Houzz Tours
Can You Fit Luxury Into 25 Square Metres?
Genius transformable features turn an extra-small apartment into a convenient home
Architect Renato Arrigo designed a home away from home in a 25-square-metre upper-storey apartment on Sicily’s east coast equipped with all (or almost all) the conveniences his family of four could need. The main theme of Arrigo’s project is the flexibility of each element: features disappear, transform, extend and create an inviting space for family and friends without losing sight of beauty and functionality.
Renato Arrigo and Nathalie Morey
When client and designer are the same person, there are more opportunities to try out different solutions, and imagination can easily be turned into reality. In renovating this compact apartment, “We definitely had little space and many challenges to face,” Arrigo says. “The risk was to privilege functionality while losing sight of aesthetics – for example, filling the home with domestic appliances.” The real difficulty was combining minimalism with convenience.
“We overcame this challenge thanks to two fundamental inventions. The first one is the bed, which allows the living space to be doubled. A simple winch-system, totally integrated into the false ceiling, lifts the bed base and frees up the room.”
The bed, made of natural birch and fitted with a futon, is extremely light, so there was no need to reinforce the false ceiling to sustain its weight. When it’s time to sleep, Arrigo simply lowers it to the floor with the help of the winch system he designed and patented. It relies on a kind of pulley usually used in construction, and is driven by a small electric engine controlled by a switch in the wall.
The bed also acts as a design element, with a sort of fresco on the underside of the frame – visible when the bed is raised – featuring the motto, ‘Space Is Luxury’.
When client and designer are the same person, there are more opportunities to try out different solutions, and imagination can easily be turned into reality. In renovating this compact apartment, “We definitely had little space and many challenges to face,” Arrigo says. “The risk was to privilege functionality while losing sight of aesthetics – for example, filling the home with domestic appliances.” The real difficulty was combining minimalism with convenience.
“We overcame this challenge thanks to two fundamental inventions. The first one is the bed, which allows the living space to be doubled. A simple winch-system, totally integrated into the false ceiling, lifts the bed base and frees up the room.”
The bed, made of natural birch and fitted with a futon, is extremely light, so there was no need to reinforce the false ceiling to sustain its weight. When it’s time to sleep, Arrigo simply lowers it to the floor with the help of the winch system he designed and patented. It relies on a kind of pulley usually used in construction, and is driven by a small electric engine controlled by a switch in the wall.
The bed also acts as a design element, with a sort of fresco on the underside of the frame – visible when the bed is raised – featuring the motto, ‘Space Is Luxury’.
Fiji stools by Terry Dwan for Riva 1920
The second innovation is a partial wall that can be folded down and laid on a frame to extend the dining table into the terrace. It creates a connection and a shared spirit of conviviality between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
“We are a four-member family with a strong tradition of hospitality, typical of southern Italy. We often have friends over for lunch and dinner. This way, we manage to have space for at least 10 people,” Arrigo says.
The kitchen is equipped with a dishwasher, ice machine and freezer. There is also a combination washer and dryer.
Pip-e outdoor chairs: Philippe Starck for Driade
The kitchen is equipped with a dishwasher, ice machine and freezer. There is also a combination washer and dryer.
Pip-e outdoor chairs: Philippe Starck for Driade
As for the daughters, they sleep on classic chair-beds, and store their clothes in a shell cabinet. A curtain system between the sleeping zones provides privacy at night.
Shell AB Lamellar birch closet: Roethlisberger; Wiki chair beds: Campeggi
Shell AB Lamellar birch closet: Roethlisberger; Wiki chair beds: Campeggi
The only door inside the home is to the bathroom. Here, space is cherished too: a lateral compartment, almost hidden in the 32 x 32-centimetre) sink, holds accessories.
Batiò tapware: Giulio Iacchetti for Mamoli
Batiò tapware: Giulio Iacchetti for Mamoli
The walls are simply covered in washable white paint, with the exception of a textured grey wall that serves as a bedhead for the queen-size bed. The flooring is 1-millimetre-thick self-adhesive parquet sheet vinyl.
Arrigo transformed a small apartment into a convenient home using a creative, functional and minimalist approach.
Arrigo transformed a small apartment into a convenient home using a creative, functional and minimalist approach.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Renato Arrigo, his wife, engineer Nathalie Morey, and their two daughters, Eva and Ofelia.
Location: Taormina, a small town in Sicily, Italy, known for its great beaches and a Greek theatre that dates to the third century BC.
Year of renovation: 2011
Architect: Renato Arrigo
Size: 25 square metres
Cost of the project: About AU$27,700 (20,000 euros)
That’s interesting: The completion of this home renovation project – which Arrigo dubbed Space Is Luxury – was marked by a celebration that turned into a kind of performance. Two hundred guests would never have fit into this apartment all together. To solve this problem, everyone received this unusual invitation: “Let’s meet in the street; there’s no space in my home anyway.” As a result, the visitors and even passers-by were involved in a sort of flash mob as they gathered and chatted outside, waiting for a chance to go upstairs.