Hardware Store Haute Couture: The Stockholm Apartment Redefining Renovation Aesthetics.

In a time where design-led renovation costs can make your eyes water, Patrick Müller of Sweden and Switzerland-based architecture studio Ductus said “f*ck that $hit!” and took matters into his own hands with Bränningevägen—an 85sqm Stockholm apartment that transforms budget constraints into a compelling design narrative.

The project emerged from necessity but evolved into something quite brilliant. Faced with Stockholm‘s notoriously expensive craftsmen costs, the architect embarked on a DIY journey celebrating raw materials and unfinished aesthetics. The result is a space that feels perpetually in transformation—honest, tactile and refreshingly unpretentious. Boom!

Break-through Basics: Unplanned Domestic Prototype in San Sebastián by Ismael Medina Manzano.

Breaking free from the rigid frameworks of 1960s Spanish architecture, this San Sebastián apartment renovation features a sculptural green ceramic wall, locally-sourced materials, and mobile furnishings.

This renovation strips back rather than adds on. The load-bearing brick wall has been liberated from its plaster prison, original solid timber walls revealed from beneath the plasterboard, and raw gypsum plaster applied to other walls and ceilings. This deliberate peeling back of layers creates a visual dialogue between the building’s history and its present incarnation.

The solid larch timber ‘paving’ adds warmth while maintaining the workshop-like ambience. Each material choice feels purposeful yet relaxed—hardware store finds are elevated through thoughtful application.

The interplay between the exposed white brick walls, blackened timber wall panels, and tactile end-grain timber flooring creates a sophisticated material palette despite the humble origins of each element.

Playful Patchwork: El Garaje in Madrid by Nomos Arquitectos.

Compact in size and with playful transitions seen everywhere, El Garaje home conversation pulls elements and accents from the external to the interior aesthetic.

The placement of selected furniture pieces—that vintage leather sofa, the sculptural marble coffee table, and those delicious caramel leather armchairs—demonstrates how high-low design can create spaces with soul and character.

In embracing DIY methodology and readily available materials, Ductus has created something far more interesting than a typical high-end renovation could deliver. It’s a reminder that good design isn’t about lavish budgets but thoughtful decisions and a willingness to get your hands dirty!

It’s a compelling case for architectural honesty—where spaces are allowed to be unfinished, materials speak their truth, and the process of making becomes part of the aesthetic narrative itself.

Work, Play, Experiment: Modest Family Home in Rotterdam by PLNLstudio.

Designed by Magda Sakowicz of PLNLstudio, this modest Rotterdam home unfolds as a series of work-in-progress spaces for her young family to work, play and experiment in.

[Images courtesy of Ductus. Styling by Temporärt. Photography by Mikael Lundblad.]