With a large balcony, the 200 m² apartment has décor inspired by the Leblon neighborhood

A couple in their 60s and one of their three children were already living in Leblon (RJ) when they decided to move into this 220 m² apartment in the same neighborhood, attracted mainly by the spacious balcony in the living room. As soon as they received the keys, they commissioned a general renovation project from architect João Panaggio , from CASACOR Rio . “Initially, the renovation would be in the kitchen and living room. But, during the design process, the clients got excited and ended up renovating the entire apartment,” he says. Overall, the couple asked for a comfortable home to receive friends, functional and practical for day-to-day life , traditional in the division of spaces and with lots of storage cabinets throughout the apartment. Originally, the dining room was separate and occupied the current TV room . With the renovation, the architect integrated all the social areas and positioned the new TV room and the living room next to the balcony, leaving the dining room close to the kitchen . Another intervention was the repositioning of the private hall. “Before, access to the bedrooms was through the kitchen. We reduced the kitchen and positioned the circulation area independently,” says Panaggio.

In the decor , which follows a contemporary style with beachy touches , much of the furniture was brought from the clients’ old apartment – such as the sofas and armchairs – and mixed with the new pieces. The Mole armchair (by Sergio Rodrigues ), for example, has a very special sentimental value, as it was a gift from the wife to the husband. “Since the client has a ceramics studio near her home , some of the decor pieces highlight her collection. The collection of mini cups, for example, was given pride of place in the living room’s china cabinet, which also came from the old address,” says Panaggio. Among the new designer pieces, the architect says he mixed contemporary furniture, such as the Icon bookcase and the Legg dining table (both by Jader Almeida ), with modernist furniture, such as the Mocho stool and the Leaf bench (both by Sergio Rodrigues ). The Gamela pendant lights, over the dining table, are by Lia Siqueira . Panaggio also highlights some works of art, such as the large canvas by artist Moacyr Travaglia , above the blue sofa in the living room, and the composition of eight small paintings by artist Thomaz Velho , in the dining room. In the social area, the architect used finishes in neutral tones (white painted walls, light linen curtains and grayish rugs with striking patterns), used natural freijó woodwork and restored the original dark wooden plank floor . The color blue (the client's favorite) appears occasionally in the armchairs on the balcony, outdoor chairs and on the sofa in the living room.