53every centimeter of storage space inside them.
02:59On the other side we have a small green shoe cabinet to keep the most used pairs for each season.
03:09There aren't any protruding knobs in this apartment so everything is either click to open or have flush or cut
03:17out handles.
03:22The living space can turn into the bedroom at night. It is composed by this large sofa, a multifunctional coffee
03:30table,
03:31the media console and this large built-in behind the sofa that contains the murphy bed.
03:40It was important to break the massive birch surface and the piano desk was the way to create separation in
03:48both color, height and design.
03:54I introduced the black material to create contrast with the brighter woods and whites.
04:02There is storage from floor to ceiling, including compartments that were planned to open sideways or have doors smaller than
04:11the interior volume.
04:14I also conformed the pieces to the non-square corner to avoid strange gaps or unused space.
04:23The back cushions of the sofa come out when it is time to flip out the bed. It rests over
04:29the sofa seats and the coffee table.
04:32The pillows and bed linen are stored in the sofa drawers.
04:40The media console establishes a separation between the living sleeping space and kitchen area.
04:47It has storage on both sides and was custom built to fit particular things such as these two small
04:53guitar and bass amplifiers and the record player.
04:59To give it a little more interest, a small bookshelf was added to the visible side
05:04and a parking lot for the robot cleaner that stores it out of the way.
05:14The kitchen is quite large for a tiny apartment and is fully equipped.
05:19It's where I get most creative besides my studio, so it was important to integrate storage for all the tools
05:27and have enough space to cook.
05:31All appliances besides the oven and cooktop are hidden and it includes a fridge and freezer,
05:39a microwave, a small dishwasher and a washing machine.
05:43This large and deep cabinet has a pull-up pantry to keep all groceries organized and visible.
05:52To break the lighter tones, I installed a dark cement and wood fiberboard as a countertop and backsplash.
06:00The dimensions of the central yellow cabinets are not standardized because I built them many years
06:07ago for another space and that created limitations on the final design of this kitchen such as the upper cabinets.
06:17The dining table is extendable. The extension pieces are stored in the media console drawer built specifically for them.
06:26It can feed 8 to 10 people when extended and it can be used as extra preparation space when cooking
06:33too.
06:36Near the glass door are the trash cans and two floating shelves.
06:41They are mainly populated with plants to make the space feel more vibrant.
06:48The original window framing was upgraded and the swing of the door was changed to open outwards
06:55to prevent blocking the inside area.
06:57The balcony is where I spend my work breaks from spring to the end of summer.
07:03We chose to cover this wall with bamboo to hide the messy structure behind it
07:09and the vertical garden allowed us to have many plants and bits of life where an otherwise blank
07:16and boring wall would be. This is where we can enjoy sunsets with a view over the old city.
07:25The bathroom is by the entrance. We decided to keep the interior window as it brings some natural light into
07:33the bathroom.
07:35The ceiling light with the fluffy clouds that I 3D printed can be seen from the main space when lit,
07:42which creates a warm and relaxing atmosphere.
07:45The walls were kept with the original tiles but were painted light blue to make the space feel fresher.
07:53There is a vanity and sink with a large mirror cabinet above.
08:00The water tank is inside this upper cabinet with a sliding base for easy maintenance.
08:09We have the laundry baskets hanging up above the door.
08:13It's so much fun every day throwing clothes up in there and they're easy to bring down using a steps
08:19tool.
08:22Building this entire apartment was a great way to explore woodworking techniques and materials.
08:29This was the first time I planned an entire space and building every centimeter of it made me truly
08:35value the amount of work, vision and thinking that is put into creating fully functional homes
08:40with so little space available.
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