How do you respond to a black palette?!

By Sonal Mamoowala

Photography: André Monteiro; courtesy the designers

Read Time: 2 mins

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Brazilian designers transform a compact space into an exceptionally vibrant studio apartment playing with the most un-thought-of palette – black!

Breaking away from the mould and experimenting in a totally uncanny manner takes a lot of gumption. Brazil-based designers, Rômulo Teixeira and Cintia Miyahira have set a trend for modern youth to live with gay abandon, replacing tradition with trend as they anoint a 34 sq. m. space with a black envelope  - black walls, black ceiling, black furniture, black fittings and accessories…

 

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While this strikes you as soon as you enter, the riot of colours that abound almost simultaneously creates an amusing shift. From the pink entrance door to the blue and yellow metal partitions; from magenta topped kitchen counter and cabinets to bright yellow stools and rust coloured exposed brick wall, every inch of space exudes vibrancy. The neatly stacked clothes and shoes in the open wardrobe add colour too.  

 

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Realigning space in a one-room-kitchen apartment by breaking down walls and relocating the bathroom at one end, the open-plan studio apartment serves as residence-cum-office premises. The designers adopt an industrial grunge style, where well laid out electric conduits running across the dark ceiling and walls, dormitory type locker storage units and a graffiti wall depicting industrial waste, spring up as surprise décor elements.

 

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Light plays a key role dissipating the dark envelope, heightening an understated luxe element as ceiling mounted lights cast interesting chiaroscuro elements, contributing to the seemingly sparse arrangement. Versatility and feasibility of steel is exploited to the maximum, creatively used in partitions and the multiple-use stool called ‘Malcom 37’, finished with coloured paint.

 

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Besides a large space-saver sofa that conveniently converts into a bed by night, and containers as a work desk that can be expanded at will, the unique modular ‘Malcom 37’ singularly or in multiples, ingenuously fulfills the role of seat, coffee table, side table, shelving unit et al. The entire scenario is beautifully balanced via a large mirror visually doubling space.

An amazing, thought-provoking paradise, reflecting one's personality… the design evokes a legitimate response to… “Do we really need more?”