00:03the owners bought the house 20 years ago before they had children now that they have two kids in
00:10their pre-teens they were able to face a big renovation they really loved this house and
00:17wanted to find a way to make this space work for them rather than moving out hola i'm noelia de
00:24and i am jordi ribas we are architects and founders of all around lab
00:35the house is located in the old part of l'hospitalet de lobregat a city next to barcelona
00:41it's a street line with small houses from the early 20th century
00:45some buildings from that time are still preserved in the area
00:53it's a meat terrace house from the early 20th century with two floors a ground floor and one
00:58upper floor because this is an historical area most buildings like this are protected
01:06the house had already been renovated in the early 2000s so very few original elements remained
01:13it was very compartmentalized and cramped we couldn't alter the facade in any way however we were able
01:20to reshape the interior the downstairs had a living room and a kitchen that led to an outdoor patio
01:28the upstairs was designed to have only two bedrooms and a disproportionately large bathroom
01:33the first thing we decided was to move the shared bathroom downstairs which gave us the possibility to
01:40create three bedrooms upstairs in order to have a single window provide light for the two kids
01:45bedrooms we created a small gallery that is an indoor extension of the balcony the ground floor was
01:52completely open up we installed a long slim kitchen that spans the width of the entire downstairs a few
01:59years after the renovations the clients decided to add a small ensuite bathroom to the main bedroom they
02:05also added a staircase to the roof of the house to allow them to create a roof terrace
02:13you enter the space through the original solid wood glass and road iron doors
02:19the glass partitions in the door bring in a lot of natural light into the home but because it is
02:25directly facing the street and doesn't have built-in shutters the clients added a long curtain for more privacy
02:33as soon as you walk in you are already in the common areas of the house the downstairs floor of
02:39the
02:39house doesn't have the most natural light so we decided to do the floors in a light shade of micro
02:44cement that bounces light around we didn't want to create a bold design that impose a style or trend onto
02:51them we prefer to use simple and neutral finishes that the owners can add their personal touch to
02:59we absolutely love the original wooden frames of the doors with the built-in shutters which the clients
03:05restored themselves the living room and dining room share the same space
03:14this new space allows them to interact with each other when they are in the different sections of the open
03:22area we designed the staircase so it would look great from the entrance we realized it could look
03:29like a sculptural piece on its own since the kids aren't little anymore the clients decided to add a
03:36simple white steel railing only to the top part of the staircase in the nook below it we extended one
03:45of the steps to create a drywall bench that we covered in micro cement from the front view it makes
03:50the steps on the bench look like a sculptural continuation of the floor rather than an interruption
03:57the kitchen runs from the entrance to the end of the house we kept the wooden unit about two and
04:03a
04:03half meters high which allows light to move through freely we think the large uninterrupted piece gives
04:10a greater sense of depth to the entire downstairs area so the whole space looks more like a wall of
04:15storage than a kitchen it is actually an ikea kitchen internally but we own plywood fronts by our
04:24friends from cubro this gives it a nice custom look but helps to save on costs the countertop and
04:31backsplash niche are made of plywood finished with phoenix a laminate material composed of paper and resin that
04:37is much more durable than natural wood the clients specifically asked for the home to have a shared
04:45desk space they previously only had a desk in the main bedroom that they used when they work from home
04:52having the desk in this corner makes it a bit more private while still allowing the four of them to
04:57share the space and be together we ordered an extra piece of the plywood veneer that we used on the
05:03ikea piece
05:03to cover the underfoot area and avoid shoe marks on the wall we were able to switch out the aluminium
05:11windows from the prior renovation for a double glass door with a wooden frame that goes better with the
05:17original fixtures of the home in the downstairs patio a small room that was already there serves for the
05:25clients to set up their laundry machine and drying rack this spot was in great shape so we didn't really
05:31touch it during the renovation the new bathroom is a great addition to the house we sized according to
05:40standard ikea furniture in order to optimize the budget we defined the walking shower area using a
05:47simple glass partition that doesn't subdivide this space too much we broke up the wall by adding a section
05:54of white tiles that follows the line of the mirrored cabinet the upstairs of the house combines the
06:03same three materials as the downstairs because this area gets a bit more light we decided to add warmth by
06:09using wooden floors that there are a bit darker than microsamen the main bedroom was kept simple but with a
06:17few
06:17important additions beside the bed we added a large wardrobe and a smaller hunking rack for pursuits and coats
06:27the owners decided to get a bed that lift up to rebuild more storage some time after the renovations
06:34were done the clients decided that they really missed having a bathroom close to their room so they
06:40decided to create an additional ensuite bathroom in what used to be an unused laundry room having an extra
06:48bathroom for a family of four is a great addition the bathroom also has a window which really helps to
06:56make the room a lot more spacious and airy in the small balcony they added a spiral iron staircase that
07:05leads
07:06up to the rooftop terrace the clients added an entire set of patio furniture that turned this into a full
07:14fledged terrace giving them an extra exterior space where they can hang out and have friends over
07:23in the younger kids room the clients chose an ikea bed that seats about a desk area and added a
07:30slim
07:30wardrobe and drawer unit the other room was made a bit slimmer as it only needed to fit the desk
07:38and a wardrobe
07:40the way we managed to add two beds and two desks in such a small area was by using the
07:45new high
07:45we discovered when we removed the dropped ceilings for me my favorite part is how we achieved two
07:52bedrooms with only one window the gallery allows for both of them to have natural light and ventilation
07:59and it gives them their own little balcony it has a triangular design so both rooms can access the
08:06balcony but they can't see into the other room giving them some privacy although it may sound
08:14contradictory achieving simplicity it's a complex task waiting to create timeless and comfortable spaces
08:20that respond both to their contacts and to their needs of the people who live in them
08:27here the space is highlighted through the simplicity the various textures of the materials and the light
08:33setting aside any excess or ornamentation and focusing on meeting the needs of its inhabitants
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