You Can Play With Everything
Alina’s and her two children’s home in Kalamaja on Suur-Patarei street is a charming blend of industrial style, contemporary design, and closeness to nature.
Their previous home can be described as sophisticated and urban, but when they started looking for a new home, Alina wanted to create an interior that feels cozy, playful and free. She also wanted to stay in Kalamaja, where they had previously lived, as it offers all the perks of a small town while still living in the city center. The children can walk or ride their bikes to school, and within a few minutes, they can reach cafés, the beach, art exhibitions, and grocery stores. So, they moved less than a kilometer away from their previous home to keep all the small everyday luxuries and familiarities intact.
Stepping through the small hallway, you immediately enter the open-plan kitchen. The pastel and gray kitchen fits perfectly with the large industrial-style window on the opposite wall – reminiscent of New York – and adds a touch of softness and warmth. The dark-coloured and uniquely shaped rug connects the small space, merging the living room and kitchen into one cohesive area. To express the love for the sea and nature, Alina has added a large floor vase with reeds.
Alina carefully planned every square meter of the apartment. She decided to give the largest room in the apartment to the children, since for them the room is for sleeping, studying and playing. It also serves as a guest room, where her children can spend time with friends and playmates who come to visit.
Originally planned as a two-room apartment, Alina separated her bedroom from the living room with a partition wall. Despite the limited square footage, the bedroom feels calm and comfortable thanks to clever planning. Adding two doors to the bedroom allowed for a large bed and left enough space for wall cabinets. Alina placed a bookshelf above the window to keep the wall space free and avoid a cluttered feeling in the room. With the same goal in mind, she also decided not to have upper cabinets in the kitchen, and the small shelf chosen above the sofa serves more as a decorative accessory than a piece of furniture.
This home is full of clever tricks to save space and avoid excess clutter. One of the most appreciated solutions in the small kitchen is the Grohe tap that provides water at nearly 100 degrees Celsius. Firstly, it eliminates the need for a kettle, saving valuable countertop space. Secondly, it allows for quick preparation of hot beverages and food. When cooking for hungry children, a minute saved by simply placing pasta directly into boiling water, is worthwhile.
Custom-made furniture is a must when furnishing a small home. A significant portion of the furniture in this home was made specifically to fit the measurements and needs of the apartment. Many decisions were made by Alina after moving in, once she could truly sense the space and its size. As a result, she later added a small kitchen island to the open-plan living room and kitchen, which also serves as a dining table. Alina combined the tailor-made furniture with affordable finds from IKEA and elsewhere, which created a more relaxed atmosphere in the home.
One of the most important things for Alina was to have a large sunny terrace. To her surprise, Alina, a city girl at heart, discovered that she enjoys having a small urban garden a lot, so she started growing strawberry plants and tomatoes on the terrace. During the warmer season, the terrace, which is even larger than the living room, serves as an extension of the living room area. Also, her children enjoy playing here – they can freely draw on the floor with coloured chalk, which the rain washes clean, so the new round of play can start again.
This is a home that Alina created with her family’s current needs in mind. In a few years when her daughters have grown up and need more privacy and space than their room allows, they might go and find homes for themselves. However, the current home is perfect for playing together and inviting friends over, for first steps towards independence, and for spontaneous walks to cafés, the seaside, or the old town.
Photos by: Terje Ugandi
