A couple with two young children bought this
230 m² apartment in Leblon (RJ) and hired architects
Camila Simbalista and
Paula Wetzel , from
Studio 021 Arquitetura , to completely renovate all the rooms before moving in. The professionals are part of the
CASACOR Rio de Janeiro team.
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
“The clients asked for a generous
wine cellar in the living room, a walk-in closet for each spouse in the master suite, and for all the social areas to be integrated,” says Camila. “Originally, the apartment had four bedrooms, with only one of them being a suite. After the renovation, it now has
two suites and the
other two bedrooms were kept – one for the son and the other as an office,” she adds.
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
According to the architects, the project was based on the generous wine cellar requested by the client, which was
integrated into a large carpentry designed by the office and installed in the living room, which also houses a china cabinet, bookshelf and TV stand. In addition to becoming the heart of the house, this solution also functions as a link between the
living , dining and TV areas.
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
In the decor, which follows a timeless contemporary style, only the Lounge armchair with stool by
Charles Eames (which is now in the TV room) and the Maria Preciosa coffee
table , designed by
Etel Carmona , were used from the family collection.
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
Among the works of art, it is worth highlighting the engravings by
Volpi (in the dining room and leaning on the shelf), the diptych by photographer
Alexandre Sant'anna (also in the dining room) and the painting by artist
Manabu Mabe (in the TV room).
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
For the color palette, the architects chose a light and neutral floor in Travertino Navona marble, which, combined with the carpentry finished in freijó wood, resulted in a
welcoming and balanced space .

In the
couple's bedroom , the bright space houses a closet for each spouse and appears larger due to the use of
light coverings and
mirrors , which also helped to disguise the doors leading to the closets.
(Juliano Colodeti, do MCA Estudio/CASACOR)
“Our biggest challenge in this project was to fit all the clients’ requests into the apartment. Another challenge was the main entrance to the property, which leads to a
long, narrow hallway . To solve this problem, we covered one wall with a floor-to-ceiling mirror and the other wall with a natural freijó wood panel, which mimics the doors leading to other rooms, such as the kitchen, and, at the end, integrates with the huge bookcase in the living room,” concludes architect Paula Wetzel.