Renovation project improves space planning and incorporates cleverly integrated storage

Limited space in this apartment’s upper floor called for an innovative approach to providing maximum storage for the bathroom and two bedrooms

This bathroom’s wet area containing the bath tub architecture, bathroom, bathtub, floor, flooring, home, house, interior design, plumbing fixture, tile, gray, black, Cantero Architecture — This bathroom’s wet area containing the bath tub and shower takes in garden views at the back of the long and deep apartment. A glass panel shields the adjacent vanity area from splashes when the shower is in use.

A combination of warm wood, blue-green tiles and architecture, bathroom, bathroom sink, ceramic tiles, countertop, floor, flooring, house, bathroom design, marble, plumbing fixture, sink, tap, tile, wall, gray, Cantero Architecture

Black, brushed metal faucets and shower fittings in architecture, bathroom, bathroom sink, flooring, interior design, plumbing fixture, shower, tile, wall, gray, Cantero Architecture

Cantero Architecture’s renovation of the first floor of architecture, bed, bedroom, bedroom, door, floor, furniture, hardwood, home, house, interior design, Cantero Architects, storeage,

Sitting in between two bedrooms on this apartment’s bed, bedroom, door, floor, furniture, house, interior design, Cantero Architecture

This walk-in closet creates a 'heart of oak' architecture, door, floor, hall, house, interior design, walk in closet, storage spaces, Cantero Architects, Apartment

Internal glazing at the entrance to this bedroom apartment, architecture, bed, bedroom, furniture, house, interior design, suite, wall, Cantero Design

With additional compartments inside the raised floor, this architecture, building, cabinetry, closet, cupboard, floor, furniture, interior design, shelf, shelving, wardrobe, Cantero

Plan of apartment upper floor renovation by Cantero apartment, architecture, artwork, building, drawing, floor plan, house, land lot, plan, property, room, white

While original inner city homes certainly have location in their favour, they usually made poor use of the limited available space inside, and this included having poor storage options. This was particularly so in bedrooms and bathrooms.

Resolving these issues often requires some ‘outside the box’ thinking, which is what architect Inmaculada Cantero Tamayo applied to the renovation project shown here.

The central Amsterdam apartment is in a terraced residential building, with its typically deep and narrow interior layout.

But the building did have views on both sides – out to the street at the front and to a courtyard and private garden at the back.

“Having a strong connection to the exterior was a key concept in the renovation of the apartment’s upper level,” says Cantero Tamayo.

“Plus the aim was to optimise use of the existing rooms and to create a lot of cleverly integrated storage space.”

Large windows allow the bedroom at each end of the floor to connect to its view, while Tamayo designed what she refers to as the ‘oak heart’ in between these two rooms.

“This is a large walk-in closet that connects visually and spatially with the bedrooms on each side,” she says. “Both the interior and exterior of this oak element are full of practical storage spaces, some hidden and unexpected.”

The bathroom also needed to pack a lot into its fixed available space.

“It had to have all the fittings including double basins and a bathtub, as well as accommodating the water heater and providing plenty of bathroom storage.”

To meet all these requirements, the space was divided into three areas – storage, vanity and wet area.

The water heater was housed in the base of a storage unit at the entrance to the room, with a combination of open and closed oak storage compartments sitting above it. This arrangement also provides some privacy screening for the vanity area.

A glass panel shields the vanity from the shower in the wet area, which also contains the bath. Timber slat flooring in this wet area is divided into sections so it can be easily dismantled to clean the base floor underneath.

“The warm wood, blue-green handcrafted tiles and lava stone basins all add natural, calming elements to the relaxed environment.”