Apartment O in Belgrade, Serbia by Studio Autori

Apartment O is set within a handsome 1920’s residential building, in the heart of Belgrade’s Obilićev Venac pedestrian area. The task that fell to the hands of incredibly talented Serbian designers, Studio Autori, was to create a small city oasis while evoking memories of the old residential style of Belgrade.

The restoration of the heritage interior was both time-consuming and challenging. The original features of the apartment had long since been demolished or were in such a dilapidated state, they were no longer viable.

Studio Autori carefully organised the floor plan around the central services and storage core with a clear separation between daytime activities and evening ones. The ‘daytime zone’ overlooks the pedestrian street. It consists of a large, singular volume of space, a living room with a dining area and a kitchen behind a subtle yet graphic glass and steel partition which separates the space physically from the rest of the apartment when needed.

The ‘night-time zone’ has two bedrooms with its own bathroom, a walk-in wardrobe and direct access to the terrace overlooking a charming inner courtyard of the building block. The pivotal point of the apartment is the central services and storage core clad in handcrafted solid oak, vertical fins. The core houses a guest bathroom, utility room and large cloak storage adjacent to the entry.

There is a strong and simple art deco language to this design, wrapped in an effortless luxury and warmth. While traditional elements have been employed from the building period, this build is every inch the contemporary find. Apartment O has all the state-of-the-art systems you might expect of a modern apartment – hidden technology, floor to ceiling heating and ceiling chilling panels, all carefully hidden from the eye. But it is the loving attention to the art deco period that stops the heart, from the rounded edges on the dove grey kitchen joinery to the beautifully detailed art deco steel and glass framed wall in the kitchen, designed by a small artisanal company in Italy.

Natural oak abounds, both clear and stained in rich black. Parquetry flooring meets vertical oak batons that wrap around the central core and down the hallway, and even down to the simple white globe lights, suspended from geometric steel rods. Studio Autori left no stone unturned when restoring and reimagining this 1920’s Belgrade classic.