Renovation of an Apartment in Exarcheia

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The study began with identifying the characteristics of a typical Athenian apartment and highlighting them through a simple design of interventions aimed at a combination of contrasts and uniformity, lending a more contemporary outlook. Key elements of the design included highlighting materials and decorative elements, considering their value for the form of a post-war Athenian apartment.

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In a brief reference, post-war Athenian apartments commonly featured parquet floors, plasterwork and rosettes, bathrooms with colorful mosaics, marble countertops, and sinks in the kitchens. This typology of residence with separate rooms for each space remains in people's memory.

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For the redesign of the apartment, efforts were made to preserve most of the previous characteristics. The major transformation involved combining the kitchen space with the living room. However, the imprint of the old walls on the floor was covered with marble instead of parquet, in order to preserve the memory of the old apartment.

 

Materials:

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• Wooden floors throughout the apartment except in the bathroom, where the old mosaic is replaced with new.

• The mosaic floor of the kitchen is "transferred" to the walls, while the old sink is polished and retained in place.

• Wall shades revolve around an off-white palette. The petrol color chosen for the kitchen furniture and cabinets is a lively intervention that brings freshness to the apartment.

• Objects such as the bedroom light fixture (possibly also the wardrobe), paintings, and frames are reused in the apartment's decoration.