Renovating to optimise storage

 A couple of years ago, in 2019, a family member had seriously run out of space. Her apartment has many special features, primary of which is a most spectacular view, with a large balcony opening off the living room and bedroom. It is also in a very secure and well-managed complex, where her sister lives, so there were many very compelling reasons to solve the space problem.

View from the balcony

The bedroom and kitchen had quite old fittings, dating to the original construction of the building in 1998, so a refurbishment could potentially be a good investment by improving the resale value of the unit. 

We began the design process working room by room to determine how much space and of what type was needed. We focused on the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, as these rooms had outdated fittings that would be strategic to replace. We drew up an inventory for each of these three rooms and then measured up the spaces to draw the base plans. 

We started with the kitchen, an open-plan that overlooks the dining area, so very important for the overall feel of the place for visitors. One of the shortcomings of the existing layout was that there was no broom cupboard which was quite a challenge in that the existing kitchen sink was in the corner that would be ideal for a tall unit. For the kitchen and the bathroom, we planned to replace the plumbing fittings, but keep as far as possible to the original layout so that the existing pipework could be retained. For the tall cupboard, we managed to squeeze in a narrow but deep unit in the corner, that would visually terminate the new upper cupboards on the wall with the window. These upper units contributed significantly to the available storage as the original layout only had countertop fittings.

The broom cupboard

We also wanted to maximise the functionality of the lower-level corner cupboard, which we did by introducing a pair of doors that give access right into the corner. 

The lower-level corner cupboard

Even though she did not have a tumble drier or dishwasher, we decided to leave a space for a second appliance, but we found a freestanding set of drawers to put into this space.

The detailing of the cupboards was very important for the overall feel of the space, given the visibility of the kitchen from the entrance and public spaces of the flat. She was passionate about avoiding door handles and knobs, and found a very elegant solution with a chest of drawers that she had bought for her bedroom. The smooth, uninterrupted aesthetic also helps to make the room seem more spacious, especially as it is quite narrow. 

Kitchen cupboard details

Moving on to the bathroom, she decided to take the plunge and replace all the fittings. This gave the opportunity to have a vanity cupboard under the basin which was previously a pedestal basin with no storage. We introduced a spacious but shallow cupboard above the basin with a large mirror which helps to make the space seem bigger. On the opposite wall, we found an ingenious towel-rail fitting with slatted shelving above. As a finishing touch, we designed a floating shelf above the toilet. This room is also quite narrow, so we continued the aesthetic from the kitchen, using white fittings with no handles or knobs. In the kitchen and bathroom, the short end wall was painted in a mid-green, while the other walls were painted in a much lighter colour, which was a simple and inexpensive way of making these two rooms seem less narrow.

The vanity with space below for the cat litter tray

Lastly we designed the new cupboards for the bedroom. This also offered a challenge, as the room has glazed sliding doors that go almost to the corner of the wall where the wardrobes needed to be placed. We accommodated this by making the one cupboard shallower. The wardrobes used the full height of the room, which has a stepped ceiling, creating something of a design challenge.  

The bedroom cupboards

We continued the colour scheme from the other two rooms, with the space above the counter in the mid-green, which helps to visually resolve the varying depths of the wardrobes.

To finish off the bedroom, we had found a chest of drawers that served as the model for the detailing of all the new cupboards, in the bedroom and kitchen. This is one of the advantages of going for a bespoke design, in that one can maximise the co-ordination to create a seamless aesthetic. This is especially important in smaller spaces, as it makes the room appear bigger if everything ties together visually. Here we managed to achieve this consistent stye through all three rooms, which makes for a very harmonious feel.