The
120 m² property in Botafogo (RJ) was old and needed a complete renovation to accommodate the family with
two daughters and two cats . “With the exception of the original wooden floor, which was restored and maintained, we replaced all the coverings in the
kitchen and
bathrooms , repainted the walls and ceilings and designed the carpentry for each room,” says architect
Fernanda Matoso , who designed the project with her partner
Juliana Gonçalves , both from the firm
Co+Lab Juntos Arquitetura e Interiores .
The client's requests included a
kitchen integrated into the living room to increase the feeling of spaciousness and a room that could be used as an office, since they both work from home some days of the week.
Since they had a lot of books and vinyl records, they also asked for a large bookcase in the living room to store and organize their entire collection, as well as a prominent space to display their guitars. Among the main changes to the property's layout, the wall separating the kitchen from the living room was removed to integrate the spaces and, as a result, the service door to the apartment lost its function and was closed. In addition, the
layout of the suite's bathroom was redesigned by changing the position of the door.
The project concept started from a
neutral base with varied textures to insert points of color in ornaments, books, paintings and some furniture, such as the Bossa dining chairs in yellow lacquer (by
Jader Almeida ) and the high stools (by
Fernando Jaeger ), in terracotta tones.
“
We covered the wall behind the couple’s bed with sand-toned cement tiles and the office wall with terracotta-toned tiles . In the kitchen, since the floor is light gray porcelain, the countertops are white quartz, the upper cabinets are white and the lower cabinets are American oak, we went bold with the walls, which were decorated
with hydraulic tiles with an off-white and blue pattern , without the final result being visually heavy,” says Juliana. “We focused more on textures than colors to create a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere,” adds Fernanda.
The decor, which follows a contemporary style with an industrial touch, features several loose pieces of furniture that the clients already had: the Paulistano armchair (by
Paulo Mendes da Rocha ), the Lounge armchair with stool (by
Charles Eames ), the Bossa dining chairs (by
Jader Almeida ), the dining table and the double bed. Among the new pieces, the architects highlight the high Spaghetti stools (by
Fernando Jaeger ) and the gray modular sofa.
All the carpentry was custom designed by the office for each room, as was the lighting design. Among the decorative lighting fixtures, it is worth highlighting the north/south pendants over the dining table, designed by
Sol Camacho , and the Mini Bauhaus pendants by
Fernando Prado .
