Apto BB Brings Quiet Luxury to a Light-Washed Brazilian Apartment
Apto BB lands in São Paulo, Brazil, as a measured urban retreat shaped by Marcela Penteado Arquitetos. The 140 m² (1,507 sq ft) apartment reworks a two-level plan to pull light deeper inside and soften daily rhythms. With partitions pared back and a sculpted stair at its core, the home trades clutter for calm and leans on wood, stone, and matte finishes to steady the mood.
Light spills across warm wood as the stair’s curve catches a soft glow. Quiet follows, moving from entry to living room in an even, calming drift.
This is a two-level apartment in São Paulo by Marcela Penteado Arquitetos, reworked at 140 m² (1,507 sq ft). The plan reduces partitions and relies on a restrained palette to amplify daylight and tune the mood—an interior where material and furniture set the pace of daily life.
Open Core Living
Walls come down where they aren’t needed, and the main level reads as a connected suite of rooms. The kitchen and dining area sit shoulder to shoulder, encouraging easy conversation while cooking stretches into lingering meals. A bar anchors casual evenings without intruding on the living room’s calmer setting. The result is continuous circulation that keeps sightlines long and light unbroken.
Curve as Guide
A gently curved staircase ties the two floors and organizes movement. Its rounded form draws the eye, softens transitions, and reflects light back into adjacent rooms. The stair turns each passage into a sensory moment, a small reset between public and private zones. It becomes the apartment’s quiet landmark, steady and legible from multiple vantage points.
Materials in Dialogue
Cumaru wood flooring runs throughout, bringing depth underfoot and a consistent grain that warms the composition. Vitória Régia quartzite and Raffaello quartz mark key points—the bar, a sideboard, and the stair’s sculptural accents—so stone meets wood in deliberate counterpoints. Matte finishes cut glare and coax daylight into a diffuse wash. With precise lighting layered across surfaces, the palette reads calm by day and intimate after sunset.
Rooms for Daily Rhythm
Upstairs holds the suite with a walk-in closet, set for privacy yet still connected in spirit to the open level below. A home office provides focus without drift, kept close enough to feel part of the home’s cadence. Downstairs, the living room stays generous for rest, while the dining table accepts work, meals, and friends with equal ease. Each area earns its role without excess furniture or noise.
Pieces with Memory
Select furniture adds character and tactility. The Jangada armchair by Jean Gillon, the Pétala side table by Jorge Zalszupin, Alvéolo by Rodrigo Zampol, and the Sônia bench by Sérgio Rodrigues bring Brazilian lineage to the setting. These pieces ground the rooms, pairing patina with precision. They sit comfortably within the palette, never fighting the architecture.
By afternoon, light grazes the wood and stone, soft shadows sliding across the stair. The apartment holds steady, tuned to everyday rituals and unhurried time. Material, light, and measured proportion carry the mood to night.
Photography by Fran Parente
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