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Designers Carla and Bruno, the talented couple behind Hum Gallery & Studio, completely transformed their standard T-shaped apartment with a unique blend of hotel aesthetics and simplicity, using a mix of second hand furniture and natural materials. Key to the overall design was taking advantage of the apartment’s natural light and views overlooking the courtyard. The biggest change to the floorplan was opening the bathroom up into the bedroom, incorporating a large bathtub, vanity and shower into the space. They also removed the original L-shaped corner kitchen and extended it along the full length of the wall, where it forms part of the open plan living and dining space. The area is centred around a custom made dining table and pendant light, with a unique mirror based vintage sofa tucked into a small cosy nook. With the upgrade of this 1901 apartment, Carla and Bruno have created the perfect canvas to feature all of the objects that they have collected over time.

Project Name: Apartment 33
Architects: https://humgallery.com/

Produced by New Mac Video Agency
Creator: Colin Chee instagram:@colinchee_nts
Director: Nam Tran
Cinematographer: Rem Burger
Producer: Lindsay Barnard
Editor: Sebastian Tibbs
Music: Together We Go by Sean Williams
Pappa by Mee
Artlist.io
Transcript
00:02We wanted to create an apartment that looks a little bit like a hotel.
00:09We wanted to keep things quite simple in terms of the design.
00:15Natural materials is something that really inspired us,
00:18and that gave the base palette for the apartment.
00:22And it created the perfect canvas to feature all the objects that we wanted to collect.
00:32We live here with our dog, Mr. Fox.
00:36He loves to sit by the window and look around.
00:51This apartment is located in the Jordaan,
00:55which is a neighborhood in the center of Amsterdam.
00:58The Jordaan is one of the most traditional neighborhoods in Amsterdam.
01:03It's very touristic in a way.
01:05People come to see the canals, the old houses.
01:07It's a very authentic neighborhood,
01:09and we decided to choose this apartment because it's located in the Jordaan,
01:14but in a very calm area.
01:17This building is pretty old. It's from 1901.
01:21So the facade faces the street.
01:24On the back side is like most of the houses in Amsterdam, where it faces a courtyard.
01:29This one is specifically special because it has a kids' park with some chickens and rabbits.
01:38We designed the dining table and the dining pendant light.
01:43And the rest we collected in vintage markets as the sofa, the side table, the dining chairs.
01:49It's very common in Amsterdam that you can find pretty good pieces in the street, which is quite nice.
01:56We wanted to have a place to gather objects that we collect, but also to bring our friends, family and
02:04collect memories.
02:08The apartment was a pretty standard-looking Amsterdam apartment.
02:13The main thing was that the bathroom was closed off, and there was no natural light coming in.
02:19We really wanted natural light, so we decided to separate the toilet and the shower,
02:24and opening the shower towards the bedroom area.
02:26We also added a bathtub and a vanity in the bedroom area,
02:30so that we could use that in the mornings with natural light.
02:35We removed the L-shaped kitchen in the corner,
02:38and we extended it to create this open and light feeling.
02:49Upon entering the apartment, on the right you see the kitchen, dining room and living room.
02:56The living room is really connected to the dining,
02:58so it's essentially one space.
03:01But we still wanted to have a separation in terms of use.
03:06The main item is a vintage sofa.
03:09The nice thing about the space is that you really look out the window,
03:13and you get good natural light.
03:16The sofa has a metal plate on the bottom that reflects the floor,
03:20and makes the illusion that the sofa is floating.
03:24Above the sofa we have a light.
03:26We can use it for reading, but if we want a more moody or atmospheric light,
03:31we can either turn it against the wall and have soft light,
03:35or also to light the painting.
03:40In the kitchen we used a travertine top,
03:44that is very similar to the side table in the living room,
03:47and this was a decision in order to create a continuity of the materials in the house.
03:56And we also have beautiful handles to create a contrast with the black cabinets.
04:03The kitchen is fully equipped, so we have an oven and stove area, a dishwasher,
04:10and by the end of it we have our pantry and the fridge.
04:17It has a shelving above, where we display a lot of kitchen items,
04:22but also decorative items that we like.
04:25The highlight of the kitchen area is the pendant light that goes above the table.
04:30We designed it fully in brass, and underneath it we have the dining table,
04:35which we specifically designed for the house.
04:42Opposite to the corridor we have the bedroom.
04:45When you enter the bedroom, on the left-hand side you have a spacious bed.
04:51We have a big wardrobe.
04:56Our favorite part of the house is the bathtub.
05:01We like the ritual of using a bathtub.
05:04We just enjoy taking a bath and reading a book,
05:07and really taking the best out of the spa, hotel-like experience that we wanted to create.
05:14While in the bathtub we have views of the outside,
05:17so we can have a bath, relax, and see the sky outside.
05:22The sink has skinny legs, so it makes it feel like it's floating in the air.
05:29Next to the mirror we have a brass finish wall light that we found in the vintage market.
05:37We created a ledge not only to display styling items,
05:42but also to run all the piping for the vanity and the bathtub.
05:48Next to the sink we have the shower area where we chose for a Japanese handmade tile.
05:55We could place it on the floor as well because of the anti-sleep characteristic.
06:01And we wanted to again simplify the amount of finishes that we have throughout.
06:07With the flooring we chose to continue the parquet we had running through the house.
06:13The floor has a dark oil finish which keeps the water away.
06:18The decision to separate the toilet from the rest of the bathroom was also thinking about guests.
06:27Bruno is a graphic designer. He was part of developing this very special wallpaper.
06:33And because it's a more outstanding style, we decided to use it in the toilet which is a closed-off
06:39space.
06:40And as you open it, it really creates this wall effect.
06:47For the curtains, which we chose to give privacy on both sides as we have neighbors,
06:53we chose linen curtains acting as shears so the light still goes through but it creates privacy.
07:00On the bedroom side, in addition to the shears, we added wooden blinds.
07:06We love the effect that it creates when we leave it half open and the sun goes through.
07:12The art pieces we chose for our apartments, they are mostly from our friends,
07:17both because we love the style and fits really well to the house,
07:21but also in order to support the local artists.
07:28Upgrading existing spaces reduces the need to have new construction and create a positive impact on the environment.
07:39We can just use what is there and make it really comfortable, practical and aesthetically beautiful.
07:47Yes, thank you very much.
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