Where is Waldo?
Anyone who lives in Berlin knows how difficult it can be to find an apartment in the city.
So when I finally found a shared apartment that was perfectly located, clean, bright, and with a wonderful roommate… I didn’t hesitate one second!
The only downsides:
The rooms were narrow. Although they were quite spacious, they were all “in length”.
There was no living room so no space to relax nor to invite guests.
It was not possible to set up a working space in any other room of the apartment.
Ready to build, let’s goooooo!
Because I didn’t own any furniture, I quickly realized that it would be cheaper to design my own and build it out of the cheapest (but solid) material rather than buying everything from scratch.
These were my design constraints:
🛏️ Privacy is important in the bedroom area, i.e.: when one enters the room, they should not be able to see the bed area
🌙 Best sleep ever: I wanted to recreate the experience of sleeping on futons like in Japan… Can someone tell me why I sleep so well on the floor?
🛋️ Apart from the bedroom space, there needs to be a space to relax and invite guests, as well as a desk to work on my laptop and 3D printer
🧳 Storage, storage, storage,... There should be a lot of storage, but it shouldn’t be visually overwhelming (no bulky wardrobes)
🎨 Something interesting needs to break the dryness and monotony of OSB
💰 And finally: the total cost including labor must be less than the cost of buying equivalent furniture at Ikea. Additionally, it should not take over a week from start to finish = from planning to decorating and moving in with my clothes.
I love art and I always wanted to use International Klein Blue (IKB) in a room. This deep blue is highly saturated and it is fascinating. However, I had never found the place for it. It is not easy to use because it is so powerful.
OSB on the other hand can be seen as dull, and, if IKB is on the artistic and cultured side, OSB is definitely not a "noble" material. It is a indeed typically used for construction and temporary structures.
That's why they work well together: they balance each other.
They are both bold choices that could be overwhelming on their own. Together, they break and soften each other.
The only paint manufacturer that can reproduce IKB is the French manufacturer Ressource (link). They provide a wonderful matt and deep paint. Depending on the light in the room, the paint moves from joyful and energetic to absorbing and reflective. I found that it follows well the rythm of the day, and the seasons
What better inspiration than the villa Majorelle color palette to decorate with accessories? The pillow covers are from Ikea, I was in luck that summer as they had the exact two colors I wanted ????