Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten refreshes Antwerp attic with pops of yellow

Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten has converted a dark and dusty attic in Antwerp into a living space that features arched portals, curvy furniture and yellow decor accents.

The attic – which was previously just used for storage – is set within a young family's home in Kasterlee, a municipality that's 45 minutes drive from central Antwerp.

Local studio Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten was asked to turn the attic into a multi-functional space.

The clients wanted the space to serve as a guest room for visitors, and a social area where the family's daughters can spend time with their friends as they get older.

"The attic can be used as a studio, a room to rent, a place to watch tv, count the stars, listen to music, chill with friends, get carried away on a romantic night," Johan Van Staeyen, founder of the studio, told Dezeen.

"Everything is available to sleep, cook, shower, and hang out."

Tucked under the pitched roof with two sloping walls, the attic has been divided into a bedroom, living room and bathroom.

A spruce-clad bedroom with a circular built-in bed is located at the far end of the space, separated from the living room by a curved partition clad in white laminated sheet material.

It's punctuated with three large U-shaped portals, one of which is an entrance and the other two are window-like openings. They have each been bordered with sunshine-yellow paint.

"Yellow stands for optimism and energy," said Van Staeyen of the colour choice. "It makes you more active and stimulates mental activity."

The living room, lit by two skylights, is a bright space with white-painted walls and pale timber flooring.

A bespoke circular sofa upholstered in powder-grey and ochre fabric occupies one side of the room, while a yellow circular rug is on the other.

The sofa can be split into three parts: a curved semi-circular sofa, a U-shaped bench seat and a small circular ottoman which slots into the centre.

Mirroring the bedroom space, U-shaped openings have been cut into the living area's rear wall to form two recesses – one frames a television and the other is used for shelving.

The bathroom is located behind the shelves and a small storage area is behind a door next to it.

The studio has described the overall aesthetic of the space as "relaxing geometry".

"Curved lines do generate a more relaxed feeling than straight lines," said Van Staeyen. "The yin and yang sign, the infinity-sign, the treble clef are good examples of symbols with curved lines."

"Animals with round heads and ears also create a certain attractiveness, charm or loveliness because of their roundness.

"Relaxing geometry is curve-inspired – it enlarges and softens the space, and gives it a more welcoming feeling."

Van Staeyen Interieur Architecten is based in Antwerp's Markgrave neighbourhood and is led by Johan van Staeyen and Wim Clissen. Recent work includes the renovation of a townhouse, which the studio updated with block-colour surfaces and built-in furniture.

In 2018, the studio also transformed a chapel in a medieval cathedral into a gothic-inspired cafe.

The project went on to win the civic and cultural interior of the year category in the inaugural Dezeen Awards, where judges praised it for its "simple, playful and clever" design.

Photography is by Jochen Verghote.

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Eldridge London's trefoil-shaped house has a "sense of the theatrical"

Curved walls and metallic details bring drama to this family house in southwest London, by architecture studio Eldridge London.

House in Coombe Park is located in leafy Kingston-upon-Thames, but offers a departure from the "pastiche neoclassical" buildings of the area.

Eldridge London, led by architect Nick Eldridge, designed the 505-square-metre building with a trefoil-shaped plan, meaning almost every section of wall is curved.

The exterior is a mix of floor-to-ceiling glazing and a bronze-toned cladding system made from lengths of profiled aluminium, while the interior features white marble, fair-faced concrete, oak and polished brass.

These materials, along with a selection of bespoke furnishings, allow the building to become a showpiece for the client.

"The client runs a business that make structures and spaces for events, so a sense of the theatrical is integrated into the scheme," explained project architect Mike Gibson.

"The house needed to function as a family home but also provide drama as a space for entertaining," he told Dezeen, referencing details that include a free-flowing plan, use of mirrors, automated voile curtains and a concealed spiral staircase.

The building comprises three floors, although very little is located on the middle storey, which aligns with the street. This level primarily functions as an entrance, with a car parking garage off to one side.

Most rooms are located on the basement floor, which opens out to the garden, while the upper level contains a master bedroom suite.

The geometry of each level is different, but each one is designed to respond to the specific characteristics of the street and garden.

"We found the main context to respond to was the landscape, specifically the sloping hillside and the ancient oak tree," said Gibson.

"The oak tree defines the geometry, the existing building line defines the position of the house, and the hillside slope and tree canopies inspired the section."

The majority of the garden floor serves as an open-plan living and dining room, with level changes to subtly divide up the space.

The kitchen, with its oak cabinets and marble counter, is outlined by a raised platform. In another wing, a curved, sunken lounge is framed by a large bespoke sofa. This change is emphasised by a transition from oak flooring to soft grey carpet.

There are two bedrooms on this floor, tucked away in the corners of the plan, along with an enclosed media room. There is also a gym, which has no windows but is lit from above by a large lens-shaped skylight.

The spiral staircase, located at the centre of the plan, is the only route up to the master bedroom. As well as a large en-suite, this floor also includes a space originally designed as a dressing room, but which later became a nursery.

Eldridge London had little problem gaining planning permission for the house, as it was described by the local design review panel as a "quintessentially Coombe house".

The difficulties came in the build stage, where several details had to be custom designed or built to work with the curves.

The facade system, for instance, was created using a die designed by the architects'. The profiles are extruded 3.6-metre lengths created in collaboration with sustainable aluminium brand Hydro.

"It is the first thing you see as you approach, so we wanted something that will look as good in 10 years as it did on the day of installation," said Gibson.

Glazing also presented a challenge. With very precise tolerances, some of the curved sliding glass doors had to be remade several times in order to make them fit.

The curves are celebrated in many of the interior details, from the coffee tables in the lounge, to inset door handles.

Founded in 1998, Eldridge London was previously named Eldridge Smerin. Other projects by the office include House on Swain's Lane, which overlooks Highgate Cemetery in north London.

Photography is by Nick Guttridge.

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Project credits:

Client: Jim Mason
Architect: Eldridge London
Project team: Nick Eldridge, Mike Gibson, Nico Giuriato, Will Flint, Emily Quesne, Alison Poole
Contractor: NBS/NBS Joinery
Fairfaced concrete: NBS / NBS Joinery
Kitchen/joinery/staircase: Joe Mellows Furniture Makers
Bespoke metalwork: Detail Metalwork
Bespoke sofa: Coakley & Cox
Oak floor: Dinesen
Marble: Pisani/Modo di Marmi
Bathroom fittings: Vola
Aluminium cladding: Sapa Aluminium
Swimming pond: Aquascapes

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Geometric Insects Navigate Sparse Flora in Pastel Illustrations by Hoàng Hoàng

All images © Hoàng Hoàng

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, graphic designer and illustrator Hoàng Hoàng merges science and art into a series of illustrations that mimic both insects in their natural habitats and those pinned in display cases for preservation. The Insect World Collection is comprised of varicolored stripes, semicircles, and other angular shapes that form multi-hued wings and rotund bodies. Set on pastel backgrounds, each arthropod features both Vietnamese and English translations of the insects’ common and scientific names. Head to Instagram and Behance to check out more of Hoàng’s geometric illustrations.

 

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