Meet the art-filled apartment of architect Bianca da Hora

The architect Bianca da Hora – from the cast of CASACOR Rio – and her husband lived with their children Rafae in a 130 m² apartment in Ipanema (RJ), when they decided to buy a larger property in the same neighborhood. "Friends living in the penthouse of a building facing the beach told us that the apartment on the first floor, measuring 380 m², had been put up for sale at a good price because it was in terrible condition. Since our intention was to do a complete renovation, we decided to take the opportunity," Bianca says. With the renovation, practically all the walls were demolished and the existing wooden floor was removed to enable the implementation of the new layout, which now included bathrooms that were not in the original plan. For that, the architect needed to change the infrastructure of the beams and redo all the electrical and plumbing work of the property. Overall, the project concept was to create a neutral and welcoming base, rich in materials and natural textures, especially wood and stone, to highlight not only the view of Ipanema beach but also the works of art that the family already owned. "The decoration of the social area, including the selection and arrangement of furniture in the spaces, was designed to welcome and highlight works by various artists, from renowned names such as Vik Muniz, Artur Lescher, Antônio Bokel, Le Parc, Burle Marx and Flávia Junqueira to lesser-known but no less important names such as André Griffo, Alexandre Mazza, Gustavo Speridião, Luiz Philippe Carneiro de Mendonça, Adrianna Eu, Vanderlei Lopes, Brise Noronha, Rodrigo, Felipe Suzuki, Matias Brotas, Paola Vilas and Janaína Tschäpe,” lists Bianca. "As I am very religious, we brought the Saint Michael painting by Vik Muniz to the dining room to bless our meals every day," she points out. The architect also mentions that the new flooring in the social area, made of Roman travertine marble, was replicated in the kitchen, which in turn received cabinets with a white finish. Meanwhile, the intimate area environments received flooring made of mica peroba wood planks. "I've always wanted to have a home where wood would be the star of the house," Bianca shares.

In the decoration of the social area, many pieces of furniture were reused from the old apartment, such as the Cantu armchair and chairs (by Sergio Rodrigues), which were reupholstered. Among the new furniture, Bianca highlights the Italian modular sofa, the dining table Tal (by Claudia Moreira Salles), and the Pétala coffee table and Dinamarquesa armchairs by Jorge Zalszupin. "The Up armchair with pouf, by Gaetano Pesce, was also an old dream I managed to fulfill and, for that reason, it deserved a prominent place in the living room," says Bianca. Another highlight in the social area is the linear bench that extends along the entire window (facing the beach), serving as both a sideboard/shelf (to hold ornaments and books) and a bench to accommodate visitors on busy days. In the powder room, the architect shares that she reused the wood removed from the apartment's floor, transformed it into slats, and applied it to the walls, ceiling, and cabinet doors to create a wooden box effect. The kitchen connects both to the living room (through wooden sliding panels) and to the gourmet balcony at the back, created from incorporating the building's ventilation prism area into the apartment. In the couple's bedroom, since the idea was to create a cozy hotel-like atmosphere, the architect used natural wood in the finishing of the cabinetry (wall panels, workstation, and bedside table) and some loose furniture.