The two-level apartment we invite you to visit today is located in Wroclaw, in a block of apartments built in the early 2000s, and thanks to the Ale.DESIGN studio, it has undergone a major renovation. The investors who approached architect Aleksandra Gosztyła are a young couple and their female dog, for whom part of the corridor was specially designed.
Crossing the threshold of the apartment, we find ourselves in a corridor with a large capacious closet and a built-in seat. There is also a space for the owners' pet here.
The corridor with space for the doggie and the stairs leading to the floor - photo: Resources Studio
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
Before the renovation, two, separate entrances led from the hallway to the living room and kitchen. We decided to leave one, while an alcove was made in the other, where dog bowls were placed and we designed a hanging cabinet for dog goodies," adds Aleksandra Gosztyła.
Theentrance area, as well as the kitchen and toilet hidden under the stairs leading to the floor, is lined with terrazzo imitation stoneware. In the remaining rooms, the architect decided on a natural wooden plank, which stands out against the minimalist arrangement of the apartment.
apartment in Wroclaw, first floor plan
© Ale.DESIGN
zoning
The large living area of the apartment consists of a kitchen and a living room with a dining room. The different zones have been separated from each other in two ways - horizontally, with the help of differentiated floors and a suspended ceiling, and vertically - thanks to the colors on the walls and a vertically mounted strip separating the TV zone. The strongest color accent of the living area is a sofa with upholstery in sea green. The living room is complemented by potted plants, and referring colors appear on numerous posters of the wall gallery. The entire room is surrounded by curtains and drapes, which give it a cozy feel.
apartment in Wroclaw, first floor plan
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
color contrasts
The new kitchen gained a lot of additional workspace in the form of a long countertop, a tall built-in unit housing a refrigerator and an oven and microwave in a pole, as well as a bar top with hockers. The color scheme of the built-ins was chosen by the architect on the basis of contrast - bright, milled fronts were juxtaposed by the designer with black handles in combination with dark, smooth fronts without handles.
The kitchen is designed on the principle of color contrasts
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
At the staircase, a small bathroom is hidden under the stairs. The toilet stall has been covered with the same stoneware in shades of gray and navy blue that was used on the floor. The wall, on the other hand, is decorated with navy blue tiles in the shape of hexagons.
Every square inch has been used here - there is storage space under the stairs, which is hidden behind lacquered fronts, the designer adds.
There is a toilet under the stairs, and the first floor bedroom has been transformed into an office
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
Opposite the bathroom is a small room with windows to the street, which houses the office. A desk with pendant lighting stood here in the center, with a display case for documents behind it. By the door there is a sofa bed, which can be used as an extra bed for guests.
apartment in Wroclaw, floor plan
© Ale.DESIGN
floor - private part
An oak carpet staircase leads to the first floor, where the private part of the apartment is located - a bedroom with a master bathroom and a laundry room.
The bedroom is located on the first floor
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
In the bedroom, we used an entire wall for furniture development, which included space for two separate closets (for her and him), additional storage cabinets and built-in bedside tables. The bed stood in an alcove, behind it a beautiful decoration is created by upholstered panels in navy blue," says the architect.
In the bedroom there was room for a TV and a dressing table
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
Both lighting and electrical fixtures are in brushed gold. Opposite the bed is a wooden panel that is the background for the TV. On this panel also hangs a RTV cabinet, which hides sockets, cables and electrical equipment. By the windows, the designer has set aside space for a dressing table with a hanging mirror.
The bathroom is dominated by gray color and accents of black and navy blue
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
The main bathroom is kept in a minimalist style. The dominant color here is gray in the form of stoneware on the walls and imitation stone on the floor, as well as black accents in the form of faucets, shower stall, lighting and mirror frame. A personalized cabinet with a conglomerate countertop stands under the window, and there is additional storage space above the toilet.
It's so perfect here, we wouldn't change a thing!
Working on the design of this apartment was quite a challenge for the architect, especially because of the original condition of the premises and the visions of the two residents, which initially differed somewhat from each other.
The whole apartment is kept in a minimalist style
Photo: Studio Resources © Ale.DESIGN
We spent a lot of time refining the functional layout, transforming the found state of the apartment into a more ergonomic one. It was also time-consuming to change the function of most of the rooms to suit the investors' lifestyle. The color direction was more or less circled from the beginning of our cooperation, but with the development of the project, the initial assumptions evolved. Visits to material stores, trying on tiles and boards in the apartment during different times of the day, or ordering samples of lacquered fronts from the carpenter helped the clients make their final decisions. After finishing the apartment, the nicest thing a designer can hear is the sentence - It's so perfect here, we wouldn't change a thing! My goal is to create a space so that later, each client can sum up our cooperation in just this way :) This is how it was in the case of this apartment, and I hope that each subsequent realization will also be successful," concludes Aleksandra Gosztyła.
