Didomestic Apartment in Spain by Elii Architects.

Click here to watch the embedded video.

Didomestic is a small, hyper-functional apartment in the attic of an old building in Madrid, designed by Uriel Fogué, Eva Gil and Carlos Palacios of Elii Architects. The pastel colours play up the classic domestic home, making it look almost play-house like. But don’t be fooled – little and sparse as it may look, Didomestic is fully equipped with all the domestic necessities.

The modern renovation uses space to it’s full potential. A completely bare floor is the first decision to maximise on space, and the second is the use of the stairway as a central ‘core’. As well as connecting downstairs from up, this basic arrangement was a strategy to “provide flexibility to the domestic spaces.” The stairs double as shelves for storage and encompass the larder area. Out of them come walls that hide furniture and more storage, as well as partitioning the area when it’s needed. The walls are transparent too, making the most of the natural light that flows down from the mansard roof.

Key to the apartment’s functionality is the hiding away what’s not necessary. Secret trap doors sit in the ceiling that house practical functions, like a table and picnic benches that lower down via pulley systems, and the floor under the roof holds a series of invisible doors that drop down if a second bedroom is needed. There’s no doubt this is a clever domestic space – they’ve even thrown in a good few elements of fun, but the disco ball that drops from the roof has got to be the best one.

[Video, direction and photography by Miguel de Guzmán, Imagen Subliminal // Music by Miro Belle, ‘In Fielder’  // Photography by Miguel de Guzmán.]