When dark becomes light and old becomes new

It is time for a new season of great interior makeovers in "Home idea with IKEA"! Whatever the challenge, IKEA Interior Designers are ready to make the everyday life better. In the very first episode of this season it is all about giving a new life to a room that has seen its better days a long time ago. Look and see how old becomes new, dark becomes light, and overwhelming becomes light and airy.

One room, two generations
Young photographer Elizabete lives together with her grandmother Rūta in a one bedroom apartment. It was Elizabete's initiative to apply for a makeover as she finds the interior aged and can even prove this: the evidence is a whole collection of old photos featuring the same furniture.
The main challenge for IKEA Interior Designer Olga is to bring two generations together in one room. The interior has to be modern yet not avant-garde, functional, but also very space-saving.

The family heritage
This room has looked almost the same as far as Elizabete can remember. The massive hold-it-all combination takes up the bigger part of one wall and is so big that it is not even moved when painting the floor. All in all, this room, nicknamed fondly "rosols" by both inhabitants because of everything being thrown together in one big, but "tasty" mix, is homey, yet resembling a hotel room. And that is the one thing that Olga would like to change.

The code of cosiness
The further end of the room has been converted into a cosy haven with a bed and lots of storage. Placing the bigger wardrobe in a corner not directly visible when entering the room was a conscious decision. This helps to keep up the airy impression created by open shelves and the light tone-on-tone colour scheme. Layering sheer and thick curtains gives texture to the window plane and adds to the atmosphere. As the room is quite small, there are no unused spaces. Even under the bed there are boxes for storage that can be pulled out and rolled in with ease.

Flexibility is key
One of the biggest challenges in every room is to plan appropriate storage solutions. This is even harder to do if a room is small. Modular solutions like PLATSA series are great as they ensure flexibility and many options for personalisation. Here, Interior Designer Olga has chosen an asymmetric combination that encloses a nook for TV with a small picture ledge above it for memorabilia. A tip from designer: choose your storage wisely. It is always better to have more options and choose drawers and open shelves with different organisers to combine with cabinets than to just have cabinets. Some open shelves in between also help to create a more airy impression.

Work meets rest
One corner of the room is set up in a smart way to fulfil two functions. There is a working station for Elizabete with a sturdy table that can be folded down when not needed and a SKÅDIS pegboard combination to organize the small things needed for work. for moments of rest, there is a comfortable sofa to sit or lay on. Interior Designer Olga reminds to think about good lighting. Wall lamps are a good solution as they  do not need place to put them on and they provide both good mood lighting and functional lighting, e.g., for reading.

Show what you have got
Open shelves are a way to bring lightness to an interior and they are great to show some memorabilia and everything you love. Designer's advice is not to overload the shelves and to give each object a chance to show its true beauty. And what about things that you do not want to show? There is an easy solution to that too! Just choose some boxes and organisers in a design you like and use them to store everything that you want out of sight.