Dark interiors do not have to be gloomy at all!
Architects from the Gdansk-based Ministry of Interior prove it in the design of the arrangement of a small apartment Green Moon, in which, in addition to intense black on the walls, furniture and materials, they used wooden elements and introduced contrasting shades of delicate pink and pastel green.
The 61-square-meter apartment is divided into a living room with an open kitchen, a bedroom closed with glass walls, which is visually separated from the rest of the apartment by a heavy black curtain, a study and a bathroom clad in tiles, which, as the architects emphasize, combine the quintessence of colors that are the inspiration for the atmospheric interior with the intriguing name Green Moon.
apartment floor plan
© MSWW
Ola Kloc: What was the priority for the investors?
Marcin Konopka: In the functional layer, the priority was to defend the projection, which was dominated by unfavorable verticals located in even less favorable places. In the aesthetic layer - the interior was supposed to be black. Or simply it was to have a black character :) The common idea, both ours and the investors', was to create an interior that affects like Nick Cave's music - it is both beautiful and a bit dark.
black elements in the interior of the apartment
Photo: MSWW Marcin Konopka
Ola: Some parts of the apartment have dark walls and black finishes, which, like contours in drawings, emphasize the shapes of furniture or the divisions of a glass wall. How do you think to arrange dark interiors so that they don't seem smaller or less cozy?
Marcin: Brilliantly noted! This is how we would like them to be read. Black lines go beyond their functionality in several places. Then they turn into extended brush marks, pencil marks.... They are like a sketch in space, liberated from pragmatic function. "I am no longer a frame of glazing. I am a mark in space" :)
left: the curtained glass walls of the bedroom; right: the kitchen
Photo: MSWW Marcin Konopka
Paradoxically, this interior is not too dark. The effect we've achieved is that the interior seems to be overflowing with black elements, while in fact there are proportionally fewer of them than the light ones. As a result, the brightness of this small space is not lost.
The glass bedroom effect is also worth noting here. In fact, the walls of the bedroom are black, but they are limited only to black frames. The rest is translucent glass, unless we cut off this room with curtains - then the bedroom turns into a cozy, dark boudoir. Phenomenally muted inside thanks to the fleshy fabric.
The bedroom can be visually separated from the rest of the apartment by a heavy black curtain
Photo: MSWW Marcin Konopka
Ola: There is no shortage of colors in the apartment - green, pink, gray appear in addition to the aforementioned black. Where did you get the idea for such a choice of colors, textures and materials?
Marcin: Green Moon. A combination of black of night with pale moonlight and green aurora. This set of colors materializes the tile in the bathroom. The faded pink of the window fabrics and furniture elements gives us a color counterpoint and exudes fleshy warmth.
bathroom
Photo: MSWW Marcin Konopka
Ola: What was the biggest difficulty in the project, and what are you most satisfied with?
Marcin: The biggest difficulty was the aforementioned original projection. These types of layouts are a challenge for us because usually on the basis of a well-worked, problematic projection a unique solution is created. And that was also the case here. The kitchen, in particular, benefited from this - the closet, which hindered the functional layout in this space, was used to create a unique layout with a small peninsula. It should be mentioned that the investors initially wanted to make the kitchen very small, assuming that they hardly use it anyway. However, the layout with the peninsula encourages them to cook, which they are positively surprised by.
We are most pleased with the feedback from the investors. They say that the interior works well both functionally and provides an aesthetic experience that brings joy to everyday life.
Living room with open kitchen, black sofa in the foreground
Photo: MSWW Marcin Konopka
