Apartment with transformable rooms for a family with two children: Planka bureau

Apartment 100 sq. meters in a residential complex - a project of the Planka bureau. The team implemented it for a married couple with children of the same age - six and seven years old. “The design concept was based on the idea that the home is a place of recuperation, so there should be nothing pretentious or distracting here. We implemented interesting architectural forms, thought through functional storage, and created transformable children’s rooms,” says co-founder of the bureau Alexey Sergeev.

It seems that 100 sq. meters is not such a small area, but when the customer wants to place two children’s rooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, two dressing rooms, a separate master unit, and a laundry room, the designer’s task becomes more complicated. “The apartment has a regular rectangular shape,” says Alexey Sergeev. “But you can’t call it an ideal canvas.” There were restrictions. Firstly, there are a large number of windows with uneven spacing: bringing the partition into the window is not an option. The second nuance is the monolithic pylons in the center of the apartment. They cannot be dismantled, so the only option was to either bring the partitions directly to them, or use them in every possible way.”

The architects of the Planka studio finalized the plan from the developer: they allocated a private master block and received a linear layout with rooms on both sides of the corridor. We also completed another task: we visually enlarged the space, so that the apartment looks one and a half times larger than its actual area. One of the walls of the hallway is decorated with a mirror panel, which works great for optical expansion. The veneered ceiling, ceiling track and night sconces support the feeling of infinity.

The owners wanted their son and daughter, while they were small, to exist in a single space, and when they grew up, to have their own private territories. This required a mechanism that would turn two rooms into one and vice versa. It became a rotating and folding partition from floor to ceiling. It merges with the wall decoration, so it is almost invisible. “To install such a partition, it is necessary to obtain technical specifications from the manufacturer and provide for reinforcement - a channel plus a wooden beam. Take note of the idea!”

An interesting detail that the authors advise you to pay attention to is door slopes. “The thing is absolutely utilitarian, so they usually don’t care about their design. But this area gets dirty often, so you need something more durable than paint. Therefore, we decided to decorate them with contrasting porcelain stoneware with a 45-degree cut. The story of the bathroom is interesting. The owner really wanted a free-standing model, but her husband considered this option impractical. Yes, and you need more space for it. As a result, we proposed a built-in bathtub with a lining and an artificial stone top. To create a spa-like atmosphere, a suspended skylight ceiling was installed above the bathroom.”

“A few words about the veneer ceiling. This decision is dictated by design. The apartment is provided with a supply ventilation system, ducted air conditioning and air humidification - all these communications had to be placed somewhere. This is where ceiling drops came to our aid. Since we can’t hide this structure, we decided to make it a design accent. That is why the ceiling overhang is duplicated in the hallway, and the technique with a veneered ceiling is repeated in the corridor.”

The interior conveys harmony and comfort. The designers made it light, and minimalist, with contrasting details in natural colors. We added graphics and played with geometry to give character to the space. “We are especially proud that everything was completed within the framework of our construction bureau. Starting with the design project and engineering design and ending with the selection of furniture and decor.” Cabinet furniture is made according to Planka drawings. The apartment also features lamps from Centrsvet, Invisiline grilles, Cielo sinks, an Omoikiri kitchen sink, and Asko household appliances.