Transforming an apartment into a real home<\/p>\n
Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Designing an apartment that meets the taste and wishes of its
\nowner amid space limitations is a challenge. It's especially true
\nin making the most of an apartment, where there is the liability
\nof rooms appearing disordered as though they run together as one.<\/p>\n
Interior designer Iwan Sastrawiguna was up to the task for an
\n84-square-meter apartment in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta,
\ncarefully selecting furniture and accessories for the interior to
\nmeet the owner's desire for a semi-classic style.<\/p>\n
"She is in the furniture business so we chose the furniture
\navailable at her showroom," Iwan said of the owner, who lives in
\nthe apartment with her adult daughter.<\/p>\n
The designer made few structural changes to the apartment,
\napart from erecting a wall near the front door to separate the
\nfoyer from what is now the kitchen area. Now, the apartment has
\nthree bedrooms -- including a master bedroom -- a family room, a
\nfoyer, a dining room, a kitchen, a service area as well as two
\nbathrooms, including a master bathroom.<\/p>\n
Instead of creating tall room dividers, Iwan designed low
\ncabinets that serve as dividers as well as storage areas,
\nparticularly important in optimizing the space.<\/p>\n
"You will not find any divider, stretching from the floor up
\nto the ceiling," Iwan said.<\/p>\n
Separated from the dining room with another cabinet, the small
\nfoyer is equipped with a telephone and seating area, where the
\noccupants can comfortably receive phone calls as well as putting
\non or taking off their shoes. The cabinet here is used to store
\nshoes and clean socks.<\/p>\n
Adjacent to it is the dining room that is designed with a
\nstone table, a comfortable two-seat sofa next to the wall and two
\nchairs on the other side of the table. All tableware is kept in
\nthe cabinet and a hanging wall lamp illuminates the area. Behind
\nthe couch, a collection of small framed pictures decorates the
\nwall.<\/p>\n
"I specially chose small pictures because they can nicely
\ndecorate the wall of such a small room," Iwan explained.<\/p>\n
The young designer also added a classic style mirror next to
\nthe dining room and the foyer to give a "spacious" look to the
\nsmall rooms.<\/p>\n
For the family room, a two-seat sofa, armchair and an ottoman
\nare arranged around an oval-shaped glass table. A potted plant
\nsits near the window, giving a natural touch to the interior.<\/p>\n
Iwan selected soft-colored furniture and fabrics for the
\ndrapes, tablecloths, cushions and carpets to avoid a "heavy"
\nimpression.<\/p>\n
Some walls and ceilings were given interesting finishing
\neffects, like cracking or a texturized look.<\/p>\n
"Apart from using special painting techniques, I also used a
\nsponge and sapu lidi (a traditional broom from thatch) to create
\nsome of the desired finishes. After applying different color of
\npaints and coats, I lightly dabbed the wall using a sponge or
\nrandomly pricked the ceiling with the broom while the paint was
\nstill wet, and the result was not bad," Iwan said.<\/p>\n
For the lighting, Iwan installed indirect lighting and up
\nlighting to create the desired ambience, while hanging lamps are
\nonly placed in the dining and family rooms to avoid clutter.<\/p>\n
Although the apartment as well as the interior has strong
\nclassical nuances, each of the occupants' respective styles is
\nexpressed in their bedrooms.<\/p>\n
Soft pink hues dominate the master bedroom while for the bed
\nIwan designed an avant garde-shaped headboard as an accent. The
\nroom also comes with a bedside table, a cabinet stretching along
\none side of the wall, a wardrobe and a dressing table.<\/p>\n
And unlike the functional guest bedroom, the daughter's
\nyouthful, "pop" style room is cluttered with her personal
\nbelongings, arranged on the bedside cabinet. The room is spacious
\nenough even to accommodate a visiting friend who wishes to spend
\nthe night with her.<\/p>\n
For the kitchen, a narrow cabinet and a shelf along the wall
\nwere designed to store all the kitchen utensils as well as to
\nensure the small area remains organized.<\/p>\n
"And since the kitchen is only separated from the dining room
\nand the family room by a glass door, the servant can have easy
\naccess from the small kitchen to the dining room," Iwan said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/transforming-an-apartment-into-a-real-home-1447893297",
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