Walls Be Gone: A Rietveld-inspired Apartment in London by Studiomama.

Nina Thulstrup and Jack Mama, the husband-and-wife duo behind London-based design practice Studiomama, will be the first to tell you that downsizing doesn’t mean downgrading, at least not when it comes to residential design. So naturally, when they took on the task of transforming a dingy 55-square-metre lower ground-floor apartment in North London a few years ago, they were enthusiastic about uncovering its potential.

The apartment had many problems: the light was limited, the layout skewed, and the spaces pinched. Plus, the home lacked a connection to the outdoors. And so, the natural next step, it seemed, was to take down all the walls. The pair was inspired by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld’s Schröder House in Utrecht, an architectural paragon of the art movement De Stiji, and today a part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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The decision to go wall-less proved golden. It meant the opportunity to bring in sliding partitions à la Schröder and create an open-plan layout that could be closed off into separate rooms when required. With the aim of creating two plentiful bedrooms and a more fluid environment achieved, it was a win-win-win all around.

With a better layout, came better light. Studiomama’s reorientation didn’t just open the flat to the garden, it also conjured sightlines throughout the space, allowing sunlight to permeate even the farthest corners. So much so, that the interplay of light and space visually enhances the interior volume, summoning the eye higher and higher, and projecting the illusion of a larger space.

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Nina and Jack’s small space solutions weren’t limited to layouts alone. Chief among their space-saving furniture designs were bedroom pods with integrated storage—a neat way to maximise sleep and minimise clutter. Likewise, they brought in clever custom pieces including a corner sofa, dining table, desk, shelving and mirrors, to fit the nooks and corners available rather than attempt an opposite exercise in retrofitting.

For Nina and Jack, the home is part of an ongoing series of projects that explore small-space living. As Nina explains, “We approach projects of all scales with a holistic mindset, considering how objects, spaces and landscapes relate and are used.” There’s no doubt that of this undertaking, Rietveld would have approved.

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[Images courtesy of Studiomama. Photography by Billy Bolton.]