August 13, 2019

Gao Architects Designs a Work of Art in Slovenia’s Capital City

A Patricia Urquiola couch set defines the living area, with French herringbone parquet flooring. Photography by Miran Kambic.

Some apartments feature works of art; others are works of art themselves. For a ground-floor apartment in Slovenia’s capital city of Ljubljana, Gao Architects decided on both options. “We found inspiration for the intimate sense of spatial freshness and sophistication in an oil painting by the Slovene painter Metka Krašovec,” says CEO and lead architect Petra Zakrajšej. “This central and only work of art became an indispensable aspect of the apartment.”

While the clients “swore by a minimalism in white,” she says, “we enhanced details by means of pleasant contrasts, soft colors, and materials of various textures.” The design firm also removed a partition wall to let light in from the entrance to the bedroom and added a mirrored wall to reflect it.

Wall & Deco wallpaper lends drama to the bedroom. Photography by Miran Kambic.

 

The painting takes pride of place in the kitchen, near the kitchen island, which offers another artistic touch. “With its contrasting colors to the light colors of the kitchen counter and the cupboards hanging above it,” Krašovec says, “the island functions like a photographic negative.”

A countertop of Florim Alabastri di Rex tiles stands near the Antonio Lupi glass bathtub with Gessi taps. Photography by Miran Kambic.
 A wardrobe near the entrance is reflected in a wall of anthracite grey mirror. Photography by Miran Kambic.
The Krašovec painting hangs near Pottoco’s Bon Bon dining table. Photography by Miran Kambic.

Read more: Denisa Strmiskova Sets a Dramatic Stage in Pro Arte’s Prague Office

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