Property prices in Malaysia have reached an all time high. With more areas where terrace houses are breaching the RM1 million valuation, more and more people will move to more affordable apartments and condominiums in order to continue living a certain distance away from the city. It’s a similar trend in most countries, the location and its distance to the heart of the city centre who have an impact on property prices. Home prices aside, there have been a number of people i’ve met, that felt creatively confined by space limitations in apartments and condominiums (unless you bought a studio, in which case you would be limited even more), but this is not true and here is a perfect example of what can be done given some thought and a little imagination… besides money, of course.
The apartment featured here is located in the historical city of Rome and was dreamt up by Carola Vannini Architects. It provides inspiration on how simple elements can come together and create an apartment or condominium which not only looks sophisticated but aesthetically pleasing as well. The design elements used in this apartment is a far cry from the often garish elements used by interior designers in Malaysia. It doesn’t take a chandelier hanging from your ceiling to create that feeling of luxury or exclusivity, simple elements when planned and used correctly provide the same feel as intricate wallpapers and even extravagant wall features.
The overarching theme in this apartment home (well to me anyway), seems to be the colour white with a splash of colour here and there to create highlights through out the home. I would never in a million years would have thought that a green sofa would come out looking good at home, but here it fits right in. The grey resin coating used to highlight the structural features in the home such as the pillars and beams also came off as an interesting element and provides yet another element that adds interesting highlights against the majority white of this apartment while seamlessly matching the timber flooring installed. This is something I find very fascinating as often most people would have resorted to using plaster ceiling to hide the ceiling beams instead of making it a feature.
The kitchen and dining area while simple in design, look just as impressive. It really gives life to the often quoted phrase “Less is more”. The theme of making more with less is extended to the kitchen as well. While not as functional for Asian style cooking as most of us would have liked but it definitely makes a great deal of sense in any apartment or condominium which is has an open style concept. But the design elements rendered sure as hell makes for one good looking dining and kitchen area.
This apartment may not be the most intricate but it sure gives plenty of interesting insight into the opportunities and potential of thinking outside the box. Maybe this apartment shown here has given you, our dear reader, some interesting things to think about.
Image Source: Carola Vannini Architecture
