With a sea view, a 285 m² apartment is ready in just five months

Designed by architect Natália Lemos (from the CASACOR Rio de Janeiro roster), this apartment of 285 m² on Ipanema Beach received an interior design project conceived for a couple of entrepreneurs – he Brazilian, she French – and their 8-year-old daughter. The initial challenge was immediate: the family, who lived in San Francisco, in the United States, needed to move to Brazil in just three months. The property would be the main residence for one year and, afterward, used as a vacation home. As everything needed to be executed quickly, the bathrooms (with the exception of the powder room) and the kitchen underwent minor adjustments.

Projeto de Natália Lemos. (Fotos: Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio | Produção visual: Andrea Brito Velho/CASACOR)

The residents wanted a welcoming apartment that would reflect Brazilian identity – without excess – through carefully selected colors, textures, and elements, while making the most of the ocean view. The floor plan received subtle yet strategic changes to enhance the sense of space, improve circulation, and integrate the social projects.

Projeto de Natália Lemos. (Fotos: Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio | Produção visual: Andrea Brito Velho/CASACOR)

In the living room, removing the old balcony frames brought abundant natural light and visual flow. Small changes to the masonry made it possible to enlarge the entry hall, incorporating a shoe cabinet, and to connect the dining room to the kitchen corridor, lending lightness and continuity to the spaces.

Projeto de Natália Lemos. (Fotos: Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio | Produção visual: Andrea Brito Velho/CASACOR)

Natália’s concept started from the landscape, creating a broad, light, and welcoming space in which the ocean view takes center stage, while the neutral base of the décor allows select elements to stand out. The artworks — such as Grade de Corpos (Oficina de Agosto), watercolors by Chiara Banfi, compositions by Thomaz Velho, works by Elvis Almeida, Mai-Britt Wolthers, Mano Penalva, Jorge dos Anjos, and reliefs by Bruno Cançado — express contemporary Brazilian identity and introduce color and energy to the projects, balanced by natural-fiber rugs, woods, and textures that create sophistication and coziness.

Projeto de Natália Lemos. (Fotos: Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio | Produção visual: Andrea Brito Velho/CASACOR)

Almost all of the furniture and décor are new, with highlights including Brazilian design pieces that reinforce authenticity and authorial production, such as the PL61 armchairs by Percival Lafer; the Block sofa; the Concrete dining table and Xico chairs by Estudiobola; the Rosá coffee table by Maria Cândida Machado; the Benjamin chaise by Gustavo Bitencourt; and the Cantu dining chairs by Sergio Rodrigues and Anel 80 by Ricardo Fasanello.

Projeto de Natália Lemos. (Fotos: Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio | Produção visual: Andrea Brito Velho/CASACOR)

The color palette follows a neutral base, with soft tones prevailing in the furniture and terracotta accents to warm the projects, while the more intense colors appear only in the artworks. Materials used include a monolithic microcement floor in the social area, a natural European oak millwork panel, white walls, a jute rug in the living area, and tauari plank flooring in the bedrooms.

Projeto de Natália Lemos. (Fotos: Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estúdio | Produção visual: Andrea Brito Velho/CASACOR)

"The greatest challenge of this project was reconciling the tight timeline with the fact that the clients lived outside Brazil and had never visited the apartment in person. All of the project development, decisions, construction execution, oversight, and delivery were carried out through online meetings, requiring rigorous planning, quick decisions, and attention to detail to fully meet the clients’ expectations," comments Natália Lemos. The project, from conception to the completion of the décor, was finished in five months.