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| A FAMILY IN MANHATTAN |
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The apartment is situated in the shadows of the Empire Sate Building in Manhattan and is the home of mom, dad and their two children. You can say it is a combination of rational architecture, 50-ies classical American furniture and extraordinary views over the city.
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| AL EIBER |
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It had become a hobby to scan through the ‘house for sale’ section in the paper on Sunday morning. Not that Al and his wife were looking for a house. They simply liked to view houses.
‘We had a nice apartment, nothing special, but we loved it a great deal, until that particular Sunday afternoon when, as we had done so many times, we drove past one of the houses for sale. It was love at first sight, for both of us. What is more, I was willing to bet my life that it was a design by Morris Lapidus, one of the most important American architects from the fifties, at least in my opinion. When we entered the house, nothing could stop us anymore. We simply had to live here.’
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| ALESSI |
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Turn an ordinary country house into a fairytale palace, that was the assignment which the architect of Stefano Alessi, the youngest offspring of the famous designer family, had to face. And faced successfully, because the zesty architecture combines the frivolous Alessi style and the 18th century romantic style of most houses around the Lago Maggiore. In the interior, classic and modern elements effortlessly blend in as well. In the ample hall, the vase collection of Mendini found a place. The stairways offer a passage to the living room and higher floors. Although the house seems big, it does not have the air of a castle and it is mainly snug to live in.
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| ALEX KATZ NY |
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A huge loft in the very heart of the New York neighbourhood SoHo has been the residence and working place of Alex Katz and his wife Ada for more than twenty-five years. The building was the second one that the city of New York made available for artists. The entire loft is an oasis of light, thanks to the numerous windows, the white walls and the coloured floor.This light ambience is also underlined by the sparse furniture. The furniture is special, but it does not claim any attention. The artwork in the space, huge portraits in oil on canvas, forms the scenery.
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| AMERICAN OUTFITTERS |
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This 70-ies villa, built in ‘New Brutalism’ style has been refurbished and updated by the interior architects Renaud De Poorter and Femke Holdrinet. The result is a contemporary family home with an open character and a strong sensual touch.Two interior architects remodelled the house to contemporary standards and particularly to the personal desires of the inhabitants.
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| APARTMENT DERUYTER |
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Uprooted in time and space. That’s the first impression you get when you enter this apartment, even without knowing anything about its occupant. Each room – the studio, the library, including the bedroom -, contains at least one object d’art that refers to concepts like ‘being underway’ or ‘things of the past’.
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| CASA DAS CANOAS |
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In 1953, Oscar Niemeyer built this house for him and his family, just outside Rio. Today the architect lives on the top floor of the oldest apartment on Copacabana and the public can visit his previous home. When we arrive, Casa das Canoas appears to be asleep, only the jungle plants grow rankly. The house is bolstered in green, but the architecture stayed untouched. The curves, signatures of Niemeyer’s work are like a delicate poem in this green setting and the huge glass windows lift the border between interior and exterior.
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| CHAPEL HOUSE |
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A chapel situated in the quaint Flemish village of Bazel has been reconverted into 2 loft-type houses. This building was erected in the second half of the 19th century by Countess Villain XIIII next to the castle of Wissekerke as a place where the children of the village could be educated. The building later became derelict was sold and renovated into a residence. On the ground floor, you can find our offices, with windows overlooking the back garden. In the entrance hall, you still experience the grandeur of the architecture. The owners have kept the space quite open here, which makes the originally monumental and religious character of the building still tangible. The façade and especially the windows are so monumental that the rest of the architecture is logically subordinate to both this image and to the convenience of daily life. Have a look at the loft of Antoon, Natascha and their two children
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| CHEZ NOUS |
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Behind a very small building façade lies an open loft-like space. Bea rebuilt an ancient fisherman’s house into a modern home. The most important part for her in the house is the kitchen block, where she cooks whilst entertaining her friends.
Over the past ten years, she has been running a design shop. Her new house is a mix of wonders she has found and sold over the years, ranging from an old Brionvega television to newly made Moroccan rugs.
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| DIAGONAL HOUSE |
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In the design of the architect, innovation is the central theme. Exploring new materials leads to innovative forms, like this apartment on the seafront. Hardly any wall is perpendicular. The diagonal perspectives create a constant feeling of motion and gesture.
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| ELVIS POMPILIO |
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Hat designer Elvis Pompilio lives in a former warehouse in the heart of Brussels. Just like his hat collection, his house is an eclectic ensemble of styles. One room is decorated in a true 18th century chateau-style, another in complete Western/Wild West (?) style. The dining room has a more sober, 50-ies modern Scandinavian look, whilst the adjacent room is filled with an incredible mixture of things. A huge teddy bear and Barbie dolls, next to Gucci, Chanel and Hermes boxes. Records of Vicky Leandros, Claude François and Elvis Presley… Walking through this house is like walking through history in a non-logical way.
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| FARMHOUSE |
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Peter was only 18 years old when he bought the old farmhouse. The first thing he did was digging an outside pool. After that, little by little he renovated the house and the stables. Today it is a mixture of romantic pastures, beautiful horses and a cosy home where modern furniture is placed in a historic setting
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| FLEXIBLE LOFT |
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The owners of this loft are both Argentinean, but their home base is NY. An artist studio, an office and a living space were created in the open space of the loft. Playfulness is the keyword. Walls can move around, bathroom and bedroom are like aquariums in the open space, and colourful details contrast with the white cube.
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| FOUR ROOM HOUSE |
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This small house is only 2, 40 meter wide and 5, 50 meters deep. The owners,an architect-couple, designed the house for themselves. Every floor has its function: the ground floor is the work-area, the first floor is for eating, the second floor for relaxing, the top floor for sleeping and on the roof you can enjoy the view from the bathtub.
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| FREDERIKSBERG |
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This apartment in Copenhagen was built in 1920 by a Jewish architect and is now owned by a young couple with three children. It is a mixture of Danish design and contemporary light fittings. The owners believe that less is more and only want to be surrounded by essential things. They love Danish artwork and live between their favourite pieces.
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| GUESTHOUSE SH |
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This luxury guesthouse is located at the foot of the Cévennes. It has three rooms and three suites and an astonishing swimming pool and garden where you can sit down and dream away.
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| HOUSE DE BRABANDERE |
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In an old edifice in the heart of Ghent, an artist and sculptor lives in his own universe. Half working place, half surreal scenery: the house as source of inspiration.
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| HOUSE IN THE PYRENEES |
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Hidden in the mountains of the Pyrenees lays an old farmhouse that recently has been restored for the owners to live in, but also for guests who are seeking serenity and silence. The owner is an artist and decorated the place in a very particular way. There are Moorish elements, African details and a sort of silence captured in every view. Be it the vista over the mountains towards the old village, or the view over the pool towards the Mediterranean. This house is truly a place to forget the rest of the world.
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| HOUSE KNOKKE |
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The owners of this house really have a flair for vintage design. In their holiday house at the Belgian coast, they succeeded in combining historical pieces of Breuer, Eames, Ponti … The result is not only beautiful, but sociable too.
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| JACQUES VERNEST |
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This house is located in the artist village Sint-Maartens Latem, outside of Ghent. The owners have been living in this house for the past 40 years and it grew along with their lives. Typical modernist pieces, an old Thonet chair once belonging to the grandparents, but also contemporary pieces by Jasper Morisson or Maarten Van Severen furnish the house.
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| JEANNA |
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In a charming brownstone, right on the border between safe, familial Clinton Hill and rough Brooklyn, a young family set up their American life. The house oozes so much authenticity that they instantly fell in love with it.
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| JOSEPH KOSUTH NY |
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The loft of Joseph Kosuth has that typical factory feel, resulting from the invisible beams and pipes in the large rooms. The decoration happened gradually and evolved with the inhabitants. The majority of the furniture has been found at flea markets.
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| KOENIG |
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Case Study House No. 22
This monument in the architectural history was built in 1959 by Pierre Koenig. Thanks to the iconographic photographs of Julius Shulman taken at the time of finishing the project, this house of Mr. and Mrs. Stahl stands symbol for the American fifties and the Californian dream.
Together with Mrs. Stahl we watched the sun set over Los Angeles and listened to her stories about more than 45 years of living in what to her is a simple family house.
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| LIVING ON BROADWAY |
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Living on Broadway is already a sensation in itself. And when the flat is decorated in a grand fifties style, by one of New York’s important architects, James Biber from Pentagram, one can consider oneself a lucky person. We were able to share this sensation; for two days we stayed in the private rooms of a film director and a writer. Their names must remain secret, but their interior we can share with you.
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| LONG ISLAND SUMMERHOUSE |
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The architect of this summerhouse in Long Island designed in a minimal architecture a luxurious interior. The rooms are simple boxes in soft colours, furbished with baroque pieces, classical 50ies furniture and Asian antiques.
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| MAARTEN VAN SEVEREN BOXY KITCHEN PAVILION |
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Belgian designer/architect Maarten Van Severen is known for his furniture design, of which most is produced by Vitra. He has also collaborated on different prestigious architectural projects, such as the Van Abbe Museum, or Maison à Bordeaux by OMA. Van Severen only realised one complete new building, as an annex to a renovation of an existing cottage. The result is an extraordinary composition: a country house from 1904, a contemporary glass pavilion, a romantic garden by Aldrik Heirman and an astonishing collection of furniture pieces from the past 50 years. Sadly enough Maarten Van Severen never saw this project completely finished, as he passed away last winter, far too young.
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| MANSION 1890 |
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This mansion was built in the 19th century and is situated in the middle of the Jewish quarter of Antwerp. The house has always been respected by its previous owners, it reflects a minimalist, lived through atmosphere and is adapted to contemporary comfort without losing its personality. It can be described in only a few words: no nonsense, romantic, forgotten glory, discretion, …
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| MATIN |
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The house is located in the Hollywood hills and is decorated in a very European way. Not only because one of the owners is originally British, but mainly because they love a European lifestyle, mixed with the laid-back Californian way of living. Their modernistic fifties home is centred around a beautiful swimming pool, which seems to be excavated from the hill slope. They respected the original open-plan architecture and just added some beautiful art pieces and modern furniture.
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| MONASTERY |
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An entire wing of a Tuscan monastery has been converted into a place where the owner can live in perfect harmony with history, his artistic creations and the wealthy fellow-villager. The interior design of the house is very sober and emphasizes the historical character and architecture of the old monastery. “I try to add my own history to the building, without violating its original character. This house demands quality. The spare decorative items must be of solid quality.”
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| MORRIS LAPIDUS |
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In 2001, Morris Lapidus died at the age of 98. In his lifetime the critics of high architecture never appreciated his work, on the contrary.
The New York Times once wrote: ‘it is super schlock. Pornography of architecture.’ Nevertheless, Lapidus designed 1,200 buildings, including 250 hotels worldwide, applying a showmanship and theatrical aesthetic that thrilled pleasure seeking people (?). One of his most famous works is the Fontainebleau built in 1954. The famous resort, with its Hollywood-inspired version of Old World style, would later be used in scenes of the 1964 James Bond film, "Goldfinger."
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| MUSEUM NITEROI |
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The Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer turned 97, and is still working. He is most famous for the enormous buildings he designed for the Brazilian capital Brasilia. His more recent architecture is even more spectacular in its form. Some critics say he designs sculptures and not architecture.
On the east side of Guanabara Bay lays the suburb of Niteroi. On one of the cliffs of the coastline stands an impressive building that looks like a flying saucer, seemingly poised for take-off on the edge of the water. Cantilevered out from a stout central stalk, the saucer-like volume of the building has an unmistakable iconic presence, its seductive, sci-fi geometry creating a new landmark for the district. The huge saucer houses the city’s new Museum of Contemporary Art.
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| NY INTERIOR DV |
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What was meant as a temporary home, became the new family home. The living room gives away the owner her Latin roots: large plants create a very special ambience, as a garden in a living room. Her fine taste for art deco and modernistic furniture gives this apartment a timeless feeling with a jazzy air.
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| NY INTERIOR FL |
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This apartment, on the top floor of a former industrial building on Broadway, belongs to an architect couple. They kept the space very raw and created different living and working area’s. Like gardens in a wild environment. The office, the kitchen, the living room and the bedrooms all have a slightly different atmosphere in an overall subtle interior. The red threat through this place is the mid century design by people like Jean Prouvé and Hans Wegner, and their modest but exquisite art & book collection.
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| NY INTERIOR JG |
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A gallery is situated on the ground floor of this house, the rest of the building is the owners' family house. Art and life is in a very interesting and quirky way intertwined.
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| NY INTERIOR LP |
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This downtown loft is a mix of sixties fashion with an intriguing Pop Art collection, vintage furniture and a lively ambience. The bright colours of the interior reflect the enthusiasm of the owner.
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| NY INTERIOR MV |
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A photographer and stylist met one another in New York on a job for the Italian Vogue some twenty years ago. Today they still live in New york, with their teenage twins. From their townhouse on the Upper East they run a successful fashion photography studio.
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| PALM SPRINGS |
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Under the burning sun of Palm Springs lays this motel. A typical fifties hang-out, which people like Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and others used as their favourite hide-out. Today the motel is the overnight Mecca of the architectural tourist who comes to admire the Kaufmann house by Neutra, or the Fire Station by Albert Frey. Palm Springs has more than 600 houses, shops and hotels built in the American 'Contemporary Style' of the fifties. It was the proof of the 'American dream'. Today Palm Springs is not that often visited by movie stars, but rather by architecture and design lovers. The motel meets the desires of the new public, since every room is decorated in a different fifties style: the Marilyn Monroe room, the Jasper Johns Room, The Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Suite.
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| PALMS |
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Venice Beach is undoubtedly still the favourite hangout of artists and bohemians. The architect of this property had the chance to build his new home in Venice. He created a building that looks like a modern Bohemian shelter. Large coloured windshields cover the main façade, so the privacy of his family is guaranteed even when the building is completely open. With an ingenious system of huge windows, which open from floor to ceiling. This is the ideal home of the contemporary BoBo. One lives practically outside, but with all the comfort of a modern home.
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| RAFAEL VINOLY LI |
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Diana Vignoly, the wife of the well-known architect Rafael Vignoly redecorated an old Long Island summerhouse into a haven of comfort and authenticity. Hidden in the green, the white house on top of a slope is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The interior is a mix of ethnic pieces and antiques bought at the local yard sales.
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| RICARDO BOFILL |
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Like a stronghold, the old cement factory reigns the surrounding, just outside Barcelona. The controversial Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill fell for the impressive architecture and bought the substantial complex 25 years ago. It currently houses offices and his own talked-about and very comfortable residence.
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| RICHARD NEUTRA |
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This house was the location of the Hollywood movie: Laurel Canyon. After the film, the director decided to have the original Neutra House, -built in 1934 for the Sten-Frenke family-, reconstructed and redecorated. The architects Marmol -Razinger were responsible for the renovations. James Biber of Pentagram took care of the interiors. The result is a grand combination of a historical building with a contemporary interpretation of a fifties interior.
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| RYAD SHARAI |
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One of the four biggest Ryads in Marrakech is hidden behind a weather-beaten door in the narrow streets of the Bab Tharhzout quarter. A Ryad is a house with patio. The patio of this historical building is very large indeed, and that was the reason why Laurence Kluft and Michael Arts fell in love with this place the moment they saw it.
The house has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms. All the bedrooms are situated around the patio and the pool. Behind the labyrinth of rooms there is a staircase leading to the terraces. From there you have a magnificent view of the city
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| SKY STUDIO |
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This loft on the twelfth floor of an old building on Broadway has been designed by its inhabitant and architect Jonathan Leitersdorf. Its style is grandiose. You have the impression that you are walking from a castle, via a French kitchen to the souks, or through an Indian gate to a luxurious French bathroom.
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| SOTTSASS LANAKEN |
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Ettore Sottsass is famous for his ceramics, furniture and the designer’s collective Memphis. Over the past few years the eighty three year old designer and architect has started to build houses too, in Hongkong, the United States and in Belgium.
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| STAMBERG & AFERIAT |
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Architects Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat love a sober design and lots of colours. Each of their projects has its own story. To be sure the mix of colours will not be kitsch, they base their choices on one or more works of art.
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| STUART PARR LI |
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Le Corbusier had one, Philippe Starck has one and here and there some BoBo’s prefer them over a villa by the sea: A shack by the sea. The New Yorker Stuart Parr lives in a fancy loft in Manhattan, but on weekends he drives his red pick up truck to Long Island, where he and his friends enjoy the ‘simple’ life. The wooden shack is no more than a roof over the kitchen and the bedroom. But nevertheless heaven on earth.
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| SURFERS HOME |
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This home can best be described as a luxury base-camp for a surfer’s family. Along the Belgian coast architects Renaud De Poorter and Femke Holdrinet transformed this former basement warehouse into a cosy holiday resort
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| TANNERY.01 |
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This house used to be a tannery and a coach house. It is hard to grasp the original architecture of the house, it feels as if the rooms are strangely linked and clasped between the neighbouring houses. You do not experience it as a house, but as a collection of adjacent rooms in which the owner searches for authenticity and harmony between his artworks and the inspiring past.
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| TEMPORARY LOFT |
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This temporary loft is situated in an old factory. The owners are transforming the ground floor and first floor into a gallery and home. During the transformation they live on the top floor, which they decorated in a clever way.
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| THE JAMES BOND HOUSE |
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The owner of this futuristic home hoped that, one day, Sean Connery would set foot in his house. ‘Even though the architect and his wife rarely leave the house, they have an impressive garage. Only a glass partition separates the hall leading to the bedrooms from the garage. Under white sheets we discover a BMW motorcycle, the old black Citroen CX, a 2CV and a Porsche bearing the license number 008. During our visit to the house I could not help thinking of James Bond. The flair, the plain luxury, the dramatic architecture and scenery were reminiscent of his style. Although it is not proper to ask an architect if James Bond inspires him, I did make a slight insinuation towards the car. I expected an intellectual answer but got this instead: “I am obviously not 007, but I am 008. I did once send a letter to James, to say he would be welcome to use our house as a film set, but I never received an answer.”
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| THE MODERNIST |
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His company name is 'the modernist', but Lukasz Majewski is interested in much more than just modernist furniture. His apartment in Antwerp is like a treasure room, where he keeps all his favourite pieces: a drawing by Joe Colombo, a picture by Man Ray, original 50ies pieces by Prouvé, sofas from the SAS lounge designed by Arne Jacobsen,... At the age of 28 he has gathered an impressing collection.
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| TOM CALLEBAUT |
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Interior architect Tom Callebaut created a house for his young family. He wanted a place where it is fun and relaxing to go home to. A kind of everlasting vacation feeling. He transformed the traditional house into a modern living space without doors, and with rooms that are evolving into one another.
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| TUSCANY GUESTHOUSE |
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In the heart of Tuscany lays this beautiful guesthouse, it is an old farm dating back from the middle of the 19th century. The farm has been reconstructed in the original rural Tuscan style found in the area called ‘Crete Senesi‘ and offers the opportunity to spend dream holidays.
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| TUSCANY PALAZZO |
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Where Umbria meets Tuscany, high above mysterious misty forests a remarkable palazzo is hidden. This secretive and simply unique treasure was discovered by an occasional passer-by who fell in love instantly and decided there and then that this palazzo was her destiny. For years she worked on the combination of the right colour schemes, matching the furniture and finding the softest textiles. All this time Verdi, Bellini and Puccini were her soundtrack, they would later give their names to the luxurious suites.
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| VALS |
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"When we look at objects or buildings which seem to be at peace within themselves, our perception becomes calm and dulled. The objects we perceive have no message for us, they are simply there. Our perceptive faculties grow quiet, unprejudiced and unacquisitive. They reach beyond signs and symbols, they are open, empty. It is as if we could see something on which we cannot focus our consciousness. Here, in this perceptual vacuum, a memory may surface, a memory which seems to issue from the depths of time." With these words, the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor describes the feeling he manages to arouse in the spa he built in Vals.
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| VERLINDEN |
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Landscape architect Verlinden lives in an old house in Mullem. The interior is cosy and filled with beautiful antique objects, which each have a story. The garden is a romantic country garden, with every season other flowers and plants that blossom.
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| VINTAGE APARTMENT |
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The owner has been buying Belgian vintage furniture since he was eighteen. Now his collection is worth quite a lot, but rather than selling, he prefers to live with his favourite pieces. In Gent, he has a small apartment that he furbished in a clever way.
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| VLADIMIR KAGAN |
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The New York home of furniture designer Vladimir Kagan and needlework artist Erika Wilson is an eclectic mix of fifties design furniture, arts and crafts elements and a long family life. For the past forty years they have lived in this uptown apartment with their children. In the fifties, Kagan and Wilson were very popular with their work, and recently their designs are a new hype. Fendi launched the pieces of Vladimir, Anna Sui and Missoni work with Erika’s needlework.
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| WATER TOWER |
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For a long time the owner was in love with an old water tower and the little park around it, outside of Antwerp. Although it was by no means possible to live in the old tower, since it was just a skeleton, with a huge barrel on top, he started dreaming of building it into a house. And six years later, together with his architect, he made a dream come through.
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| WOLF LI |
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The New York based architect Vincent Wolf built a summer house on the slopes of Montauk on Long Island. From most of the rooms, there is a spectacular view over the ocean. A small walking path from the garden leads to the beach. But for those who do not like salt water, there is the beautiful pool, with view over the ocean. This house really has everything!
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| ARABIC HOUSE |
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This Casa Arabia was built in Barcelona, at the end of the 19th
century by a Catalan architect, for an Arab prince. In a true
eclectic style, the architect mingled Arab elements with neo-classic
elements. Today the owners are the Swedish Klea and her husband
Roberto, who run various café's and disco's in the city. A few years
ago, they bought the house from a cousin of the Swedish illustrator
Carl Larson. In the library Klea found books signed by Larson and
demanded that the house would be sold including the books. In this
way, Casa Arabia is a true mixture of the Arab, Catalan and Scandinavian
culture.
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| ART-DECO OFFICE |
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An art-deco apartment with a contemporary touch
Glenn Sestig, whose work has been published in international architecture magazines, is a promising young Belgian architect. In Antwerp, he rebuilt and furbished an old art-deco office building. The result is a luxurious place, with the comfort of today and the atmosphere of the thirties.
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| BLACK BOX |
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The architect designed this home as a black box inspired by Le Corbusier’s Domino House. A large corridor divides the building in two. One side for working, the other side, situated near the garden, for living.
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| CALIFORNIAN STYLE |
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The architect was inspired by the Japanese way of working. Nevertheless, he created a private house that looks more Californian than Japanese.
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| CARAVAN |
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This open space in a former factory building is, contrary to the current trend not converted into a minimalist loft. Quite the contrary. Like a bohemian, the owner lives between old furniture, a refrigerator and a caravan.
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| CHATEAU BOUCEEL |
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Although situated close to the seaside and the Mont Saint Michel in particular, Château Boucéel prefers to hide away between the green rolling hills that have surrounded it since its construction in 1763. For centuries this has been the home of the family de Roquefeuil. Today it is run by one of the great-great-grandchildren of la Marquise who fought so hard to rescue her home from burning during the Civil War that she never managed to say goodbye. Until this day, the Marquise is said to haunt the castle. A decade ago the Comte and Comtesse de Roquefeuil decided it was time to share their home with fellow antique lovers and today one can sleep in the ancient room of great-aunt Charlotte and even read her well-preserved diary
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| CHATEAU DE VERRIERES |
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Between Angers and Tours, along the Loire and close to the historical centre of Saumur we find the enchanting city castle Château de Verrières. For years the estate looked rather abominable – the Protestant family who owned it for almost a century did not like renovating – but the current owners only had eyes for the original wallpaper and the golden ceilings. Almost the entire city castle, a creation by a Visconti student, still looks exactly the way it did when the Napoleon general had it built as a place for his retirement. Today, Yolaine de Valbray-Auger welcomes her guests without formality but with a natural and sincere hospitality.
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| CHATEAU LA BALLUE |
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This is the place where Victor Hugo wrote the first lines of his novel “Quatre-Vingt-Treize”, Balzac found inspiration for his “Les Chouans” and in his ‘Mémoires d’outre tombe’ Chateaubriand talks about “une domaine où l’art des jardins réponds à l’art des artistes et fait écho à un véritable art de vivre ».Owners and art collectors Alain Schrotter and Marie-France Barrére added some contemporary art pieces to this 17th century beauty and managed to upgrade the already glorious gardens to the famous Monument Historique status. In addition to the classical French garden they also created a maze garden with baroque sculptures, a wild flower garden and numerous garden chambers that all received a bit of their shared love for modern art.
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| CLAUDIA AUGER |
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The story goes that Al Capone use to visit this house very often, as it was the pivot of the illegal alcohol trade in Miami. A little room upstairs hosts the bar, where Capone would have spend many hours. Claudia Auger, who now lives in the house, likes the old anecdote, but for her it is foremost a cosy family place. She decorated it in a kind of Mexican country-style. The biggest asset of the house is the backyard berth, from where they dive in the water, or go for a ride with their boat.
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| COACH HOUSE |
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A Belgian architects couple and their two children moved into the coach house of a castle.
In comparison with their neighbour, the chatelaine, their home is quit modest. But they succeeded in building their own palace.The walls and floors of this old coach house have been left bare on purpose. By whitewashing the walls, the structure is emphasised even more. Despite the rural character of the architecture, a modern interior has been opted for: objects from their own collection, amongst others Ettore Sottsas and Andrea Branzi.
The garden is also huge and full of surprises.
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| ELIZ |
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Sixteen years ago, Eliz and her family visited the Cevenne during holidays. This rough and barren country stole their hearts and six years later they sold their companies and belongings in London and bought a huge farmhouse on the top of a mountain. Eliz decorated every room in another style and during summertime, the farm is converted in a wonderful vacation house with more than 10 different rooms.
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| FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT REVISTED |
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Michael arts, one of the leading figures of Tommy Hilfiger built his own home in the woods, near Antwerp. Inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright he designed a house where he retires with his family and friends, inbetween is transcontinental flights. The house is a combination of authentic details, luxury and souvenirs from all over the world.
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| GAETANO PESCE |
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Gaetano Pesce renovated this weekend apartment in Knokke, Belgium. Parents, children and grandchildren live in a Flintstones’ setting. You cannot get any madder and wilder. Coats, cups, saucers and weird little men emerge from the colour clash.
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| GREET AND ARMAND |
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It feels like being outside the world, on an island where time does not exist. Where desires, sorrows and trivialities do not belong. In this medieval farmhouse in the Perigord Nord, Armand and Greet created a home where time seems to have evaporated. They renovated the old farm building in its authentic way and built two new, wooden pavilions in the garden. The emptiness and sobriety of the place lead to an almost sacral experience
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| GUESTHOUSE BA |
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On a charming hill top in the Ardèche lays a centuries old castle. The owners decorated the historical building with an exceptional design feeling. A castle tailored for contemporary knights and princesses.
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| GUESTHOUSE BDLS |
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A Dutch couple sold their property, goods and Michelin restaurant to start a new life, in the foot tracks of best-seller author Peter Mayle, on a picturesque hill top in the Luberon. Untouched villages such as Bonnieux, Gordes and Ménerbes, exclaimed as France most beautiful villages, surround them.
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| GUESTHOUSE JDL |
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This enchanting guesthouse is located in the hollow of the Alpilles and stands on a hundred years old olive tree hillside. Visitors can stay in the white, blue, pink or yellow room, each with its own character and personality.
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| GUESTHOUSE LB |
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In an old mail house in the heart of the Luberon, where travellers recover their breath, the French photographer François Lochon found the rest that he had searched for so long. Guests can enjoy this special place in five large suites.
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| GUESTHOUSE MDS |
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A Parisian couple, each with a hectic fashion career, shows how it must be done and created a glorious solitary place on an arc twinge of Avignon.
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| GUESTHOUSE SP |
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A luxury château with the authenticity of a family home and the comfort of an elegant charming hotel.
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| HILLSIDE HOUSE |
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The architect of this house is a real modernist, during the eighties he designed minimalist interiors and houses. Lately he has been highly inspired by art deco. On the hillside outside of Brussels he designed a huge villa in complete art deco style, with the work of Mallet Stevens as a reference.
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| MEN'S WORLD 2 |
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A minimal architecture has been combined with warm materials and soft colors to create a very sensual style throughout the whole building.
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| TOMMY & PIETER |
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Tommy & Pieter
Tommy and Pieter converted an old warehouse into a living space. With little means they transformed the concrete work floor into a cosy home that looks like a movie-set. The fact that they work for the movie industry, should explain.
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| VERSACCI |
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Chinese style in Miami
In the residential area of Coral Gables in Miami, Lisa Versacci and her family live in a bizarre looking Chinese house. It is one of the oldest houses of Miami, designed by architect-urbanist John Merrick. The whole neighbourhood is designed in the typologies of a holiday resort. There are mainly Spanish-looking houses, but in between you find a few Chinese style homes, Dutch buildings, colonial houses and even a Moroccan setting.
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