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The project

Vitosha Modern

Concrete and wood, held with handmade plaster and abundant daylight.

An apartment in Vitosha, Sofia, composed around concrete and wood in a contemporary minimalist register, with a few modern colour accents. Handmade plaster gives the living rooms an earthy, naturalistic grain; daylight, which fills the home, sets the palette of materials and tones.

A cubic fireplace volume holds a linear fire to the living side and a narrow library to a small office, using one mass twice. In the kitchen a studio-designed composite worktop and sink are placed to the view of Vitosha Mountain, while the extractor is concealed in a mirrored box.

Location
Vitosha, Sofia
Type
Apartment
Designer
Irena Rumen
Award
House of the Year 2017, Second Prize, Ideal Home
Editorial
Ideal Home, 2017
Living room with plastered concrete, a white sofa, three abstract canvases and a ring light over a round timber table.
A taller view of the sofa, plaster wall and timber floor in daylight.
Kitchen with white cabinets, a timber-and-composite island and a view of Vitosha through tall windows.

Living area

A plaster cube of fire and books.

Handmade plaster wraps a cubic volume that is both fireplace and bookcase. The living room sits against this earthy plane: a white sofa, a round timber table, three abstract canvases and a ring of light, with oak floor and a few colour notes. The office side of the same cube takes a compact desk, so the mass earns its place twice.

Fireplace in a plaster cube opening toward the kitchen with white cabinets and a timber island.
The fireplace cube with a built-in timber library toward the office.
The ring pendant over the table, with the fireplace and white kitchen planes beyond.
Timber kitchen island with a composite top, induction hob and mirrored extractor toward the windows.

Kitchen

A sink aimed at the mountain.

The worktop and sink, in a composite designed by the studio, are set where the view of Vitosha opens. White full-height cabinets read as a calm plane; walnut-toned timber of the island meets a mirrored extractor that hides the hood and keeps the room visually fluid.

The composite sink beside a tall window looking to Vitosha and the city’s roofs.

Bedroom

Geometry, oak, and a quieter register.

The bedroom keeps the same earthy minimalism: a low upholstered bed, timber block tables, and geometric wood pendants against full curtains. Custom doors run to the ceiling in light milled oak veneer with recessed handles, continuing the natural, unforced line through the apartment.

Bedroom with a low bed, two geometric timber pendants and full pale curtains beside the plaster wall.
A full-height light oak door with a recessed handle and a timber chest against the plaster.
A side view of the bed, timber cube and geometric pendant in front of the curtains.
Master bathroom: two round basins on an oak shelf, dark stone and a glass shower.

Bathroom

Warm timber against dark stone.

The master bathroom, next to the bedroom, relies on the same warmth of tone. A floating oak shelf holds two round basins against dark stone; wood-effect surfaces, a glass shower and low light keep the room tactile rather than clinical.

The glass shower with dark mosaic and a heated rail beside the oak shelf.

Recognition

  • 2017 House of the Year, Second Prize, Ideal Home
  • 2017 Ideal Home, 2017

Photographs

The apartment, room by room.

The opening is edited. The rest is grouped by room, with the plans at the end, click any image to view it fully.

Living

Living room: plaster, white sofa, three canvases and a round table.
Vertical view of the sofa and the concrete plaster wall.
The living room with a person seated on the sofa in daylight.
The fireplace toward the kitchen, with the round table in the foreground.
The ring light, fireplace and white kitchen cabinets.
The fireplace in the cube toward the kitchen window and island.
The fireplace cube with a timber library in the side niche.
The office beside the fireplace: a cantilevered desk, geometric chair and built-in shelves.
A closer view of the desk, chair and library set into the plaster.

Kitchen

The kitchen with white planes, island and a mountain view.
The island toward the windows, with the mirrored extractor between concrete columns.
The sink and tap toward Vitosha through the glass.

Bedroom

The bedroom with two geometric lamps and curtains beside the concrete wall.
The bed, timber cube and hanging geometric lamp.
A closer frame of the bed and curtains, with pale pillows and a throw.
The full-height oak door and the chest in front of the plaster.

Bathroom

Double basins on an oak shelf in the master bathroom.
The shower with a glass screen and dark mosaic.
The WC in wood-effect cladding beside the shower glass.
Guest WC: a single round basin on an oak shelf in a narrow stone volume.

Floor plans

Axonometric floor plan of the apartment with terraces.
Architectural floor plan of the apartment with dimensions.