Ground floor apartment gets a homely feel

For nine years, the resident of this apartment was the tenant of architect Bianca da Hora in an apartment in Jardim Botânico, a neighborhood in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro. As she really liked the layout and style of the rented apartment, she bought her first property , 115 m², in Leblon, decided to commission a total renovation and decoration project from Bianca herself, with the intention of having something similar in her new home. Bianca is part of the CASACOR Rio cast. “She wanted an apartment that would give a feeling of spaciousness, with integrated spaces, light colors and comfortable furniture to welcome friends. Since the property is on the ground floor and also has an outdoor area, the idea behind the project was to create a homely atmosphere.” ”, says architect Bianca da Hora. During the renovation, several walls were demolished. Previously isolated, the kitchen was integrated into the living room, separated only by a high counter with three stools, which serve as support for quick daily meals. One of the walls that delimited the private hall was removed to expand the social area and the wall that was kept was covered with a white lacquered floor-to-ceiling slatted carpentry panel, which camouflages the access doors to the social bathroom, the office and the linen room. .

Finally, the architect added a bathroom (which did not exist in the plan) to the resident's bedroom to transform it into a suite and demolished the wall that led to the outside area to create a winter garden there. As for the decor, in a timeless contemporary style, practically everything is new. From the previous apartment, the resident only brought the dining room buffet and some ornaments. A request from the client guided the selection of new furniture: pieces with a good cost-benefit ratio, light design and light colors. In the social area, the highlight is the modular sofa positioned around a central structural column (coated with burnt cement). ) to delimit, on one side, the living room and, on the other, the TV room. The wooden floor is original to the apartment and, due to the demolition, it received some additions and was later restored. “Our biggest challenge in this project was to honor the agreed deadline of six months for completion and to make the work and decoration fit within the client’s budget”, concludes the architect.