Living Spaces

Tirana Concept

A concept study reimagining a one-bedroom Tirana apartment as a more comfortable, memorable short-term rental for up to four guests — room by room, spending where it changes the stay. A design-intent concept; not yet built.

Concept rendering — the Tirana apartment's living and dining area with layered seating, a patterned rug, warm lighting, black-and-white Albanian photography and an Albanian textile on the wall

Location: Tirana, Albania
Project type: Short-term-rental concept study — a one-bedroom Tirana apartment (concept)
Scope: A concept study reimagining a one-bedroom Tirana apartment as a more comfortable, memorable short-term rental for up to four guests — room by room, spending where it changes the stay. A design-intent concept; not yet built.

The challenge

Not a different apartment — a better version of this one. The owner wanted their one-bedroom Tirana rental to work harder and stand out in a market of near-identical flats, without unnecessary demolition. The task was to reimagine the whole stay — arrival, cooking, gathering, sleeping, working, bathing, storing belongings, doing laundry, and stepping out for a moment of air and view — and direct the budget to the places that most improve daily use and guest experience.

Functional requirements

Comfortable occupancy for up to four guests
Better storage without sacrificing circulation
A legitimate workspace with a visual connection to the balcony
Layered, warmer lighting throughout
Practical long-stay details — laundry drying and luggage handling
Strategic spending, not renovation for renovation's sake

The approach

Client-centered, room by room: keep the useful bones, spend where the experience changes. In the living and dining area, layered seating, a generous rug, warmer lighting and black-and-white Albanian photography give a generic rental a real identity — Albanian references as context and character, never a theme. The kitchen stays where it works; storage is rationalized, open shelving and under-shelf lighting improve everyday function. A wall-mounted folding desk turns the old bookcase niche into a real work zone with a 'brain-break' view to the balcony. The bedroom takes its atmosphere from a dark ceiling-and-headboard wall, a collected photo gallery and textiles — before any furniture is replaced. The bathroom spends only where function changes — a wider open-shelf vanity, floor-to-ceiling storage and an illuminated L-shaped mirror — leaving the tile, toilet, bidet, water heater and shower alone. And the balcony stays restrained: a café table for two and a folding drying rack, because the view is the amenity.

What it became

A better stay created through better decisions — not simply more stuff. The concept preserves the apartment's useful bones while improving the moments a guest actually experiences: where belongings land, where four people gather, where someone works, where clothes are stored and dried, how the bedroom feels at night, how the bathroom supports a morning routine, and where a cup of coffee meets the Tirana view. This is a concept study — dimensions, sourcing and site conditions to be verified before any purchasing or construction.

Before / After

The living and dining room as it stands — a sectional against the wall, a framed picture, a globe pendant and a patterned rug on tile — Before: a comfortable but anonymous rental — good light, no identity of its own.

Tirana Concept, completed — After: the concept for the same room — layered seating, warmer light and Albanian photography for character.

The existing kitchen — white raised-panel cabinets, the appliance wall with fridge, washer and range, and a dining table along the wall — Before: the kitchen works — the appliance wall and cabinets are worth keeping.

Concept rendering — the kitchen with rationalized storage, open shelving, under-shelf lighting and the existing appliance wall kept — Cook + stay: the working kitchen kept, the experience of using it made better.

The spare room as it stands — a daybed, an open black shelving unit and glazed doors onto the balcony — Before: a spare corner with a shelf niche and a door straight to the balcony.

Concept rendering — a wall-mounted folding desk in the former bookcase niche, a natural-fiber rug and a view to the balcony — Work + reset: a real work zone without surrendering the room to an office.

The bedroom as it stands — a double bed with a neutral upholstered headboard, matching nightstands, a wardrobe and daylight from a patterned curtain — Before: good bones and daylight — flat lighting and blank walls.

Concept rendering — the bedroom with a dark headboard wall, a collected black-and-white photo gallery, warm textiles and light bedding — Rest: atmosphere from paint, art and textiles before replacing furniture.

The existing bathroom before — gray tile, a wall-mounted water heater, a compact vanity and a small mirror — Before: serviceable tile, fixtures and a wall heater — all worth keeping.

Concept rendering — the bathroom with a wider open-shelf vanity, floor-to-ceiling storage and an illuminated L-shaped mirror, the existing tile and fixtures kept — Reset: spend where function changes; leave the expensive infrastructure alone.

The balcony as it stands — a tiled floor, a folding drying rack and a view over Tirana rooftops to the mountains — Before: the balcony and its view over Tirana — the real amenity.

Concept rendering — the balcony with a compact café table and two chairs, a folding drying rack and a view over Tirana to the mountains — Step out: the view is the amenity — don't compete with it.

Attention to detail

Living/dining: layered seating, a generous rug and black-and-white Albanian photography for identity without theming
Kitchen: rationalized storage, open shelving and under-shelf task lighting — the working kitchen kept
Workspace: a wall-mounted folding desk in the former bookcase niche, with a balcony sightline
Bedroom: a dark headboard wall, a collected photo gallery and replaceable textiles
Bathroom: a wider open-shelf vanity, floor-to-ceiling storage and an illuminated L-mirror — infrastructure untouched
Balcony: a café table for two and a folding drying rack, restraint over decoration

Working with Kim has been a completely different experience from simply hiring someone to decorate an apartment. From our first conversations, she took the time to understand the property, how I wanted it to function as an Airbnb, and the kind of experience I wanted guests to have. What impressed me most was her ability to look at the existing apartment and see possibilities I hadn't considered — how guests would actually use the space, where it could work harder, and how the design could give it an identity that would help it stand out in the Tirana rental market. When she presented the concept, I could see the apartment differently. The project has not yet been implemented, so I can't speak to the finished space yet — but the concept alone showed me the value of someone thinking about the property from both a design and a guest-experience perspective.

The owner· Short-term-rental concept, Tirana