Nochka | Rina Lovko Design Studio

Rina Lovko brings Japanese minimalism to the typical apartment block in Kiev.

Ukrainian architect Rina Lovko presents a new project 'Nochka' –

an apartment of 78 square meters flooded with daylight in a typical building

complex in Kiev.

Initially, the dwelling was full of unnecessary doors, dark corners and was

divided by a heavy wall in the middle. The architect decided to demolish all

the walls and to reassemble the new place from scratch, with no ties to the

initial plan offered by the developer.

Limited by a small area, this project involved complex calculations, unusual

planning methods in order to maximize the use of space without loading it

with unnecessary drawers and dust collectors. Seemingly spacious, this small

apartment for a single man features a storage room for inventory, a laundry

unit with a drying machine, filters for drinking water, and all the necessary

equipment for a comfortable life.

Since the client decided to have the bathroom and the toilet separately, the

architect developed the bathroom space with a particular attention. As a

result, the bathtub located by the window is soaked in daylight, which is

quite unusual for a typical apartment plan in Kyiv. The shower zone is

facing the window, so every morning the client can enjoy the city view while

starting the day.

The bathroom is completed with a sliding mirror door by Rimadesio so the

light from the bathroom would highlight the living room zone and brighten the

northern part of the apartment.

A compact kitchen area is connected to a living room and is placed in an

improvised niche.

In the end, only two doors remained in the whole apartment – in the toilet

and at the entrance, leaving no dark corners in the space.

The wardrobe can be used from the entrance area as well as from the bedroom,

visually separating the bedroom and the hallway.

To expand the space visually the architect used a lot of mirrors in the

apartment. For instance, in the L-shaped corridor, a mirror corner reflects

the wardrobe and makes the space seem square.

Considering the low ceiling in the building, the biggest challenge was to

plan a ventilation system. But lowering the ceiling only in the dressing room

solved the issue.

Constructing a multifunctional wall in the living room allowed installing the

air conditioning system, bio-fireplace, home cinema and sound equipment,

projector, hidden cupboards and dynamic backlighting altogether in one place.

The main light in the apartment is by Deltalight.

The project features only natural materials. The cabinets are finished with

oak veneer, the glass vitrine was made to order from oak and glass, the

wooden bed frame with the sideboards and the window shutters are also tailormade.

The eye-catching panel in the bathroom was created by Anna Krut. The

sofa by Artnova has different layout options and by moving the pillows around

can be easily turned into a guest bed. The kitchen was tailor-made by

Modulnova, chairs by Menu.