Architect Renovates Small Fifties Condo Into Fashionable Residence

The difficulty of discovering reasonably priced housing in cities is a rising concern for a lot of urbanites. Many are opting to renovate older properties that value much less to purchase upfront, reasonably than buying dearer, newly constructed properties. However but another excuse to protect and renovate older properties is that it is truly greener to replace present housing inventory, due to all that embodied carbon that is already baked in our older (and nonetheless serviceable) constructions. In different phrases, we are attempting to keep away from the extra “carbon burp” that will come from extracting, manufacturing, transporting, and assembling new supplies for constructing.

In Turin, Italy, native architect Davide Minervini determined to tackle the problem of renovating a dated 429-square-foot (39-square-meter) house from the Fifties, which had not been modified because it was first constructed. As we will witness within the By no means Too Small video tour beneath, the previously awkward structure has been fully altered, and has now been refurbished with some wonderful space-saving and light-augmenting design concepts to create a useful and vibrant residing house:

To begin, Minervini modified the structure in order that the position of the lounge, outdated kitchenette, and bed room had been switched, along with demolishing an extended, darkish central hall that took up an excessive amount of house. The brand new configuration has the lounge in an open plan structure with a hidden kitchen, versatile eating space and balcony all aligned, whereas the bed room has been outfitted with a comparatively luxurious (at the very least for a small house) walk-in closet, changing the spot the place the kitchenette was once. Plus, a barely bigger toilet has been added, together with another intelligent design interventions.

The entry house is compact, but additionally helpful. Behind a few white laminate wooden doorways, we’ve a well-integrated, full-height “storage wall” that blocks the view into the toilet, and likewise permits Minervini to retailer coats, sneakers, and kitchen-related objects.

Turning towards the appropriate, we enter the open-plan important residing space, comprising the lounge, eating space, and kitchen. The house feels a lot bigger than it truly is, because of the custom-built storage unit that spans everything of 1 wall.

Constructed out of a mix of white laminate wooden panels and oak accents, this huge storage wall holds books, a gaming console, varied kitchen home equipment, instruments, meals, and amazingly, the kitchen itself. The sitting space is outlined by a grey sofa, and a tv mounted on the wall.

The kitchen might be discovered on the different finish of this storage wall, hid behind a few bi-fold doorways that tuck neatly away. As soon as open, an environment friendly cooking house is revealed, geared up with a small oven, induction stovetop, and sink with an overhead dish drying rack to avoid wasting house.

In addition to the hidden kitchen, we’ve the eating space, which is lit with a custom-built triangular wooden and polycarbonate lighting fixture that sits in one of many ceiling corners. Alongside the wall, there’s a set of IKEA wall organizers that Minervini makes use of for storing smaller objects.

The eating space is versatile within the sense that it will possibly increase, due to the extendable desk, which permits Minervini to host over a dozen dinner company if wanted, by transferring the couch out of the best way.

Here’s a view of the redesigned hall that now separates the hustle and bustle of the principle residing areas from the quiet bed room.

It is on this hallway that we will discover the doorways resulting in the toilet, in addition to a closet for the washer.

The bed room has been painted a deep, vibrant blue. The desk is positioned underneath the window and spans many of the size of the far wall. The desk is designed like a bar prime, allowing it to flip up in order that Minervini can clear the home windows extra simply. There may be numerous built-in shelving right here to take advantage of out of every out there inch.

The opposite wall is the place we discover the built-in armoire, mirror, and walk-in closet, which is a bonus contemplating the scale of the house.

Again into the hallway, we discover a fashionable toilet within the buffer house between the bed room and front room. An odd, unusable nook abutting the window has been reworked right into a lantern of types, by a translucent door made with wooden and polycarbonate. It now hides the water heater and different odds and ends.

The toilet partitions are tiled in a glossy black, whereas the bathe stall has been completed in white, to create a way of three-dimensional distinction.

As Minervini explains, the renovation of this house speaks to the hidden potential of smaller residing areas within the metropolis:

“Small areas might be as elegant, enjoyable and comfy as larger residences. Tiny residing areas should discover their high quality and distinctive options, [in order] to be enticing and comfy for almost all of the individuals who stay in cities like Turin, and even larger.”

To see extra, go to Davide Minervini.