In opening up unused attic space, designers at Ruetemple Studio were able to unleash the stunning potential of a dark house in Yamkino, Moscow, Russia. In reconstructing the interior of the house, the space upstairs became a lofty dual height room that is filled with natural daylight. A mezzanine tier is accessible from the bedroom past a series of architectural columns, where you’ll find a creative workshop, rest areas and library. The stairs to the newly purposed attic are disguised as a bedroom podium, a built-in seat by the fireplace and a wooden countertop. Bright white decor fills the space along with sharp black elements warmed by natural wood.
The original architecture of the house had the bedroom ceilings sewn up. By revealing the hidden roof space, the interior was expanded and brightened and the energy completely transformed.
The bedroom ceiling height increased to a towering 6 metres. 5 attic windows, along with a panoramic window that opens out onto a balcony, wash the room with light.
The balcony window looks out over a green view of mature pine trees. The skylight looks up to the clouds and the stars. At floor level, the podium was built to help zone the space.
The wooden podium separates the room entrance and dressing area from the sleeping and relaxation spots. The podium is also the first stair in a camouflaged staircase that climbs up to the mezzanine tier; the second stair is merged with a built-in seat design situated by the woodburning stove, and the third step appears as a countertop. The bespoke seat by the fireside is created by simply adding a small seat pad and scatter cushions on top of wooden boxing.
A coffee bar also rises out of the podiums edge by the bedside, teamed with two black bar stools positioned off the podium. It has storage drawers included, and could also be utilised as a desk or a dressing table.
The warm wooden texture of the podium installation makes the sleep space and relaxation zone feel cosy.
White painted walls and ceilings visually expand the space.
Black candles match black coffee mugs on the bar.
Black electrical cables are strewn across the white backdrop, suspending bedroom pendant lights at various intervals and heights.
Warm wood wraps around the entire head of the bed, forming a complete perimeter around the sleep space, broken only by the window.
The mezzanine has a glass balustrade to keep the space feeling open and the energy free-flowing. There is a special atmosphere here beneath the skylights, the sun and the stars. It is the type of quiet creative place that one feels drawn to, as a workshop or a place to be still and dream.
There is a small bookshelf that runs the width of the headboard and descends the height of the coffee bar. Past the bar area there is a set of fitted closets that stand flush with the tier-fall. A horizontal radiator bridges the wall below the skylight.
Upstairs, various floor lamps add focussed task lighting to the workshop and relaxation space.
A few delicate indoor plants add a life affirming spray of greenery around the interior.
A single chair by a beautiful window view and crackling stove makes an ideal reading spot.
Right by the fireside there is an interior window that looks directly into an adjacent room.
The toasty heat from the roaring woodburning stove sends heat rising up to the open workshop.
On reaching the mezzanine level we are met with a floor bed. This can be used as a simple relaxation spot for reading beneath the eaves, or as a guest sleeper. A bespoke built-in bookcase utilises the awkward sloping space in the roof. For more designs like this, check out these ideas for attic bedrooms.
Underneath the mezzanine level there is a room that is completely separate from the bedroom - though it is visually linked by the interior window that we observed by the fireside in the master bedroom. This room also has its own balcony doors that overlook the lush pines. A large white vertical radiator is installed by the glass doors to heat the room.
Back up in the workshop, slender floor reading lamps illuminate a set of two chairs and a coffee table, which are located at the opposite end of the mezzanine to where the floor bed is situated. It’s here that we find a bespoke white desk below an installation of more shelves. A selection of books and small planters fill the white cube shaped cubbies. A black desk chair completes the monochrome look.
The modern chair designs in the small seating area bring black, white and wood tone together in one piece. A monochrome geometric area rug brings a splash of pattern to the decor.
The design team also updated the facade of the home. White render now covers the raw brickwork; contrasting black detail makes the exterior echo the monochrome interior scheme of the freshly altered bedroom. A new dark gray roof has been applied to sharpen the look further, in which we can see 3 of the 5 skylights from this side. From the exterior view we can also see that the balcony of the master bedroom and that of the additional side room is one linked entity.
