“The smallest we’ve ever designed” is how ATOMAA described the tiny fragment of the once-larger Milan apartment that they transformed into a bright and modular home – showcasing the creativity and comfort possible in even the smallest of spaces.
“We believe that better homes make better citizens. Comfort, quality, and the ability to enhance emotion – to make people feel safer or happier – that’s a powerful ambition we can pursue as designers.”
“As a designer, I believe it’s really important to understand people’s needs. I hope they can feel that the house is a safe, cosy place – somewhere to relax and feel protected from what’s happening outside.”
At just 21sqm/226sqft – barely the size of five ping pong tables in a row – this Milan apartment should feel impossibly tight. Instead, it feels calm, open, and surprisingly self-sufficient. What first appears to defy logic is, on closer inspection, simply smart design. The team at ATOMAA has created a remarkably versatile home with all the essentials of a much larger space: a defined entryway, a spot for guests to sleep, a dining area, and even a walk-in wardrobe.
For architect Bianca Maggi, a collaborator at ATOMAA, designing small spaces isn’t about reducing proportions but about finding balance: “It is not about shrinking,” she explains, “but rather about achieving the coexistence and overlap of a significant part of the domestic environment.” In short, comfort and usability were never compromised. The client’s brief for a home for their daughter was both practical – to maximise functionality – and delightful: to create a space that’s a pleasure to live in, reflecting the joys of everyday life in this beautiful part of Milan. Most importantly, they placed their full trust in ATOMAA to shape the space as they saw fit.
The apartment’s two precious windows were obstructed when ATOMAA first encountered the space. Angled walls carved the home into small, dark rooms. Maggi and the team began by taking those down allowing them to treat the now void unit like a puzzle that needed to be reassembled to capture every ounce of natural light and optimise every centimetre. Inspired by one of their earlier projects, Abruzzi – which was also featured on NTS – they relocated the bathroom to the darkest part of the apartment so that it would not block any natural light.
They divided the home as a whole into zones that could shift in use throughout the day, including a designated entryway with storage and a full-length mirror that offer a sense of ease from the moment you enter. The most used part of the home would be the long, overlapping living and kitchen area, where there’s room to relax, dine, draw, work, and more depending on how it is arranged. Want a desk? Simply close the hinged backsplash of the kitchen unit to hide the burners and sink to create another surface. How about a place to dine? Simply fold down the mounted round dining table that blends seamlessly with the wall when not in use. Maggi explained how their simple, clean approach to such furnishing stemmed from their interest in Japanese design traditions, where spatial efficiency and visual simplicity guide every decision.
A well-thought-out layout might make the apartment functional, but it’s the textures and tones that make it feel like home. ATOMAA used curved walnut cabinetry to ease transitions between zones, shaping corners that invite movement rather than signal division. In the bathroom, they introduced deep ruby zellige tiles to add richness and depth, while in the sleeping area – complete with a platform bed with hidden storage – they chose a deep blue to contrast with whitewashed walls and warm timber joinery. Underfoot, in partnership with Mosiac Factory, they laid handmade terrazzo flooring from Sicily. They selected flecks of blue and ochre that echo the apartment's palette and establish a subtle visual rhythm. These material choices give the home tone, emotion, and loads of personality, grounding it in feeling as much as in form.
For ATOMAA, designing a small home is less about limits than it is about atmosphere. In this apartment, every decision serves a dual purpose – not only to make the most of the space, but to create moments of calm and quiet joy. As Maggi puts it, rather whimsically: “Sometimes we are looking for the feelings of a kid hiding under the wooden kitchen table, sometimes the ones of a cat resting on a chair, near a window, on a sunny day.” That sense of safety and softness is what remains long after the cleverness of the layout fades. “There’s a lot more than design,” she says.
