Photography: Constantinos Kontos
The refurbishment of this Athenian apartment is another transformation of a 1970’s apartment to a contemporary residence, which fully covers the needs of its residents. The apartment refurbishment was based on the spatial demands of a 4-member family. The most basic principle of the architectural solution given was the integration of the living, dining and kitchen area, helping the space to “breathe” and allowing more natural light deeper in the apartment.
Since the apartment sits on a North/South axis, in essence the only space that enjoys the sun’s natural light in full, is the parents’ bedroom. The living space and children’s bedroom have a view to the street and to the North.
The apartment refurbishment utilized spaced such as the entry room into something much more significant in today’s needs, such as the dining room. The dining area, the living area and the kitchen became an open-plan area, much more functional than the older cellular spaces. The old bathroom became a contemporary restroom, with a built concrete bench with polished coloured concrete surfaces and a new shower space, instead of bathtub.
The simple architectural approach in all the spaces, allow a free passage from on space to the other.
The large-scaled grey tiles (60X120 cm)are applied in every room, creating a continuous floor, enhancing the clear lines of the space.
The colours used are warm and cool grey, black and white and just a few small touches of bright colour (such as the bright red kitchen wall).
There has been a lot of attention given to the lighting design of the space.
For instance, in the kitchen there are four different sources of artificial light: from the linear ceiling-recessed lighting feature, to the cast-concrete hanging lights over the central counter top.
Discreet white spot lights lead the corridor, whereas hidden linear light can be found in different parts of the apartment (for example behind the master bed and along the wall of the living-dining area).
Perhaps the most important feature of the whole apartment are the two pendant luminaires, made of black glass, which could easily be presented as pieces of art.
The tall linear radiators in dark grey (graphite) colour are proof that radiators can be adding in the aesthetics of a space.
Generally, in this apartment refurbishment the colours, materials and light are in a plain balance, away from exaggerations and with only a very few bright-colour touches.
