Gray might not be the first shade that comes to mind when you think of comfort, but this thoughtfully designed 67m2 apartment proves it’s the coziest color of all. With soft textures, warm light, and clever storage, the space feels both serene and deeply inviting. Created for a woman and her teenage son, this home is a masterclass in how neutral tones can offer warmth, personality, and a sense of calm.
Customers and tasks
The owner of this apartment turned to designer Irina on the advice of her friends. “The owner was looking for a designer who would help her better understand her preferences, complement her vision of a strict, masculine interior with unusual solutions. While maintaining visual purity, it was necessary to introduce tactility, softness, continuity,” says the designer. The woman lives with her teenage son. Functionally, it was necessary to arrange two separate rooms for each family member, a common kitchen-living room.
Redevelopment
The original layout — a kitchen-living room, two rooms and a separate bathroom with toilet — was slightly changed. In one of the rooms, which became the owner’s bedroom, a dressing room was allocated. Between the second room and the hallway, a partition was rebuilt to organize niches for installing cabinets in the room itself and in the entrance area.
Finishing
Paint and decorative plaster were chosen for the wall finishing, the latter was used to decorate the wall in the owner’s bedroom. Oak parquet “herringbone” is laid on the floor in the rooms. On the kitchen and hallway floor – porcelain stoneware under gray stone. It was also used in bathroom finishing. For the toilet, large-format porcelain stoneware with a concrete texture was chosen.
Thus, we got a basic “background” for the interior, which was filled with warm details: wooden furniture, textiles, accessories, and vintage elements.
Furniture and storage systems
Irina thought out a variety of storage systems, starting with the hallway. Right at the entrance, there is a closet with an open section with hooks and a seat, under which you can put everyday shoes. The upper closed shelves are for seasonal items. On the other side of the entrance, there is a small built-in closet for outerwear and shoes.
The kitchen set in the kitchen-living room looks minimalist and monolithic, practically without attracting attention: cabinets without handles, a single material for the countertop and apron. There is a lot of storage due to the upper cabinets up to the ceiling and an additional column, which is located symmetrically to the column with a built-in refrigerator.
The dining group “softens” the utilitarian nature of the kitchen: a wooden table with carved legs, mid-century style chairs with soft seats and backs seem to invite you to sit down.
In the living room area, a sofa in grey upholstery, a few shades darker than the wall,s creates the same mood of relaxation and peace. The transparent coffee table is high enough to comfortably drink tea or coffee.
The owner’s bedroom has a separate dressing room, which allows her to do without wardrobes in the room itself. There is nothing superfluous: just a bed, a bedside table on one side ,and a soft armchair on the other.
The teenage son’s room required special attention: I didn’t want to impose the vision of my mother and designer on the young guy, but at the same time, it would also be wrong to make the room stand out too much from the rest of the apartment.
A great balance was found: the room looks modern, while stylistically connected to the rest of the interior with a color scheme. Storage systems include a built-in closet at the entrance, as well as a work area with a system of open and closed shelves. The vintage work chair is another connecting element with the furnishings and mood of the apartment.
The bathroom has a vintage-style wooden vanity unit and a tall cabinet with a built-in washing machine.
In the bathroom, there is a shallow cabinet for storing various household items.
Lighting
The choice of lighting was approached not only from the point of view of functionality, but also as a choice of decor. Thus, among the lamps there are also vintage finds: the “Dandelion” chandelier, placed above the dining table in the kitchen. However, for the most part, the lighting is modern: these are track lights, which are convenient because you can direct the spotlights to the desired angle, and minimalist sconces above the workplace and bed in the son’s room. In the hostess’s bedroom, there are two pendants on either side of the bed with wicker lampshades and e-readers for reading. In the bathroom, there are sconces on either side of the mirror, and in the toilet, there are sconces with several lampshades.
