Skip to playerSkip to main content
Our second book is now shipping worldwide. Be among the first to get your hands on it here https://www.ntsstore.com/products/never-too-small-vol-2-reinventing-small-space-living

Home to Spanish architects Patricia Laguna and Ricardo Sánchez of Tra.ma, this central Madrid apartment is flooded with natural light from three side-by-side balconies and has been designed to adapt to the couple's changing needs. Moving the kitchen to the front of the apartment, removing walls and adding openings made the space feel much larger and more connected. Much of the furniture in the bright, open living area is made from repurposed construction materials and includes a versatile TV stand that can be easily moved when the space doubles as a yoga studio. The kitchen is a blend of oak Ikea cabinetry and open shelving and features DIY lights made from Ikea bowls and a large glass splashback that gives the illusion that the space continues on beyond it. Tra.ma’s delicate balance of opening up, through passageways, windows, open shelving, and closing off, through integrated appliances and concealed storage, leaves space for imagination and day-to-day adaptability.

#smallapartment #architecture #interiordesign

Ep 168
Project Name: Three Balcony House
Architect: https://tra.ma/

Produced by New Mac Video Agency
Creator: Colin Chee
Director: Nam Tran
Cinematographer: Andrew Davies
Producer: Lindsay Barnard
Editor: Sebastian Tibbs
Music: Stream by Oak and Cherry & Awakening by Ikolike and Journey by Sean Williams from Artlist.io
Transcript
00:03The apartment is nestled within Madrid's Old Town, in the Barrio Las Letras neighborhood.
00:08We like that it was an old building and that the apartment had a lot of flexibility and light.
00:14For us, to have a lot of natural light was one of our main requirements.
00:20Also, it had to be flexible and adapt to our chaotic lives.
00:26The apartment was intended to be solely our own residence, but it has become our office as well.
00:34My name is Patricia Carrasco.
00:36And I'm Ricardo Mancho. We are architects and founders of Trama, a small architectural office based in Madrid and Canary
00:42Islands.
00:43We are also the owners of this apartment.
00:56The neighborhood consists mostly of pedestrian streets lined with three to five-story residential buildings.
01:04It is a neighborhood that is highly urban and open to tourism, but still retains the sense of being a
01:09small town.
01:11This building dates back to the 1860s. It's a typical corrala found in Madrid.
01:18Corralas are small housing units arranged around a communal patio.
01:22Historically, some of them were even used as public theaters around the city.
01:28We stumbled upon this place while looking for a house for one of our clients.
01:33He rejected it, but for us, as soon as we saw this place, we felt like this would be our
01:37home.
01:39There was a large dining and living room with three balconies.
01:43The kitchen was in the corner of the apartment. Next to it was the bathroom and the bedroom.
01:48The first thing we did was to remove as many walls as we could.
01:53The bathroom was moved to the old kitchen.
01:56We placed the kitchen into the open living and dining area.
02:00The bedroom stayed in the same location.
02:06You enter the apartment through the original door.
02:10There is a cabinet with some books and art.
02:14The cabinets are made up of three double IKEA storage units and one single unit.
02:20The single unit also doubles as a seat when putting on shoes.
02:24There is a narrow corridor with a big mirror on one side,
02:28which makes you feel like you are in a bigger space.
02:31The end of the corridor splits into the living area and the bedroom.
02:40The living room is a large open area that is shared with the dining and kitchen.
02:46Above the sofa, we added some floating shelves.
02:49It allows us to store books and plants without taking up additional floor space.
02:54We made most of the pots for the interior plants using concrete and other cement-like materials that are left
03:03over from work sites.
03:06The construction materials that we have around the living area are pieces that we find from our projects.
03:13For example, the coffee table was a piece of marble we found from a work site.
03:18We added some recycled legs and it has been a great table for the living room.
03:26We like the SETIF TV because when we have yoga sessions it's very easy to move it and put it
03:32in the bedroom.
03:35The kitchen is at the end of the open living area.
03:39A mirror splashback adds interesting views and reflections to the kitchen.
03:45We added open shelving above the counter space because we wanted to show our beautiful plates and glasses.
03:53It also makes it easier to find the things you need.
03:57The cabinets and doors are finished with oak and are from IKEA.
04:02We integrated the fridge and dishwasher to keep the space looking clean.
04:06The thin countertop is porcelanic bidector.
04:10Ricardo hates lighting from the ceiling as they are often quite boring and cold.
04:15So we use IKEA balls to make them more cozy and interesting.
04:22For the lighting, we added a Legnemos Le Corbusier lamp on the wall.
04:29The apartment was intended to be solely our own residence, but it has become our office as well.
04:36Our idea was to design a place that reflects our simple and creative lifestyle in a bright, calm and flexible
04:43space.
04:44During the week, there are four to five people working here.
04:50The three balconies bring in a lot of light.
04:54We have turned them into our small urban garden.
04:59For the balcony in the middle, we added a small table to have a coffee in the morning.
05:06The balconies have curtains on the outside to protect the house and the plants from the summer sun.
05:12Because there is a gap between the curtains, it still has good air flow and light can still come through.
05:24The wall between the kitchen and the bathroom has a large window.
05:28It lets the light pass through and makes the space feel brighter.
05:34There is a curtain that starts from the dressing space and moves through the bedroom.
05:39It isolates the most intimate area of the apartment, so you can have a shower or change your clothes in
05:46privacy.
05:47We originally planned to add a door in the bedroom, but in the end, while we were designing the space,
05:53we realized that we like the circular flow.
05:59The dressing area has a large floor to sell in the wardrobe.
06:03It contains more of our clothes and household items, as well as the washing machine.
06:10The bathroom cabin contains both the toilet and the shower.
06:17The shower heads can be turned on at the same time, to allow two people to use the shower simultaneously.
06:24It has a large glass panel that allows natural light to come in.
06:35Instead of hiding the sink, we decided to turn it into a feature in this area of the apartment.
06:40We are doing this to improve the spaciousness of the house.
06:45Behind the sink, we added a wall of artisanal ceramic tiles.
06:50On the side, we have space to store everyday items.
06:56The sleeping area can be accessed from the entrance corridor and from the living area.
07:03Originally, there was a part of the ceiling which had storage space.
07:08We didn't need it all, so we decided to remove most of it to make the bedroom more spacious.
07:17There is a bed lamp hanging from the top of the wall.
07:23The cabinets are arranged in the room to make the most of the available space.
07:30They are from IKEA, but since they are visible from all sides, we decided to customize the front with oak
07:37lines,
07:38which is a material very present in the house.
07:42The bed can lift up for extra storage.
07:49The floor we chose, it's made of natural rubber.
07:53The blue part of the floor, it was a mistake.
07:56We originally planned to have white finish throughout the apartment,
08:01but there was an issue during the construction and we couldn't access to more white floor.
08:06So we then decided to create a triangle shape that plays with the angle the kitchen already had.
08:12It turned out quite well.
08:15The best way to face a small space, we think that is to open it.
08:21To remove as many walls as possible, so every meter counts as a bigger space.
08:29We think that it was worth sacrificing some privacy in order to have better light and more space.
08:38The biggest win of living in a city is the density it offers.
08:42We are always close to the market, the art galleries, our friends,
08:47and we are always excited to explore the city.
08:58The표 4
08:592
08:593
09:003
09:034
Comments

Recommended