Son 柏林公寓丨德国柏林

SON

Architects: Nata Kurylenko, Yelyzaveta Schastlyvtseva

Creative supervision: Slava BalbekProcurement: Kateryna KvishchukProject manager: Anna ViktorovaProject area: 85 sq mProject year: 2024Location: Berlin, GermanyPhoto credits: Ivan Avdieienko

ABOUT | LOCATION | TASK | CONCEPT | ZONING | DESIGN | TEAM

ABOUT

Son – an apartment for a couple in Berlin, Germany.

LOCATION

The apartment is located in Berlin's Mitte district, in the modern Am Tacheles neighborhood. Built in 2024 on a site that evolved from a department store in the early 1900s to an art center in the 1990s, the space preserves the artistic heritage of the neighborhood and houses residential sections, offices, galleries, and shops. Design of the Vert building, where the clients purchased their apartment, was carried out by the architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron.

TASK

The apartments in Am Tacheles are sold with a ready-made finish – at the clients’ request, it became the basis for our further work with the interior. When describing their vision for the future home, the clients expressed a preference for the Japandi apartment interior. They also referenced the eclectic interiors of Soho House clubhouses and Elsa Hosk’s New York apartment as inspirations for the space’s atmosphere. They also had suggestions for specific objects – for example, the mood board featured a dining table with chairs by Australian designer Sarah Ellison.

Procurement

The Son project involved utilizing a procurement service. We were responsible for finding, ordering, and delivering the desired furniture from different parts of the world, which saved the clients from having to communicate with suppliers and take on a significant part of the organizational processes.

CONCEPT

The developer of the Am Tacheles describes the residential complex’s concept with the slogan “In the house of fine aesthetics”. We chose to elaborate on this definition and, after working on the mood board, added to it our vision of restrained elegance. In our interpretation, this style implies the use of natural stone, sophisticated lighting, and iconic designer furniture in the interior.

ZONING

Guests are welcomed into a small corridor, leading to a large bathroom and a utility room. To the right of the apartment’s entrance is a bedroom with a small terrace and a green bathroom. Deeper into the apartment, there is an open kitchen with a dining table, a compact workspace, and a living room with access to an open balcony.

DESIGN

Kitchen

The kitchen area retains the original volumes designed by the developer, yet we ordered bespoke kitchen furniture from PlanB, carefully curating the perfect combination of materials. The original kitchen was conceived as a monolithic gray block. To add visual interest, we divided it into three volumes using different materials. The tall cabinets are made of veneered MDF boards. The kitchen units are clad in stainless steel.

We aimed to choose an unconventional natural stone for the wall finish, which would become the focal point of the space, contrasting with the original dark floor. In the end, we chose Caribbean quartzite and its greenish hue. The stone was sourced from Italy, as it is not available in Germany or Ukraine. The shelves are also made of this stone.

The dining group consists of the aforementioned table and chairs by Ellison Studios. Logistics posed a separate challenge, as this model is unavailable in Europe. In the end, the table was shipped from Australia, while the chairs came from the Ellison Studios warehouse in China. The light above the table is provided by the Floatation lamp by Ingo Maurer.

Workplace

The semicircular area of the plan, with a window, features a compact workplace – it is ideal for sitting with a laptop or reading a book in an armchair. If needed, the surface can be transformed into a makeup table. The B&W 2.0 lamp by Matteo Fogale mimics natural daylight. A space for a printer was also required in this area. Along with piles of paper, it is discreetly hidden at the end of the nearby kitchen unit.

Living Room

At the heart of the living room is the On the Rocks sectional sofa by the Italian brand Edra. Its backrest is mobile, allowing for various configurations: rotate the seat towards the dining area, or set up a movie night with a projector that displays images on the opposite wall. The sofa is paired with a steel Meta table by New Tendency in Yellow Chromate.

A stone shelf stretching along the wall opposite the sofa serves to display the art collection, housing a record player and a Bubble Light by Balzer Balzer made of glass. The wall in the living room is adorned with Nexus shelves by Ben Hoek, which frame the TV.

Bedroom

The bedroom interior partially draws inspiration from the smooth lines of the facade. To recreate them, we covered the wall behind the bed with wave-like varnished plywood. The Lipla bed by Porro visually complements this shape. The headboard, which is not adjacent to the wall, also provides access to wall sockets.

A pair of Pianca Dedalo bedside tables, with marble glass tops, are chosen to match the floor. Warm lighting is provided by lamps: Varmblixt by Ikea x Sabine Marcelis on the left, Journey by &Tradition on the right, and Zuuk spotlights by Ingo Maurer on the ceiling.

The semi-transparent wardrobe is a custom-made homage to Sabine Marcelis' works and her interpretation of shapes and colors. The colored frame of the cabinet is crafted to match the glass doors of the facade. The glass is gradient-painted from deep peach to nearly matte white. The cabinet handles are made of travertine.

Green Bathroom

In the green bathroom, located next to the bedroom, we installed a glass partition to separate the open shower. The aquamarine epoxy shower stool by Vallvé was sourced from Brazil.

The cabinet beneath the custom marble washbasin visually echoes the metal kitchen units. The niche with a mirror was clad in stainless steel and an additional sconce was added.

Pink Bathroom

The apartment owner selected a pink bathroom for herself: it features a bathtub and additional space for beauty products and treatments. We replaced the existing washbasin with a marble vanity, a table, a walnut Vitra stool by Charles & Ray Eames, and a storage cabinet. The mirror conceals the shelves and is complemented by a sconce.

Utility Room

The corridor walls are fitted with panels that blend seamlessly with the door trim, creating a unified look. Hooks for outerwear were added to the walls. To the left of the entrance is a minimalist steel bench and a mirror, concealing a technical cabinet beneath the electrical panel. The utility room houses a washing machine and a dryer, storage shelves, a space for a robot vacuum cleaner, and retractable clothes drying racks.

This Berlin apartment interior design apartment became an exercise in style for our design team. Despite the pre-arranged workspace, we were able to bring our vision to life and capture the unique atmosphere the clients desired.

TEAM

Instagram Facebook