Before and After: Renovating A Loft Apartment

Izelle du Pisanie Izelle du Pisanie
수완진 아리채3차 Before, 유노디자인 유노디자인 Living room
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Renovation projects are exciting undertakings in any context. To renew a residence or place of business means to give new life to a building, changing its purpose, or making the structure more appropriate to what it had been originally intended for. Such projects are so popular, in fact, that it has captured the attention of people worldwide, inspiring television shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that has had a huge following. 

It is not difficult to imagine why this is so. Think about living in the same house or apartment for several years, and suddenly having the opportunity to transform it to your current needs and contemporary trends. It is what most of us yearn for every several years, if not more often.

Well, if you are in the process of renovating your home, or if you are, like some many others, simply inspired by seeing others' renovation journeys, homify is the place for you. Although we feature many before and after projects, today we bring you a modest loft apartment transformation in South Korea. As this undertaking clearly show, it's the little things that count. 

An empty entryway

We start off our tour of this loft apartment conversion at the entrance, which is appropriate enough. As we can see in the image here, the entrance hall is all but inspiring, looking more like an inexpensive motel room than a home. It is clear that the designer had their work cut out for them, and today we will look at how they approached the project. 

The company responsible for this project is Juno Design, upholstery and interior designers based in the city of Suwan-Dong. They have undertaken the project with an ethos of sustainable and minimalist renewal, ensuring that the transformed residence is equally simple, to be furnished with whatever trends are current in the years to come, and timelessly stylish.

Storage installation

Anyone who has ever lived in a small apartment will tell you that your biggest obstacle will centre around storage space. It is so difficult to not let an apartment become cluttered and overcrowded with items out in the open. This easily leads to a bloated feeling in the home, and although you regularly try and get rid of unnecessary items, you still end up with little space to move around in after your tried storing all your necessary items. 

Just after the entrance hall of the apartment, the designers decided to insert a wall unit to solve the storage problem in this apartment. This unit covers the entire wall, and has shelving space if different sizes to cover all needs. It also has a large open area for the insertion of a refrigerator or entertainment unit, depending on the needs of the client. 

For more on clever storage ideas, take a look at these: Cool and simple storage solutions.

Elegant details

Now, working with an apartment that had been constructed in a low-cost, modern style can be difficult to manage, especially if you want to give it an out-of-the-ordinary look. You may have seen this in many contemporary buildings, were apartments have been constructed in a pre-determined and homogenous style that can be easily replicated across many project. This is very cost-effective, but does not lend itself to interesting interiors and unique design. 

For this reason, the designers undertaking the renovation had to think of some simple ways in which they could add a touch of elegance to this cut-and-paste apartment. One of the ways they did so, was by revamping the ceiling. This was done by the addition of a crown-moulding border, a stylish feature that has been used in many upper-class buildings since time immemorial. This is complemented by a toned-down, yet still elegant chandelier as the central lighting fixture of the room.

Creative arrangements

On to the bathroom of the home. This small space is not different than many others of its kind in smaller apartments. When it comes to optimising the bathroom space in such residences, designers have to get creative with regards spatial arrangements and the types of fixtures employed. 

Juno Design went for a classic bathroom with a full tub, which is surprising for such a small room. It paid off, however, since the inhabitants now have the luxury of a bathtub, whilst there is also a simple shower head installed over it for when a quicker alternative is necessary. 

Behind the bathtub we can also see the decoration strategy employed for this room. When it comes to working with such a small space, you have to keep the ornamentation simple and find a more creative way to bring life to the room. That is exactly what we see here, with the use of decorative tiles at the back. This botanical print gives an interesting character to the bathroom, and is also very popular in current decor trends. 

Concrete balcony

Lastly, we take a step outside of the loft apartment for a breath of fresh air on the balcony. This is a narrow structure, but runs along the length of the apartment, ensuring access from all areas inside. This is certainly a feature anyone can appreciate and should be glad to have. The designers had to keep this space in mind when decorating the interior space, since it can be easily employed to extend the interior rooms when necessary. The materials used here are stylish in an industrial fashion, but are also hardy and wear-proof to withstand the weather.

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