Room of the Day: Teen’s Bedroom Puts the Bed in a Box

You probably haven’t seen anything quite like this creative, space-saving unit in a fun room for a Moscow teen

Мария Эстрова March 5, 2017

Постоянный автор Houzz, по совместительству - театральный и кинокритик.

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Design and architecture firm Int2architecture faced the challenge of creating a comfortable and interesting space for a modern, creative teenager. The 13-year-old girl, the oldest of four children, is smart, with an interest in foreign languages, music, insects and diving. When her parents gave her a separate room in their Moscow apartment, she took the creation of her own world seriously and had some clear requests: a writing desk and storage space for books, a large bed with pillows, and a scheme that was neither dark nor pink. Besides these grown-up ideas, she came up with another one — it would be cool to be able to write on the walls!

The designers took the teenager’s dreams and turned them into reality, transforming the room in about three months. The space became minimalist and functional. The main feature is a plywood structure containing a large bed and numerous shelves and drawers. This freed up the rest of the room, which now appears large and bright.

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Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A 13-year-old girl, who shares her home with her parents, sister and two brothers
Location: Moscow
Designers: Alexander Malinin and Anastasia Sheveleva of Int2architecture

Originally, the room had a closet containing clothes and bed linens for the whole family, shelves for school stuff, a dresser for small items and books, a single bed, and a desk, say designers Alexander Malinin and Anastasia Sheveleva. As a result, the space felt cramped.

The designers’ main task was to look for a way to link all the elements to create a coherent whole. In addition to the general architectural design, the use of white and gray plays an important role in harmonizing the space. The floor of plywood and solid oak is white, and white paint covers the walls.

Wall paint: Pure Brilliant White Diamond Matt, Dulux

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Malinin and Sheveleva combined most of the furniture pieces in a compact cabinet box that serves as a place to both sleep and relax. It also holds a closet, a dresser, racks, a locker for little things, and drawers for bed linens and other large items.

The unit is made of coniferous plywood, a material characterized by lightness and durability that is easy to work with. Coniferous plywood also is inexpensive and looks as good as solid wood. The textiles are cotton, linen and wool.

Cabinet unit: Knertser Grupp; coniferous plywood: Ilim Timber; mattress: Toris; sofa bed fabric: Arben; sofa pillows: Ewald; throw pillows: HeadyMade

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The workspace is neatly organized. The oak desk has drawers, and the comfortable chair is a design classic.

The insect posters are enlarged illustrations from vintage zoology reference books.

Desk: Knertser Grupp; Оrganic chair by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen: Funkyhome; laser-cut D: Posmetal; posters: Sovaprint

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Part of the box is covered in mint-colored enamel paint, while other areas are natural wood.

The rattan basket complements the natural style of the room. It’s also an excellent storage solution since it’s big enough to hold extra pillows and blankets.

Basket: Laura Ashley

INT2architecture

On the right side of the unit is a hidden closet in the form of a floor-to-ceiling pullout. Under the bed are two drawers for bed linens and seasonal clothing.

Find a closet designer to get a similar look

INT2architecture

Next to the closet are knobs for hanging clothes. The triangles painted on the walls and the floor add a quirky vibe, and point in the direction the sliding sections open.

Knobs: The Dots, Muuto

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The presence of the large built-in created a need to visually preserve the room’s height (about 8 feet). That’s why the box has built-in lighting and the free space is equipped with flush-mount ceiling spots and pendant lights.

The pendant light over the desk was designed by Katerina Kopytina. It is carved from a solid piece of oak and uses only energy-saving lightbulbs.

Pendant light: Light Bean at The Fields

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On the wall opposite the unit, the designers created a multifunctional area with a mirror, blackboard and screen.

The secret to fitting in the three elements lay in the use of a wide sliding board: When moved to one side, it reveals the blackboard; when moved to the other, it reveals the mirror. When the board is placed in the middle, it becomes a projector screen that can connect to a laptop. The projector sits in the center storage compartment above the bed, shown in the diagrams.

Mirror: Moskovskaja Zerkal’naja Fabrika; sliding board: Knertser Grupp