Hasta La Ideas

Crumbling brick and peeling plaster walls have been left exposed during the renovation of this compact Stockholm apartment by Karen Matz (+ slideshow).

Swedish architect Karin Matz renovated the interior of HB6B – One Home in Heleneborgsgatan, Stockholm, for herself, creating two types of living spaces with a central bathroom.

Renovation of the apartment started in the 1980s but was abandoned until Matz recently took ownership. She retained much of the half-finished, exposed elements and incorporated them into the new interior.

“I wanted to keep some of this old feeling and atmosphere but at the same time do the new added parts properly and in my way,” she explained to Dezeen. “Therefore it became a clear division between the added and the existing.”

“The finished apartment is a result of a fascination for this; a try to let the previous layers and stories of a space live on and at the same time fill the requirements for the new story that will take place,” she added.

As the apartment measures only 36 square metres, Matz said the aim was to try and fit everything into the compact space. This lead to the design of a single structure that incorporates elements for the kitchen on one side and the bedroom on the other.

The bed is located on a raised platform accessed by a small wooden ladder with a collection of clothing rails, drawers and kitchen shelving is located underneath.

“Raising the bed separates it from the rest of the apartment in this open layout,” Matz added. “Raised beds are quite normal in Stockholm where people live in very small apartments.”

The sleeping area is adjacent to the kitchen and separated by a pane of glass, while extra book shelves are attached to the side wall above the bed.

The bed overlooks the rest of the other living spaces, consisting of a lounge and living area with a dining table and chairs next to the window, a couch against a side wall, bookshelves and a low coffee table.

Much of this space was left as it was found before the renovation with rough, peeling walls and electrical cables installed on the surface.

Low-hanging lights are strung across the ceiling and hang down at different levels.

Bright green tiles clad the interior of the shower room, separated from the rest of the bathroom by a glass door. Sections of tiled wall also clad the toilet and basin area.

Wooden floorboards feature throughout the apartment and are painted white in the kitchen. A section of the hallway next to the door is also patterned with floral wallpaper.

Other apartments that look like they’re not quite finished include this interior in Tokyo with cement smeared over concrete and an apartment in San Sebastian with rough concrete beams.

See a round-up of unfinished interiors here »

Photography is by the architect.

Here’s some information about the project from Karin Matz:

HB6B apartment

When the apartment on Heleneborgsgatan in Stockholm, Sweden was for sale in 2012 it had been used as furniture storage for 30 years. The previous owner had begun a renovation in the 1980s but fell ill and the apartment was left untouched until his death. Time had been frozen; wallpaper was half removed, only a few tiles and a kitchen faucet were sticking out of a wall, there was no electricity and a bathroom only with signs of rats as inhabitants.

In a city like Stockholm with an enormous housing shortage and with every square meter increasing in price by the minute, this story was somehow impossible to understand and resist. The finished apartment is a result of a fascination for this; a try to let the previous layers and stories of a space live on and at the same time fill the requirements for the new story that will take place.

The apartment is 36 square metres and the goal was to fit everything desired by the occupant. In this case: generous spaces, airy sensation, walk in closet, all appliances for everyday life, a large luxury shower/bath, different possibilities of movement, a space which could be divided when wanted. Finally it had to be light and inexpensive!

The result is an apartment divided in two parts. One where everything is part of one structure, which is based on the Ikea kitchen units. Everything in this part is completely redone with electricity inside the walls and with all surfaces painted white in order to bring in and reflect light. Here all the functions are squeezed in on top of, in-between, under and inside each other. Bedroom, kitchen, wardrobe and storage are all one.

The second part is left with things free-standing with all surfaces more or less as they have been for the last 20 years. The holes in the the walls have been filled in, loose wallpaper and paint taken down and electrical cables and outlets have been added running on the outside of the walls. The bathroom becomes the connection between the two parts.

HB6B – one home
Client: Private
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Project: Karin Matz
Construction: NCE Bygg
Fine Carpentry: Retsloff Snickeri
Built area: 36 sqm
Status: Built

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in renovated Stockholm apartment appeared first on Dezeen.