![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_hero-a-852x480.jpg)
Ater Architects uses blue curtains as walls in Kyiv apartment
Cobalt-blue curtains hang in place of walls in a small apartment in Kyiv renovated by Ukrainian architecture and interiors studio Ater Architects.
Called EGR Apartment, the 65-square-metre space was cramped, featuring a compartmentalised layout with separate rooms connected by corridors.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_1-852x1284.jpg)
The owners, a young couple, asked Ater Architects to transform it into a light and minimalist space.
Ater Architects removed most of the partition walls to create an open-plan layout.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_0-852x568.jpg)
Only the bedroom area is separated from the main space by walls.
Everywhere else cobalt blue curtains are used to delineate zones within the apartment.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_5-852x1278.jpg)
The curtains are intended to contrast with the apartment's otherwise monotone colour and material palette.
"The ambition [was] to balance the vigorous coloured accents and make the space brighter and airier while maintaining some rigour," said Ater Architects.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_9-852x568.jpg)
The ceiling in the kitchen and bathroom areas was lowered to accommodate ventilation.
An existing concrete slab ceiling was painted white across the rest of the apartment.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_12-852x1279.jpg)
On the floors, the architects used wide plank oak engineered flooring everywhere apart from the kitchen and bathroom areas.
The latter feature breccia flooring – a surface made from fragments of broken marble with polymer grout-filled joints.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_11-852x536.jpg)
In the kitchen, the architects installed black ceramic tiles with pink grout that matches the cylindrical base of the customised dining table.
Oak veneer cabinets and a copper Flowerpot lamp designed by Verner Panton in 1968 add warmth.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_14-852x1279.jpg)
In the living room, a powder-pink sofa contrasts with the blue curtains.
A white 265 wall lamp by Paolo Rizzatto for Flos lights the space.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_16-852x1279.jpg)
"The living room is an area for communication," said the architects. "At the request of the clients, neither television nor projector was provided."
Instead of a television, the room revolves around a graphic art work by Yulia Popova.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_19-852x567.jpg)
The owners also requested an office area with a custom-designed mixing deck.
"The specific request of the apartment owner was the workplace arrangement where he would be able to do his favourite thing – composing electronic music," explained Ater Architects.
"To do this, we have designed a table that can fit all the necessary equipment. Above the table, we have placed a photograph of the cult Berlin techno-club Berghain by Michael Belhadi."
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_25-852x1113.jpg)
Other custom-designed furniture includes an oak dressing table with a round backlit mirror in the bedroom and a spacious wardrobe.
This dressing area is separated from the bedroom zone by the same blue curtains.
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_26-852x568.jpg)
Throughout the apartment, storage is hidden behind built-in oak veneer cabinets.
Mirrored panels in the living room, bathroom and bedroom to create the illusion of "endless space".
![EGR Apartment by Ater Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/egr-apartment-ater-architects-kyiv-ukraine-architecture_dezeen_1704_col_34-852x1279.jpg)
Ater Architects, founded by Alexander Ivasiv and Yuliya Tkachenko, recently created colourful interiors for a children's clinic in Kyiv.
Curtains are a flexible and colourful option for apartment renovations.
Floor-to-ceiling pale blue curtains carve up the interior of this open-plan apartment in Bilbao, Spain, which has been overhauled by architecture studio Azab.