布鲁塞尔风格 | Victoria-Maria Geyer
With Moroccan tiles, South East Asian openness, a Venetian canopy bed and stained glass windows, this Brussels townhouse rewrites the rules of Belgian restraint.There’s a certain style associated with Belgian interiors: they tend to feel very pared-down and organic, and feature the kind of cool neutrals that reflect northern European skies. This four-bedroom townhouse in Brussels has a different air. Filled with confident patterns and eye-catching details, it exudes urban sophistication. “Unlike most Belgian designers, I’m a maximalist,” says Victoria-Maria Geyer, the German-born, Brussels-based interior architect behind the look.
As the founder of eponymous studio Victoria Maria, Geyer is known for her daring style, and this project required every ounce of her flair. Created for a couple with three children of university age, it unfolded over five years; the previous owner was a hoarder who had left the five-storey property in a neglected condition. “When I first saw the house, it was in a state that could almost be described as something from a Kubrick movie,” remembers Geyer. “Every room had been filled with an overwhelming amount of collected items, making it almost impossible to navigate. We had to strip everything down and completely rework the layout to create a more open, functional flow. However, we preserved the original mouldings in the living room, because they were registered historical features and I wanted to maintain a sense of heritage.”
Located in the historic centre of Brussels, with beautiful views and bordered by a pond, the house had lured its new owners with its elegant, early-20th-century façade. “It’s a perfect example of a maison de maître from that period,” says Geyer. “The clients were returning to the city after spending years raising their family in the quieter suburbs. To reflect this, they wanted a home that felt both cosy and elegant, avoiding cold tones like grey, which is so common in Brussels, as our skies are grey most days of the year.”
In pursuit of an atmosphere of warmth, Geyer looked further afield for ideas. “The design process was all about merging global influences in a way that felt authentic and natural,” she explains. “We drew inspiration from Southeast Asian homes, known for their openness; Mediterranean designs, with their material honesty; and European colonial architecture, with its balance and formality.” Weaving these influences together resulted in a “colonial with a twist” concept. “Colonial architecture is known for its symmetry, its use of natural materials, and its veranda spaces, and I wanted to bring that aesthetic into the present. The twist involved incorporating lighter, contemporary finishes and artisanal influences, like Moroccan tiles and elements of Scandinavian minimalism.”
The home’s colour palette grew out of the client’s love of Egyptian-inspired tones – rich ochre, indigo and burnt sienna are underpinned by warm whites (Farrow & Ball’s Matchstick and New White paints lend a buttery softness to the living room, entrance hall and kitchen). “I kept the walls light and bright to enhance the feeling of space, and reserved the more dramatic colours for the floors and architectural flourishes,” says Geyer. “The graphic Pierre Frey carpet on the staircase also became an inspiration: I repeated those colours throughout the house.”
Geyer is a connoisseur of pattern and uses it intelligently. The glossy rectangular tiles that line the cocktail bar in the dining room, for instance, are arranged under a semi-circular arch, their contrasting grout adding a subtle layer of visual interest. In the entrance hall and kitchen, cabinets are framed in bold black lines. “Neither I nor the client are big fans of black, but this framing technique added just the right amount of contrast, highlighting the lightness of the walls,” says the designer.
There are other embellishments, too. Bisazza floor tiles strike a playful, graphic note in the bespoke oak-and-Corian kitchen; a stained-glass window by Illumen brings a glow to the stairwell; and whimsical murals by Brussels artist Madeleine Schilling adorn hallway cabinets, a bathroom, and elevator doors. “The Venetian-inspired canopy bed is another favourite detail,” adds Geyer. “I’ve always loved them, and in this case we went all in, using the same Thevenon fabric for the curtains, bedhead, skirt and canopy. It gives the room an enveloping feel.”Materials were chosen to accentuate the feeling of comfort throughour the Brussels townhouse. Rattan covers custom cabinet doors, a straw wallcovering by Phillip Jeffries adds an organic touch above the mirrored kitchen splashback, and a curved Pierre Augustin Rose sofa is covered in Teddy Mohair fabric by Pierre Frey. The layered travertine and terrazzo surfaces in the principal bathroom are a modern counterpoint to the home’s ornate marble fireplaces. “There’s a conversation between the traditional and the contemporary,” says Geyer. “My goal is always to deliver something that feels bold, personal and full of life. The owners absolutely love how the home feels now – they say it has a one-of-a-kind vibe that truly reflects their personalities.”
- 转载自：AD(admiddleeast)
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- 国家：美国
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