The Icing on the Slice of Cake: A Maisonette Apartment Belonging to Two Designers Is a Sensual Collage of Its Owners’ Thoughts and Memories.

At the head of the hallway is the living room, a salon-like space with strong contrasting colours, intense graphic elements and large forms. A lemon yellow bookcase is positioned against powder blue walls. A deep pile rug with a bold, geometric pattern in strong colours and a Moustache chair are more works of art than pieces of furniture, yet even these are outdone by the expressive pictures and objects on the walls. Two circular, intersecting shapes on the ceiling take over the circles theme, which is echoed at multiple points in the room, as well as spotlighting life below.

The dining room and salon are connected at their far ends by a small room with a bay window. Here the graphic character of one room and the textile materiality of the other merge in a specially commissioned psychedelic wallpaper, which challenges the eye and forms a provocative backdrop to several colourful artworks. A contrast comes from the more subdued, natural materials world of the furniture and the intense light that is filtered into the room through golden venetian blinds, which shine brightly in the sun.

To the right of the hallway lies a spacious bathroom. The salmon-coloured design is in harmonious dialogue with the limestone of the floor and several walls. Multiple mirrored surfaces expand the space and create optical bridges to the other rooms by means of reflections. A freestanding washstand made from rosewood with a superimposed mirror unit form a strong centrepiece, about which are grouped a freestanding bathtub and walk-in shower. Black, wooden, venetian blinds and a black, dotted pattern on the ceiling provide some necessary contrast in the otherwise soft atmosphere.

The bathroom connects through to a gym, which doubles as a guest bedroom. Lemon yellow walls fade into a white ceiling and suffuse the room with energy. A floor to ceiling closet provides storage and conceals a fold-out guest bed, while its mirrored front is the perfect backdrop to your daily workout.

Cooking with friends is one of the owners’ passions. So the kitchen at the other end of the apartment has a stainless steel, industrial-style kitchen block at its centre. Original tiles on the floor and wall provide a scintillating contrast to the precise, sharply edged, solid surface, built-in cupboards. A freestanding marble-topped table offers space for more intimate gatherings.
The guest WC is located next to the kitchen. This small room with its many wall-mounted pipes was panelled to create a clean, polygonal shape. The folded effect of the walls is dissolved by a geometric mural. A softly curving mirror provides a welcome contrast and also expands the space.

The maisonette is a museum of memories and a showroom for the creativity of its owners in one. In place of a closed, consistent aesthetic, the apartment functions as a collage of variegated moods. Yet in spite of their seeming disparity, a synthesis is achieved that perfectly reflects the personality of the owners in the individual rooms.