“Pretty in Pink” is a fully renovated, 50 sq. m apartment in Plaka, Athens. When acquired by its owner, the apartment was in a rather peculiar state: Half of it (bedroom and sitting) was quite well preserved but without character, while the other half, (entrance, kitchen, bathroom), a total building site, with demolished walls and water pipes all over the place.
The inspiration for its new identity came to a large degree from the owner, a cheerful woman, with a great personality. Her love for colors and her adventurous spirit gave space for bold choices and experimentations. Her request was to fit two bedrooms, a living room, a dining space, a kitchen and a comfortable bathroom in the 50 sq.m. of her property, all that with the minimum amount of interventions, very quickly and with a touch of luxury.
The challenge was to fit such a large program, without compromising the openness and spaciousness of the apartment as observed in its initial, empty state. The idea was to create spaces which flow into one another, avoiding the typical “corridor – room” layout. Thus, only the absolute minimum was enclosed, the bathroom with a toilet and a large shower. The bathroom sink was placed outside, in a beautiful niche. The secondary bedroom, quite small in size, was designed as a raised wooden platform with a double bed and a large semi-transparent door which, when open, disappears behind the wall and unifies it with the rest of the apartment. Still, there was a need to break the monotony and introduce more daring and playful elements. The kitchen, visible immediately upon entering, became the canvas of an “explosive” color scheme combined with old and new materials. The burgundy color emerged from the existing terrazzo floor, which was restored and filled in carefully, where needed, with marble and polished concrete of the same color. Pink was used to coat various surfaces and knobs and yellow to delineate door frames. As for luxury, the exotic pink/burgundy marble of Ritsona dressed sensually counters and niches. Wooden windows and herringbone wood floors were restored and in a close observation one can discover a small piece of green terrazzo, left as a memory of the old space. The apartment is an interesting combination of vintage elements and bold new design choices, creating a unique and original identity.
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