Fitting all of life into 18 square meters is quite a challenge. If you succeed, the next challenge is to arrange the space in such a way that the daily life of the residents is not an endless string of problems. The architect proposed such a layout that gives the impression that something else would fit in this Mokotow apartment....
Katarzyna Schudy of Schudy Studio pondered for a long time on the best solution for developing the space entrusted to her 18 square meters. Interestingly, she found this small square meter extremely inspiring!
Basia Hyjek: What was the main inspiration for the project? Where did the idea for such a selection of colors and materials come from?
Katarzyna Schudy: Immediately, on the occasion of my first visit to the apartment, I knew what should be changed to make it possible to live there. Momentarily, the idea of building around the bathroom, combining it with a characteristic pavilion, came up. It was also necessary to expand the kitchen, extending it towards the living room.
In such small spaces, every centimeter matters and must be used accordingly!
Photo by Martyna Rudnicka
In this project, function was definitely in the foreground, and only then form. In such small spaces, every centimeter matters and must be used accordingly! We also knew that the owner had quite a few items that would give character to the space - guitars, posters, an amplifier - they just needed to be exposed. So the mixing style is a response to the owner's needs and taste.
Basia: How did you come up with the idea to divide the space?
Catherine: Despite the fact that the space is small, in fact exactly because of this, it took us a long time to work on the layout. We checked all the layouts and by elimination and combining ideas, a layout that met our and the owner's expectations was created. In its original state, the living room was separated from the hallway by a wall, the kitchen actually had only two segments, the refrigerator had to stand in the living room, and there was no sink in the bathroom. The apartment needed extensive renovation, and on this occasion we were able to change literally the entire layout.
The challenge was to create a kitchen along the lines of the kind we see in large apartments
photo by Martyna Rudnicka
Basia: What was the biggest challenge in creating this space, and what gave you the most satisfaction?
Katarzyna: The challenge was to create a kitchen along the lines of the kind we see in large apartments, i.e. we wanted a built-in tall refrigerator, oven, microwave, dishwasher and hidden washing machine. In a large apartment, hiding these appliances is not a challenge, but here nothing was an obvious solution. We also struggled to hide the unseemly sewer riser in the bathroom, to fit all the necessary items there. We also tried to maximize storage space for clothes and a large number of vinyl records - the property of the investor.
