The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie...
Charlottenburg is a noble Berlin district associated with the stability and affluence of the German bourgeoisie. Before the fall of the Wall, it served as the city's most representative district with the famous Ku'damm - the atmosphere of that time and Charlottenburg's main representative street is perfectly captured in the series of the same title.
Today, the district is slowly changing its face: the area around Kantstrasse is Berlin's Chinatown with its plethora of oriental pubs, bars and karaoke clubs. For the past two decades, the district has seen a steady increase in the number of monumental skyscrapers, which until now were not associated with Berlin. One thing has not changed, however: if you dream of living in a turn-of-the-century building, the most beautiful examples of so-called Altbau are to be found right here.
The investors have always dreamed of living in this type of building. Although they both come from South Korea, they fell in love with Berlin townhouses at first sight. The opportunity arose last year when they were able to buy one of the flats in the renovated 1893 building directly from the developer that renovated the whole building.
The owners, who are both from South Korea, have lived in Berlin for years and chose the city for its rich art and music scene. The investor is a painter, but also a collector of contemporary art. Her husband, a music producer, on the other hand, collects electric guitars and vinyls. Both of these quite extensive collections required an appropriate amount of space. The flat is 280 metres long, and its renovation and interior design, undertaken by Agi Kuczyńska - an interior designer living in Berlin for five years - required taking these functions into account and reinscribing them into the existing fabric of the flat.
Designing the interior also required some difficult renovation decisions: the previous owner, a developer, had made several changes which had to be reversed in order to restore the flat's former character. In addition, the flat has an L-shape and four rooms in an amphilade.
The room that is the focal point of the interior is the spacious, sunny living room that is open to the kitchen connected to the dining room and to the music room. It is here that Warhol's famous series of serigraphs depicting Marilyn Monroe are displayed. The vibrant colours of the pop art master's work contrast with the minimalist interior, which is dominated by the Camaleonda B&B Italia sofa designed by Mario Bellini and ClassiCon Bell coffee tables. The eclectic character of the interior, on the other hand, is added by the white vintage Murano glass chandelier, which gives the living room a slightly frivolous and eccentric character to match the owner's artistic soul.
In the part of the living room leading to the kitchen, Agi Kuczyńska designed a custom-made library by the Polish company VIP Studio, which houses her favourite contemporary art albums and film collection.
From the living room, we move to the kitchen, also kept in a minimalist style and entirely furnished to order by German manufacturer Sie Matic.
A separate space in the flat is the music room, which complements the living room - where art dominated, music dominates here. In the music room, discreet custom-made cabinets conceal several thousand vinyl records and the side board bench under the window houses high-quality speakers for seasoned audiophiles.Everything in this interior is conducive to contemplation: comfortable Cassina chairs designed by Pierre Jeanneret from the Capitol Complex collection and an openwork chandelier by French brand Screen XXL, as well as works of art from the owner's collection.
The owner's kingdom is a separate dressing room, which was also a design challenge - it was designed for the exact number of dresses, shoes and handbags of the painter, who is also fascinated by contemporary fashion. Highlighted and exposed, the clothes and accessories look just like part of a collection straight out of the V&A museum in London. Above the whole is the striking vintage Poliedri chandelier by the master of Italian design, the legendary designer Carlo Scarpa.
Directly from the dressing room, we enter the private bathroom, which has been redesigned: the bathtub has been placed under the window, the ceramics have been replaced with Italian Cielo ceramics, the radiator has been replaced and the entire space has been decorated with Marazzi tiles. The result - an original, spacious and sunny shower room with discreet bespoke furniture in a hot chocolate colour.
The contrast to the private bathroom is the guest bathroom: here, the designer's efforts focused on the interior design based on the renovation carried out by the developer. Agi Kuczyńska enlivened the bathroom with yellow washbasins and a Cielo toilet and a custom-designed Gucci wallpaper lamp.
Interestingly, although the owner is a painter, her own work can only be seen in the bedroom, which is dominated by a Matrimonio bed from Tufty Time collection by B&B Italia and a bespoke wardrobe and designer travertine tables.
Two further rooms - are still in the design phase.
Although only the old parquet floors have survived from the original interior and the stucco only survives in the bedroom, the architect has managed to recreate the atmosphere of a spacious Altbau, which combines noble bourgeois beauty with eclectic postmodernity: Italian and French vintage classics combined with contemporary furniture by well-known designers. The result? The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie.
Team:
Interior Designer: Agi Kuczynska-TAKK Studio
Photographer: Nate Cook
