BEST SOLUTIONS – Cube Home: from one bed to loft apartment

S

tudio Noses Architects turned this small one bed, conventionally split into two rooms with corridor, kitchenette and bathroom, into a free-flowing apartment flooded in natural light. The architects removed all partition walls, and utilities were packed into a cube in dark glass in the centre of the apartment. This imposing structure is disguised by the reflections of the other pieces of furniture.

Vitra DSW Eames Plastic Chair

Behind the cube which contains bathroom, kitchen and cupboards, vintage wall bars turn this passage into a tiny gym. Opposite, in front of the kitchen, the marble counter which doubles as breakfast bar and work table.

The cuboid (slightly longer than it’s wide) which houses the bathroom, is entirely clad in dark glass panels. It houses the kitchen on the same side of the balcony. It has two cupboards on its shorter sides, one in the living room with bookcase and built-in flat screen TV, while the cupboard on the other side opens directly into the bedroom.

The lady of the house faces the walk-in closet at the end of the passage; this frees up bathroom access. Sofa, bookcase and the “traveller’s chair”, named by the architect, are reflected in the cube.

Cupboards have handle-less floor-to-ceiling doors with pressure openings, and shorter kitchen units with sliding fronts. Extreme attention to every detail: the frame with built-in lights mounted on the marble top, and the cylindrical bottle rack which is part of the pillar that supports the breakfast bar/ table.

Left-hand side, breakfast bar opposite the doors which conceal the kitchen. Before and after floor plans. Living room to the left, cube with breakfast bar/ table in the centre, bedroom and walk-in closet to the right.

Here, the central cube makes the most of the available space, doing without decorations and making way for no-frills minimalist aesthetics. The apartment is made welcoming with timber flooring and ceiling, and contrasting colours and materials make it appear larger. Full of light, 60 smq which feel more like a loft apartment!

Design project

Apartment renovation

Location: Rome, Italy

Interior design project and furniture sourcing: 
Noses Architects, arch. Luca Gasparini
Via di San Francesco di Sales 16 A, Rome, Italy
Tel: 0039 06 6832336
Email: noses@noses.it
FB: Noses Architects
www.noses.it

Contractor: Delta Design srl, Rome
Material supplier: Lozzi srl, Rome

Photos:
Courtesy Noses Architects
Copyright Filippo Vinardi