100 m² apartment gains timeless, bright and feminine decor

Located in Jardim Botânico (a neighborhood in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro), this 100 m² apartment is the first home of a young lawyer. Since the property was in terrible condition, before closing the deal, she had a technical visit from the architects Bitty Talbot and Cecília Teixeira, from Brise Arquitetura , to study the potential of the plant in the event of a possible renovation. The deal was only closed with the duo's approval. “The client wanted a visually light home, with an open office to the living room that would suit her current hybrid work model, as well as a guest room to accommodate friends who live outside of Rio and nephews,” says Bitty. When the construction work began, the architects discovered that there was a huge pillar between the bedroom that would be integrated into the living room to become an office. The solution they found was to move the bathroom next to the bedroom to promote integration of the spaces. “The kitchen was not integrated into the living room , but it gained a very wide sliding door, with some parts of transparent glass, facing the hall where the rooms are distributed”, reveals Cecília.

In the social area, the color palette is predominantly light and soft tones (with touches of pink and rosé) mixed with natural materials. Wood, for example, is present in the hardwood flooring, in almost all the furniture and in the carpentry. . Straw appears on the back of the chairs and armchair and on the cylindrical side table on the balcony. Because of the narrow shape of the room, the architects prioritized furniture with dimensions proportional to the space so as not to compromise circulation. For the same reason, they chose to fix the TV directly to the paneled wall and placed the equipment along with books on the shelves of a narrow wall shelf, fixed to the side. “Also to overcome the lack of space, instead of the traditional coffee table, we used two stools with upholstered seats and metal 'X' legs,” reveals Cecília. In terms of Brazilian designer furniture, the architects highlight the Killin armchair. with leather seating (by Sergio Rodrigues) in the living room and Dia chairs (by Jader Almeida) and Dorio table (by Maria Candida Machado) in the dining room. Since the client wanted a blue bedroom, the architects painted the walls in a shade commonly associated with the Ralph Lauren style and, to keep the room from looking too heavy, used white for the curtains, part of the bed linen and some of the decorations. To complete the style, casual chic that made the American designer famous, the closet has natural straw doors.