Image: Djan Chu Image: Djan Chu Image: Djan Chu Image: Djan Chu Image: Djan Chu Image: Djan Chu

While some bachelor pads end up as filthy man-caves littered with game console controllers and dumpster-dive furniture, this Alan Chu-designed micro apartment is not one of them. Even at a mere 380 square feet, the Sao Paulo home feels spacious and clutter-free, thanks to a few smart design choices.

Chu kept his design simple, choosing to use pinewood as the unifying element throughout the apartment. To maximize space, the architect relegated the bulk of the apartment’s functional necessities to a single wall, giving it a studio-like appearance. The kitchen and entertainment system are framed by a series of variously sized wood boxes that are also used as built-in storage space. The wood element is echoed on the second floor where a black spiral staircase leads up to a crate-like structure that acts as a sort of entry way to the mezzanine.

>The result is a clever environment that's not overwhelming.

Chu says he replaced a structural beam with the box not because it added functionality but because he thought it looked cool. “Some choices were done not necessarily to make the space larger but nicer,” he says. The rest of the apartment is equally as playful with small details like a glass-edge balcony and pops of red in the kitchen cupboard interiors. The result is a clever environment that's not overwhelming. Turns out that even in small spaces there's room for fun.

Chu's Apartment 1211 is situated near Sao Paulo's Ibirapuera Park and the city’s new financial center among a batch of rapidly renovating buildings. He designed the space for a recently divorced friend, who was looking for a transitional home after moving out of his shared apartment. “After the divorce he called me to design his new apartment,” says the Brazil-based designer. Clearly, there wasn't much space to work with, but Chu says that's pretty par for the course in Sao Paulo. Besides, he adds, square footage constraints don't limit him; in fact, it can actually be liberating. “It's nice because usually they tend to be less formal,” he says of designing micro apartments. “Unusual solutions are allowed and there is place for some humor.”