Before and after: an elderly woman’s one-room apartment has changed beyond recognition – AINA

A small, one-room apartment can be convenient not only for daily life needs, but also for receiving guests, if well-thought-out solutions are used when furnishing or renovating it. Of course, when trying to implement everything, you will have to think about how to intelligently fit all the things you have, so that it is not only beautiful, but also tidy. An interior designer visited a one-room apartment in Klaipėda, where an energetic elderly woman lives, and without major repairs, the room was fundamentally changed.

Pensioner Vida has been living in a one-room apartment in Klaipėda for 40 years. In the same room, the hostess both sleeps and spends her free time – an active and cheerful senior citizen likes to watch TV, grows flowers, and is constantly visited by her grandchildren, who often stay overnight or visit her grandmother after school. However, the apartment already needs changes: newer furniture, modern and practical solutions and more light.

The interior designer who undertook the renovation of this apartment set two main goals – without doing major repairs, to change the room in such a way that Vida, who loves order, could receive guests here, spend time alone or with her grandchildren, and store her clothes and belongings.

One piece of furniture – several functions

“If one room performs several functions, the furniture should also be multifunctional,” says IKEA interior designer Kazimieras Tiknius. One of these is an adjustable coffee table, the tabletop of which can be raised or lowered as needed. There is a place under the table top for neatly laying the cables, so the table will not only be suitable for coffee, but will also be useful for working on the computer. This decision will come in handy when Vida’s grandchildren come to visit.

Another example of multifunctional furniture is a corner sofa-bed. It is not only comfortable to sit on while watching TV, but when extended, it turns into a comfortable double bed. According to the interior designer, when choosing a sofa-bed, the quality of the covers should also be taken into account and preference should be given to strong, resistant fabric that does not absorb liquids or covers that can be removed and washed.

Another clever solution is modular furniture. In this case, the interior designer modeled the closet and cabinet according to the specific needs of the senior living here and the layout of the room. In order to save space, he planned the wardrobe up to the ceiling. According to K. Tikniaus, closed furniture for storing things creates a sense of order, while mixing them with open furniture gives the room coziness.

When saving space, you must remember to use even the most unexpected spaces. For example, the interior designer dismantled the wardrobe in the room, and in its place appeared a separate bedroom with a comfortable bed, additional lighting and a small shelf. The specialist recommends using the space under the bed for boxes or bedsteads with wheels, which are easy to pull out and push under the bed. “Such boxes can store blankets, pillows or seasonal clothes, protected from dust,” adds the specialist.

Small but visible accents will bring life to the interior

Another moment, which is important even in small spaces, are cozy interior accents. Not only plants help to achieve this, but also textiles. For example, a large and cozy carpet not only pleasantly fills the space, but also gives a feeling of fullness. Along with it, the interior designer used several smaller rugs. Also, he used cushions, bedspreads and quality, light-absorbing curtains. Such solutions are both practical and allow to “warm up” the space.

K. Tiknius gave the interior of this site its uniqueness by using frames with photos from Vida’s life memoirs. However, in order to keep the souvenirs and photos dear to the heart looking tidy at home, he advises grouping them in a designated place. In this room, he adapted the picture shelves, on which the objects that evoke memories were placed.