This apartment of just over 100 m2 located in the Vila Olímpica area of ​​Barcelona recently had the time to undergo a comprehensive reform. Its owners, a married couple with a teenage daughter, knew that it was not going to be easy due to the triangular layout of the house. Of course, they were clear that the distribution had to be completely changed because they wanted "a larger room, more light, more storage capacity and, in general, more modern spaces", declares Eva Tinda's, responsible for the project and co-founder of the study of interior design Tinda's Project.

The team started up and in just four months all the rooms were redistributed, including partitions and installations, and a complete interior design job was done to achieve the desired result. The main change was to eliminate the corridors, dispense with the hall and go from four to three bedrooms to achieve more square meters, as well as locating the kitchen next to the living room to gain practicality.

DISTRIBUTION

Social area: living room, dining room and kitchen

After the reform, the access to the house leads directly to the living room, completely eliminating the space that was dedicated to the hall. This main room, which leads to the terrace, has not changed from its original situation, although it has gained surface area and has opted for a much more functional living-dining room layout. In addition, now the rest of the rooms connect with the living room, promoting a more pleasant visual interaction and coexistence.

The main and most prominent is the kitchen, U-shaped and now also larger. Before, it was on the opposite side of the living room, having to cross the hall each time, and now it can be said that both spaces are practically one. Although each one has its own independent delimitation, the fact that they are continuous and that the sliding doors are made of glass makes them fit perfectly into a single environment, sharing the same tones and materials.

The dining room has been placed facing the kitchen to make daily service more comfortable and stands out for its original design signed by Tinda's Project. Taking advantage of the fact that the sofa was made to measure, its back has been extended with the same finishes to create a bench that acts as a seat for the dining table. And not only that, its base is articulated to be able to open and be used to store things. The two environments -dining room and living room- share the same soft and natural tones and materials that characterize the work of the Barcelona studio, with a main piece of furniture in front of the custom-made sofa, which incorporates a bioethanol fireplace in the lower part. On the textiles, also custom-made -curtains, rugs, etc.- they are all washable and have an anti-stain treatment.

Rest area: bedrooms and bathrooms

From one end of the living room there is access to the suite, which retains its original location in what would become the narrowest corner of the triangular floor plan, but now offers a new layout. This invites you to go first through a line of made-to-measure walk-in wardrobes, with one part closed and the other open, combining the same wood finishes as the rest of the furniture in the house, including the bedside tables. Both the headboard and the armchair, which share upholstery, are also made to measure.

Opposite the wardrobe is the bathroom of the suite, with the same taupe tones of the entire interior design of the apartment, a hallmark of Tinda's Project, including those touches of black that enhance certain elements. Walls and floor share the same travertine material, generating a very elegant envelope in which the custom-made furniture is perfectly integrated, with the same tone as the whole, but a little higher.

Following the kitchen, a door opens onto a small hallway of barely one square meter that leads to the daughter's room and the other bathroom on the floor.

As for the youth bedroom, it is distributed on two fronts, coinciding with the entrances of light from two windows (one gained with the extension of the room). The bed has been placed on one of the fronts, under some practical shelves, all manufactured 'ex profeso' for this project, and framed in an aquamarine green color of the wall, the only more daring color license that has been implemented. And in front of it, the study area has been located, in line with the wardrobe, also all made to measure, to better take advantage of the angle of the wall.

For its part, this second bathroom is complete, since it is mostly used by the daughter of the family, although it is also considered the one for visitors. The aesthetic line is the same in terms of neutral and warm tones, combining wood, ceramics and steel details.

Where the kitchen was originally, an office has now been located that serves as a guest bedroom, which is reached after crossing a small corridor with cupboards on both sides. A practical closed space of just two square meters has also been created for the washing machine and dryer.

THE KEYS TO THE REFORM

Between the living room and the bedrooms and bathrooms, there was a long, dark corridor in the original apartment, the cancellation of which was one of the first decisions made by Tinda's Project. All that dead space has been gained for the new rooms, and the most remarkable thing is what has been achieved in the kitchen.

Now located next to the living-dining room, the fact that it has sliding glass doors allows it to offer an open view of the house, from façade to façade, which also generates more light in this part of the apartment and, above all, that visual connection that was sought between both more social rooms.

In this sense of aesthetic continuity, the fact that the oak flooring is also the same also helps. It is throughout the house, except in the bathrooms.

Precisely in the bathroom that does not belong to the suite, the double step that raises the toilet and shower area is striking. This must have been generated to facilitate the passage of water intakes, since originally this space was not a bathroom. But far from being heavy, it is valued as a perfectly integrated element of distinction thanks to the continuity of the wall and floor tiles chosen in the same material.

Another interesting idea from the refurbishment is that, in response to the owners' request for more extra storage, a space for it was created next to the entrance on the left hand side. In fact, part of the old hall and the corridor that led to the kitchen, now converted into an office and guest bedroom, were used to make the most of its sides with custom cabinets, even though it is a transit area. These follow the same design as those of the living room and the suite, with closed parts and others open with mirrors for decorative elements, combining lacquered fronts and oak wood hollows. In fact, the door that separates this passage area from the living room is made of glass, precisely to integrate both spaces, since the finish of the furniture is the same. It could almost be said that this small space is an extension of the living room.

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