{"id":12448,"date":"2016-01-08T09:37:49","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T09:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oot-oot.com\/en\/?p=12448"},"modified":"2019-03-02T14:12:02","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T12:12:02","slug":"less-is-more-on-a-34-square-meter-home-and-how-it-was-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oot-oot.com\/en\/less-is-more-on-a-34-square-meter-home-and-how-it-was-done\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abLESS IS MORE\u00bb ON A 34 SQUARE METER HOME AND HOW IT WAS DONE"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00abLess is more\u00bb<\/em> on a\u00a034 square meter home. How to do it?<\/h3>\n

To fit all the necessary\u00a0for living into an apartment sized only 34 square meters calls for clever solutions. The Estonian architect Allan Pilter and his partner managed to complete the task magnificiently by using functionally every unit of their home. The interior design is by Allan himself.<\/p>\n

The algorithm consisted of self-designed built-in furniture, smart usage\u00a0of available space,\u00a0\u00abless is more\u00bb <\/em>mentality and some more hocus-pocus. The outcome is bright, minimal and above all very functional.<\/p>\n

What is the essence of your home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We set the mind to follow\u00a0the \u00absmall living\u00bb <\/em>principle when planning our home.\u00a0It\u00a0was like solving a problem in maths class\u00a0with\u00a0only one right\u00a0answer. When all the functional details were thought through the interior design part\u00a0came together\u00a0as well, dictated by the peculiarities of the room. We always reminded ourselves to remember that\u00a0less is more.<\/p>\n

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The apartment seems very spacious even though it’s size is only 34 square meters. Which clever\u00a0solutions did you use to fit everything in the apartment?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It doesn’t only seem, but it actually is spacious. The built-in furniture designed by ourselves allows to use effectively every gap and corner of the apartment and generally keep\u00a0the appareance of the room clean and minimalistic. There are unusually many\u00a0drawers under the\u00a0inbuilt bed which are openable from both sides. \u00a0Using the whole height of the room for wardrobe\u00a0let us\u00a0create\u00a0two levels for hanging our\u00a0clothes. The ceiling of the washroom is lowered to leave some extra box-room.<\/p>\n

Planning a small home is\u00a0revitalising\u00a0yet\u00a0disciplinary project, which eliminates\u00a0many unnecessary things from your everyday living. Sometimes we have to even prove our friends that we actually do have the vacuum cleaner, ironing board and dusting brush in our home, because these things are usually hidden in the closets.<\/p>\n

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Which illusional hocus-pocus did you use to make the room seem more spacious than it its?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The apartment used to have two\u00a0closed rooms: living room and kitchen. The new studio-like plan with open kitchen and bedroom exposes as many view fields as possible and enables the natural light to enter even the darkest corners of our home. The wall of washroom is made of opaline to\u00a0let\u00a0the daylight\u00a0in. To still keep some privacy in the bedroom and toilet we have sliding doors, which when opened or closed blend in well and stay unnoticed.<\/p>\n

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To visually extend the dimensions of the room even more, the decision of painting all the surfaces and inbuilt furniture white was made. Beside colors the textures also have immense role to play in tiny rooms.\u00a0The contrasts of different textures illusionary make the room seem wider,\u00a0like the livingroom brick wall and the smooth surfaces of the cabinets in the kitchen. The white background brings alive the interior\u00a0details and open furniture.<\/p>\n

The size of a room is defined by human dimesional aspect. Without furniture a place always seems smaller than when furnished, the overly piled up interior also appears\u00a0tinier. That is why it is extremely important to find the proportionally correct objects for the room.<\/p>\n

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Where is the furniture and home decoration from?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

All the built-in furniture is designed and made by me. The kitchen is from Arens and was also worked out until every detail was in order. The sofa, dining table and some other home accessories are from BoConcept, dining chairs are combination of the Eames’s classics\u00a0from Vitra and some vintage finds from Kaevuri Salong, living room luminaire is vintage from Oot-Oot Studio and the wall lamp is from the garage-workroom of my partner’s grandfather.<\/p>\n

The art, book layouts and prints, in the bedroom and living room are from my artist grandfather’s collection. The piano chair, which was saved from an old submarine factory, belongs to the hallway, but every once in a while it ends up playing\u00a0the role of a coffee table.<\/p>\n

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You are an architect who is also\u00a0into interior design. How does this project show the esthetics of you as a designer and architect?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe in lifelong\u00a0progress when talking about design esthetics.\u00a0Within 15 years of working as\u00a0an architect my\u00a0signature\u00a0style is\u00a0still developing. The creativity and\u00a0currentness\u00a0in architecture and design\u00a0changes all the time.<\/p>\n

The essential value in my projects is functionality. The character\u00a0of a certain space can be created only when\u00a0adapting the room to it’s purpose. Everything else is dictated by the characteristics of the room. This home is a good example of how detailed and thought out\u00a0projects I like\u00a0to do.<\/p>\n

Another important criteria in my design esthetics is simplicity. Even when the\u00a0task is extremely complicated, the result – the final idea has to be clear,\u00a0perspicuous and bring out the best qualities of the room. The\u00a0unconventional and small spaces are\u00a0the most challenging yet enjoyable things to work with.<\/p>\n

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What interesting are you working on right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently I am working on an major office project, some interior design\u00a0projects and finalizing the Niine 7 apartment building project with Kaur Talpsepp.<\/p>\n

Allan Pilter<\/strong>\u00a0is an Estonian arhitect and co-founder of the company Kauss Architects. He graduated the\u00a0Tallinn University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Architecture and has been working as an architect since 2002. His deeper interest in interior design started\u00a0growing during last few years. In spare time he is either composing sounds (deserts, brief.pastiche), playing tennis, ping pong or discgolf.<\/p>\n\n