This Stockholm Small Space Nails Industrial-Modern Style

As much as we love a dramatic before and after, sometimes a massive home makeover just strips a space of its storied personality. Leaving traces of a room's past life, like bare, industrial walls, can prove more visually interesting than a fresh coat of bright paint — a balance this 118-square-foot studio in Stockholm strikes perfectly.

Architect Karin Matz wanted to reconfigure the former furniture storage space into a livable apartment that still retained layers of history. From a raised, plexiglass-enclosed bedroom to streamlined kitchen cabinets, the pad feels modern, but with the wink of its patchy, imperfect walls. Click through to see the inside and get tips on balancing industrial and modern. Turns out, old and new play quite well together after all.