00:03To us, tiny spaces are fascinating.
00:08We believe their unique appeal has to do with their proportions.
00:12Their size makes them easier to dominate,
00:15to turn them into a personal world.
00:30The apartment is located at Palermo, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
00:36The building lies on a 100-meter-long cobbled street.
00:41It's a peaceful and quiet area in a busy neighborhood.
00:48Our clients are two sisters.
00:50One of them is a permanent resident,
00:53and the other tends to travel frequently.
00:56It was intended to be home of one, shared if needed,
01:00or ready for a short-time rental if they wanted to.
01:08The original unit was too fragmented for its size
01:11and had almost no sunlight.
01:13In just 42 square meters, we had five different rooms
01:17and just two windows.
01:21The original unit had a narrow kitchen at its back.
01:26Besides it, it was a laundry.
01:28In the center of it, with no access to natural light, the living room.
01:34Firstly, we unified the kitchen, living room and laundry
01:37into a single larger space.
01:40To improve natural light, we enlarged the only existing window
01:43that was shared by these three rooms.
01:46And the original bedroom door was repositioned into the corridor
01:50for a better functionality and a cleaner look.
01:55We wanted to achieve a space that was more comfortable for the day-to-day use
01:59and with a contemporary look.
02:03The entrance of the apartment is directly through the living room.
02:10Everything was arranged in a way so that the access door
02:15is not faced directly during any activity inside.
02:22The living space is organized by a kitchen bench
02:26and in front of it, wooden shelves.
02:31We placed a storage unit from floor to ceiling
02:34to take full advantage of the vertical space.
02:40And we arranged some shelves for books and records.
02:48We also have a folding bed for guests beneath the shelves.
03:01In the kitchen area, we thought a small cooktop was a better choice
03:05so that more countertop space was available for food preparation.
03:11In front of the countertop, we placed a table
03:14to be an extension of the cooking area,
03:16a place to have breakfast to eat or even do some work if you need to.
03:24Instead of having a splash pack made of quads,
03:28we opted for a very glossy paint.
03:31This paint is intended for industrial flooring use,
03:34but it's easy to clean up after cooking and it's much cheaper.
03:40The storage has wavy glass doors that were common in the 70s
03:46and bring back some of the original character.
03:54We opted for a neutral concrete floor,
03:57which is better for cooking and for cleaning up.
04:14We chose matte glass because of privacy reasons,
04:18but at the same time it softened the light that came into the apartment.
04:24Our clients participate actively
04:28with making the design process very fluid.
04:33They brought a wallpaper for the bedroom
04:37and some objects that stand their personality.
04:46We kept the original wardrobe.
04:49We also added some handles
04:51and painted the original doors in white.
04:58The bedroom has a small balcony
05:00that can be accessed through a double glazed metallic door,
05:03which is original to the apartment.
05:06It has a beautiful sunlight in the morning
05:10and nice view to the trees on the street.
05:18The bathroom was completely renovated,
05:20but keeping its original scheme
05:22to avoid plumbing problems.
05:25We used Watamu plywood,
05:28terrazzo, pink tiles, black fixtures,
05:33and a backlit mirror
05:35that gives sense of bigger space.
05:40We placed pink tiles in a vertical way
05:43to accentuate the height of the bathroom.
05:48We used carefully each material and finish
05:52to accomplish simple aesthetic with a sense of warmth.
05:57Some materials are shared throughout all of the apartment
06:00for a sense of continuity,
06:02but each space has its own character and color accent.
06:09Even though Buenos Aires is a big city
06:12with no space problems,
06:14small living is a cultural reality
06:16and goes beyond space availability.
06:20People want to be closer to the places they like
06:23and the people they want to be with.
06:28Design can turn small spaces into joyful places.
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