When the apartment on Heleneborgsgatan in Stockholm, Sweden, was put up for sale in 2012 it had been used as furniture storage for 30 years. The previous owner had begun a renovation in the 1980s but fell ill, and the apartment was left untouched until his death. Time had been frozen; a kitchen faucet was sticking out of a wall, the wallpaper hung in tatters, there was no electricity and in the bathroom were signs of rats.
The architect Karen Matz was asked to renovate the apartment. She found the space very fascinating, so she tried to keep a lot of the old interior but at the same time, she managed to make room for the new.
The apartment is only 388 ft2/ 36 m2, but the client’s wish list was long: lots of space, airy feel, walk-in closet, modern appliances, a large luxurious bathroom and room that could be divided into two parts! The housing shortage in Stockholm, Sweden is pushing up prices to levels close to those in central London so every square meter counts in the Swedish capital!
The apartment is divided into two parts. One part is based on Ikea kitchen units. All functions are squeezed in on top of, in-between, under and inside each other. Bedroom, kitchen, wardrobe and storage are all one unit. This part of the apartment is completely redone with new electric installations and all the surfaces have been painted white in order to bring in light.
In the second part the surfaces are more or less left, as they have been for the last 20 years.
The glass door in the left part of the photo leads to the shower cabin. In can also be accessed from the toilet room.
Roller blinds separate the kichen and bedroom from the rest of the apartment
The door to the toilet and bath cabin serves double duty as door to the closet, that hides away the washing machine. It has a mirror on the inside and a laundry hatch
You can enter the shower cabin from the living room or the toilet room
The hallway seen from the shower cabin
The living room seen from the shower cabin