00:02we've experimented a lot with the small space living and that sense of wonder when you come in
00:11this idea of how you can really change space with a very very simple elements
00:16suddenly it feels very transformed and different I'm Nina Zonstrup part of Studio Mama and I'm
00:26the other half of Studio Mama our idea was to explore how to create a transformative space
00:36where you can subdivide that with sliding door elements that could create different zones within
00:53the space so the flat is located in Islington north part of London it's very central location very
01:02beautiful streets like the big trees you know it gives that kind of the idea a suburbia feel or not
01:08being that central in London as you actually are this is a lower ground floor flat in a terraced
01:18Victorian house I went to see the the flat and it was really a maze of walls and really run
01:27down
01:29so the challenge was basically how do we make this feel light and open so it's a lot to try
01:36and squeeze
01:37in to a fairly small space and then also feel that it's actually spacious when I first entered the
01:46flat this was one living room that had a narrow kitchen and then there was a master bedroom that
01:53took basically the best view to the garden the new floor plan that we created was very much about opening
02:00up the space so we could connect the front of the flat to the back of the flat because that's
02:06where
02:06we have the window converted what was two bedrooms that was in the front of the flat towards the garden
02:13to being tucked at the entrance and then we moved the kitchen on the other side so the kitchen obviously
02:18has a totally different location we've got a separate entrance where you come in and you walk down the
02:25stairs and a little forecourt so in that way you you are kind of feeling that it's media your own
02:32little
02:32space here so when you enter the first thing you have is a bench on to take your shoes on
02:39and off
02:40there's loads of storage space for your overcoats and shoes we did a lot of work with that you know
02:48how much space do we need for it to feel generous and then the first thing when you turn in
02:56is this
02:57really big bookshelf it feels really generous when you enter the space the bookshelf was built around
03:07an old fireplace and then we use the opportunity to put in a big mirror we work a lot with
03:13mirror in
03:13in small spaces as in the evening it can also give this very sculptural feel to the space the mirror
03:21actually helps to bounce the light and also help amplify the sense of space upon entering the main
03:26area every when you come in we thought about the layout of the study a lot so that it connects
03:35to
03:35the sofa space the desk is facing outwards to the garden so you feel connected to the outside we also
03:46incorporated the standing working possibility that you can switch easily between sitting and standing
03:54the study space needs storage all built in Douglas fir that gives that kind of a whole different
04:02sensibility and warmth when you sit in that space when you get through to the garden side of the flat
04:11we
04:11wanted to create both living room space and the dining space there's not that many square meters to get
04:19all that squeezed in and the sofa is designed to visually take up as little space as possible but
04:26obviously maximize the seating so one of the things we did was to make it as floating as possible so
04:34that's cantily when the sofa we gained that extra visual sense of space we designed the coffee table
04:41because again it's the space is not so big the armrest also serves as a side table that's on so
04:49you can
04:49leave your book or cup of tea the ceiling in the study and the living area is lower than the
04:56rest of
04:57the flat we actually use it as a feature because there's something really quite cozy you get the
05:03feel that the space opens up in front of you and then you see the garden and the light you
05:09have this
05:09garden that comes with the lower ground floor flat here with the same as a massive plus for the flat
05:17this is a beautiful mature garden where we have big trees that you would see on the tree also makes
05:25the space really green when you look through so we had this challenge with the kitchen that we have a
05:31big structural column that we have to work around we created these two areas around the column we wanted
05:37to create this kind of a graphic feel to the kitchen so the kitchen comprise fridge freezer dishwasher oven
05:45we had to find a way to have drawers for knives and forks and all of that and that we
05:51put in in the
05:52curb end so it's not only space left so we managed to kind of squeeze it in and make it
05:58a feature for the
05:59kitchen the light for the kitchen is integrated LED lights onto the cabinets that is mostly sensors the
06:08material that we have used for the workshop on the splash back material made with off-cut wood so it
06:14was important that we also had the material that worked both for the workshop on the splash back
06:19that kind of a continuous line always gives more openness we really like to have some open shelving
06:27but it's also makes access very easy and give that openness the dining table was within an era confine so
06:37we came up with this idea of this more diamond shaped table that takes up much less footprint so that
06:43you could easily have the chairs tucked in and be able to pass through to the other side of it
06:49it had a recess so that we could integrate a bench into it to be found these Swiss designed dining
06:56chairs
06:56by Bruno Ray this shape is nice because you're facing each other and which I think is quite nice and
07:02more convivial for the first sleeping part in the front of the part we had to integrate some stairs
07:12for accessing the part the first part has sliding doors and it also gives a sense of privacy it's
07:21quite cozy when you're in there and on the top of the part we integrated a glass box that gives
07:29light
07:30light from the front of the flats there is also some shelving that can be used for books and etc
07:44in the front of the pot there's pull-out storage one thing that I was quite conscious about is having
07:52two sleeping pods up against each other so they're separated by a big sliding door which gives that
08:00kind of a movement in the space just gives that sense of you have a space that can be divided
08:07up and
08:09it creates privacy between the two parts so the second part was a lower level there's a sliding door to
08:18close it off for privacy the other side of the pod a sliding door element so there's an opportunity to
08:25play with the openness of the space what's not visible to people is that the top part is in two
08:32halves so you have storage from the outside but also from the inside of the pod I always managed to
08:42integrate some storage under the bed we have quite vivid colors inside the wardrobes quite bright yellow
08:52the other wardrobe is quite bright blue we'd like to have a colors but we also is that balance of
08:59that
08:59the colors really has to fit in and not take over the space we want to keep the sight line
09:08of the front
09:08and the back of the space very open so the bathroom is quite narrow kind of glass above that has
09:15this
09:15nice light intake we've used this idea of framing things very much in this project we are used micro
09:23cement and one can customize the colors the bathroom is in a light blue we have the same material on
09:30the
09:31floor and the walls it also makes the space go bigger because it's less boundary visually I think
09:39that's something that's very nice about this space that we've created here and it's difficult to put into
09:45words but it's the feel of it when you walk in maybe it's to do with the combination of natural
09:50materials and colors that we've used and the way that we've worked with the layout and and so on
09:57the thing that we often work with smaller spaces is that aha when you come from quite a confined entrance
10:04and you get into a space that opens up
10:11it's a nice light here actually it's a very soft ride and I loved it
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