50 m² single apartment becomes the family's vacation home in Rio

The complete renovation of this linear apartment of 50 m², located in Gávea (RJ), was designed by architect Marcela Martins - part of the CASACOR Rio de Janeiro team - and is part of an already existing emotional story. Formerly a bachelor apartment of the owner, the property once housed the couple at the beginning of their marriage, before their permanent move to Paris. After years being borrowed and rented, the space has been redefined to take on a new role: that of the family’s vacation home in the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro, primarily used during Carnival and in the middle of the year.

Today, the couple — both over 55 years old, he a production engineer at a multinational electrical components company and she a journalist specialized in sustainability reports — share their time in Brazil with their two teenage daughters, aged 16 and 18.

Referred by former clients of the architect, the residents requested a complete transformation of the apartment, focusing on comfort, functionality, and better use of the space. All the projects were intervened, and the original layout was completely redesigned. The former employee quarters made way for a kitchen, integrated with the social area; the original kitchen was transformed into a dining room; the bedroom, previously oversized, was reduced to more balanced proportions to allow for the creation of a suite with a spacious bathroom.

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The new program also includes a lavatory, storage room, laundry, and a small home office positioned right at the entrance. The integration between the living room, dining room, kitchen, and workspace resulted in a more generous social area, marked by a sense of spaciousness and multi-functionality, essential for family use.

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Materials, finishes, and colors were treated as structuring elements of the project, ensuring visual unity and coziness even in a compact layout. The original ivory wood flooring was preserved and extended into the kitchen, creating continuity between the projects. The green leads the palette, present in the ceramics of the kitchen, in the dining chairs, in the living room rug, and in the walls of the bedroom.

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The social areas, laundry, and storage room received warm white paint, while yellow appears in the striped sofa bed in the living room and navy blue shows up at key points in the suite booth, expanding the color repertoire. The composition gains balance with the presence of light and dark wood, accented by black details in lighting and curtain rods, reinforcing the contemporary character of the project.

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The decor reinforces the emotional character of the project and reflects a careful curation that blends repurposed pieces from the family collection with low-cost furniture purchased online. The Mole armchair with ottoman, inherited from the client's father, was the starting piece for the layout and setting, positioned right at the apartment entrance. Other preserved elements include the over-25-year-old Lafer sofa bed, restored and reupholstered with exclusive fabric, the former shelf base transformed into a dining room sideboard, and the black slatted bed maintained in the bedroom.

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