One bedroom rental flat with two working areas (part 1)

The challenge of working on rental properties is that most of the time you need to leave the premises as they were before you move in, and normally they are bland and soulless. So our work here was to deliver a space that reflected the personality of the couple that will live there without altering any of the given elements. Besides that, our proposal had to fit their daily lifestyle and be versatile enough to adapt to any future properties they will move in.

The apartment consists of one bedroom, a bathroom, a long open area that includes the kitchen and a corridor that covers the functions of linking all the rooms as well as being the entrance of the flat.

The couple usually works from home, so their main requirement was having two working areas, comfortable enough for daily use and separate from each other to have privacy during virtual meetings. But they did not want to compromise on the cosy, homely feeling as, in the end, the flat is their private home and not an office.

Our proposal for the open plan area consisted of using two dining tables to create a long room divider that separates the kitchen and the sitting area. This overscaled element not only defines the movement around the space but also functions as a desk, a dining table and can host up to 10 people, which was another requirement, as they like to entertain. The floor lamp that sits on the table provides good quality task lighting.

The sitting area features a bright orange velvet sofa-bed (yes, they can have guests staying too) which grabs the attention of the room and balances the contrast with the numerous black furniture pieces. A series of modular storage shelving units, hidden behind the sofa, allow them to display their favourite decor accessories and supports the artwork without damaging the walls. Two table lamps create more comfortable light in the evenings when the ceiling spotlights are too harsh.

The vitrine opposite is the only piece of furniture that they already owned before moving in. The decorative glass panels of the doors were the inspiration for all the round and long elements that we used in the flat, you can see the same shapes in the candles, the chairs, the coffee tables, etc.

What do you think about the layout of this room? What is your favourite element of the space?

Next post I will show you the corridor/hall and the bedroom, which hosts the other working area.

In the meantime, if you struggle planning your open plan area, take a look at our Layout Challenge service. We might be able to help you.