A cozy home with plenty of space for the children and the first grandchildren - that's what a friend of mine wanted for the house she inherited from her parents in Mönchengladbach. Iris Kutzim and Julia Dolle from the architecture and interior design firm KuDo in Krefeld were tasked with completely modernizing the semi-detached house from the 1960s. It was particularly important to them to translate the client's wishes into a consistent design concept despite the limited budget, without completely overhauling the existing building. The history of the family home was to be continued and translated into the present day.

All bathrooms, which had been used for almost 60 years without renovation, were to be modernized. The client also wanted a more open floor plan on the ground floor: from the kitchen on the street side, there should be a view into the garden. As there was a study in between, two walls had to be removed to create a more open cooking, dining and living area. The old carpets were also removed and replaced with oak parquet flooring. A shelving wall, which had already been designed for the client's previous home, was given a few adjustments to fit perfectly into the new living area. The kitchen has a minimalist design with oak fronts and black recessed handles. The skirting boards were painted matt black to create a visual separation between the floor and the cupboards. The old staircase was repainted - complete with steps and steel banisters in a shade of green that perfectly matches the existing wood paneling, which dates back to the 1970s. Together with the terrazzo tiles that adorn the floor of the stairwell, this color scheme has become the leitmotif of the design: In the new bathroom, which was created from a WC and a mini-bathroom on the upper floor, as well as in the guest WC on the first floor, the architects combined terrazzo tiles with a modern design, yet oriented towards the existing building, with dark green tiles, oak parquet flooring and cabinets as well as matt black fittings. The result is an individual, modern and warm atmosphere, which is complemented by ambient lighting with surface-mounted spotlights and specifically placed pendant and wall lights. KuDo completed the planning of the redesign in three months, with a further three months required for the implementation.

www.kudo-architektur.de

Photos:
Julia Dolle

(Published in CUBE Düsseldorf 02|23)