Built in the city of Petrópolis (RJ) in 1941 – in
Hollywood Rococo style (inside) and
Norman-French style (outside) –,
Quitandinha was opened in 1944 with the support of Getúlio Vargas to be the
largest and most luxurious hotel-casino in South America . In its early years, it hosted internationally renowned celebrities such as
Carmen Miranda, Walt Disney, Greta Garbo, Orson Welles and
Evita Perón , and also served as the stage for the coronation of
Martha Rocha in the first edition of the Miss Brazil pageant.
After gambling was banned in 1946, its suites were transformed into a condominium with 440 apartments for housing, with sizes ranging from 20 m² to 180 m². In this property of just
30 m² in the current
Condomínio Residencial Quitandinha , architect
Manoela Fleck created a home for a retired lady who lives in Rio de Janeiro and was looking for a second home in the Fluminense mountains. “She had already done a project with me and, this time, she contacted me before even buying the property to get information about possible improvements and use of the space”, says Manoela.
The new owner asked the architect to design the project as a
permanent residence (and not just a weekend getaway), with a
full kitchen , including a dishwasher. She also asked for a
light and welcoming decor , with practical solutions to reduce the risk of domestic accidents.
The renovation did not change the layout of the property, since, from the beginning, the client was very concerned about
preserving the original parquet floor in the living room (in light and dark tones arranged like a checkerboard) and
the hexagonal ceramic tile floor, in white, in the kitchen and bathroom . “By removing the existing bathtub to create a spacious shower, we had to replace the piping, but we were able to redo the damaged part of the floor using the same material,” the architect points out. “We also kept the original doors, trim, trim and baseboards,” she adds.
The decor uses a
soft color palette – shades of
blue, pink and off-white – to create the light, calm and romantic atmosphere requested by the client. All the furniture, ornaments and carpentry are new and some vintage pieces were found at a local antique shop, such as the two Lucio chairs, created by designer
Sergio Rodrigues in 1956.
The finishing touches were based on natural materials such as linen, cotton, wood, leather and fiber. Another highlight is the
bed-platform area (with drawers underneath) that extends across the entire wall of the living room, separated from the living room by a
charming iron, wood and linen partition , designed by the architect herself. “Our biggest challenge in this renovation was to renovate and update the entire apartment to meet the desires and needs of a retired lady, while preserving the original interior architecture as much as possible, since it is an iconic building with such a rich history,” concludes Manoela.
