Returning home to Sofia after a few years working in London, architect Dimitar Karanikolov and interior designer Veneta Nikolova found a tiny attic apartment on top of a new urban development. Taking over the space, they spent two years reconstructing the area with outstanding results.

The pair turned odd shapes into clever features such as the awkward rounded cement ceiling. The use of the iron and glass ark above the windows give the space extra light and solved the construction problem. There is actually no central lighting but instead various shaped flood lights in key positions so they can turn on the lights they need at different times during the day.

They also designed a massive dark cube in the centre of the living room, to hide the bathroom (which sits on the top of the building’s elevator shaft). The cube is clad in thin (16mm) custom made concrete panels that continue inside as well. It ended up being a wall, a storage space and a centre solid feature.

It also provides nooks for work and creativity. The mixture of urban industrial colours with natural browns pulls the space together too.

The decking reminds us of apartments along the Thames. It's long and thin but the wooden planks, simple benches and lack of clutter make the most of it. There is a natural shrub wall too, which keeps the city at its distance and nature close. We love this way this loft is stuck in the big city, but sitting above it all.

We also love the touches of vintage pieces doubling up as storage. It's their personal objects arranged the around the apartment that really make the space feel like a home, with echoes of both Bulgaria and their time spent in London.

For more of Karanikolov and Nikolov's loft and other work check out their behance portfolio.