MLÝN apartment renovation
This two-storey apartment in a newly built development already had one renovation and one owner behind it. But its new owner was looking for something entirely different — a lighter, more open space with a distinctly industrial edge. The renovation of this luxury apartment was never just about swapping furniture or repainting walls. We redesigned the layout, the surfaces, the materials, and the entire atmosphere. What had been a rather heavy, conventional interior became a minimalist loft with exposed steel elements, expanded metal mesh, smoked glass, and an open gallery connecting both floors.
Open-plan loft living across two floors
The heart of the apartment is a living area flowing seamlessly into the kitchen and the upper-floor gallery. The generous ceiling height gave us room to work with openness to its fullest extent. The kitchen is divided into two opposing volumes: a black unit tucked beneath the gallery houses the worktop and the majority of storage, while the contrasting white volume contains the appliances and utilities. A deliberately restrained material palette holds the entire interior together — black-stained oak, steel, microcement, and smoked accents.
The centrepiece of the living space is a large, bespoke double-sided sofa — designed to work equally well for watching television, connecting with the kitchen, or turning towards the dining table. The open-plan interior extends directly onto a terrace accessible from the living area.
Steel as the core design language
One of the most striking elements of this industrial interior design is the floating steel staircase. Each step is anchored directly into the wall with no visible support, giving the entire structure a weightless, almost suspended quality. Within the stairwell void, we designed an illuminated panel of expanded metal mesh — a material that then reappears on the gallery balustrade and throughout other details in the apartment.
Expanded metal and blackened steel are not decorative choices here. They are the fundamental structural language of the entire apartment. They give the interior its industrial character without making it feel heavy or cluttered.
A bedroom behind smoked glass
The master bedroom opens directly towards the living space, separated from the gallery only by a steel-framed smoked glass partition. Rather than a conventionally closed room, this creates an airy private zone that remains part of the overall loft interior. The smoked glass maintains visual connection while providing a sense of enclosure — a balance that defines the spatial logic throughout the apartment.
The bedroom is anchored by an upholstered bed and a circular backlit mirror in a steel frame, which also serves as a subtle divider between the dressing table and a small workspace. When complete privacy is needed, the entire space can be enclosed with a blackout curtain. The combination of dark materials, smoked glass, and soft textiles creates a more intimate atmosphere than the floor below — while staying fluent in the same architectural language.
Microcement surfaces and the circular motif
The bathrooms follow the minimalist concept of the entire interior. The walls and floors feature concrete screeds, complemented by black steel details and backlit circular mirrors. The circular motif recurs in several places throughout the interior, connecting the individual parts of the apartment.
The upper bathroom functions more like a small home spa. In addition to the bathtub and shower stall, it also features a dark wood infrared sauna and a large-format backlit mirror, which visually enlarges the space while creating a softer atmosphere in an otherwise rather raw interior. Dark stucco, smoked glass, and indirect lighting give the bathroom a calmer, almost hotel-like character. We have described the entire space in more detail, including the materials used and the contractors, in the article Bathroom in Mlýn.
Why do we love renovations?
Renovations have one major advantage—you don’t start from scratch. Every space already has its own proportions, layers, limitations, and atmosphere that you can build upon. With the MLÝN apartment, we didn’t simply take over the developer’s finished interior, but completely transformed its functionality, layout, and character. It is precisely this search for new potential in existing spaces that we enjoy the most. Whether it’s the renovation of apartments, houses, or historic buildings, we’re interested in getting the most out of the original space without unnecessary stylization. You can find our other projects in the RENOVATIONS section.
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Martina - 25. 5. 2026