The Grão House (Grain House) project, by architects Très Arquitetura, involved the reinterpretation of traditional bulk warehouses. This is a magical little place, with a welcoming Brazilian flavour. Jungle-like botanical decoration colours its natural palette. Compact rooms have been given cleverly combined open plan arrangements, and some unique small space solutions. A large store wall dominates the main room, stocked with decorative items plus diverse seasonings and teas that mark its transition into a small open plan kitchen design and dining area. The bedroom features an open plan ensuite arrangement, and a wide platform bed frame that forges clear separation from the bathroom’s flourishing green overgrowth.
The cosy living space has natural materials and greenery throughout as central and prominent elements, to reflect a Brazilian presence and to bring those inside it closer to nature.
A wall of fully retractable glass doors removes the boundary between indoor and outdoor living, letting life flow freely.
The sofas are raised up on a unique platform arrangement, which helps define the lounge area.
Floor lamps, side tables and accent chairs fit into and around the niches made by the cut of the raised base.
Monochrome houndstooth cushions bring bold moments of pattern to the fresh white fabric sofas. Black home accents bring weight and depth to the neutral interior, and create a modern vibe.
Black window frames cut strongly through the lush green garden view.
There is a large unit of open shelving recessed into the wall of the living room. Its random shelves are dotted with a whole host of decorative items. There is also a collection of seasonings and coffee to mark the room’s transition into a small open plan kitchen and formal dining area.
Plants accompany the walk through, providing a jungle backdrop behind the store wall covered with items.
A floor runner is laid out from the edge of the kitchen to the end of the lounge. A sisal rope ceiling helps create an intimate and welcoming environment across the entire space.
The dividing wall that separates the living areas from the bedroom is painted a deep bottle green. The paint shade compliments the natural greenery in the space, and provides a stunning accompaniment to the gold elements and black base notes in the room. The dividing wall is left short of the ceiling so that the line of sight may travel all the way to the back, tricking the eye into perceiving a larger living space.
All of the accessories in the room are restrained to a palette of green, natural, black, and gold, to create calming uniformity and an air of cohesive sophistication.
A modern table arrangement spills across the dining table.
Modern dining room pendant lights are suspended low over one end of the dining set to visually anchor it within the open plan room. The decorative vases have been placed at this end of the table too, to catch the light from the pendants and the sunlight from the adjacent window.
A two ring gas hob and a stainless steel sink are set into the sleek white kitchen volume. The bedroom and its open plan ensuite bathroom occupy the space just beyond the wood framed kitchen recess.
Foliage lolls over the walkway into the bedroom, making the architecture a secondary feature. Gentle uplighting, from orb floor lamps, exaggerates the beauty of the large tropical leaves. The mini jungle almost consumes a freestanding bathtub at the side of the bedroom, as well as a small chair and a side table.
The ensuite wash basin is somewhat screened from the adjoining sleep space by a low dividing wall. Wall hooks make good use of the extra surface area. Hanging space and some shelves open up at the back of the room, in a wood framed recess that is similar to the kitchen–only without the living green backdrop. Instead, a screen of soft light emanates from behind the storage volume.
Monochrome accent cushions dress a unique white platform bed. The bed design features a wider frame on one side, which helps to separate it from the bathtub area by its side. The wide frame also serves as a bedside unit on which to serve breakfast in bed, or just to set down a few bedtime reading books.
The headboard feature wall is the same green dividing wall that forms the backdrop to the dining room and living space. A textured white headboard contrasts beautifully with the depth of the wall colour. A green bed throw ties in with the theme.
The ensuite wash area has a unique bathroom vanity that features a dipped countertop. The higher sides conceal much of the bathroom paraphernalia from sight. A tall mirror grows from behind the basin.
Soap dispensers, planters and a toiletries tray are pushed into the fragments of the unusual vanity unit.
Stone tiles cover the surrounding wall, matching the luxurious cladding throughout the rest of the home.
A black freestanding faucet gets lost amongst the leafy border next to the ensuite bathtub.
The leaves lap the ensuite bath, softening the appearance of its hard white rim.
Looking at the floor plan for this unusual place, it's possible to observe a layout of Brazillian Jabuticaba grape trees in the grounds. We can also see the full formation of the raised sofa staging in the living room.
