Istra Benelux

Terrace

The terrace was originally completely open and covered with a pitched roof with soft tiles. The first wish of the customers was to connect it to the warm contour of the house and make it a full-fledged room. The roof was dismantled, a monolithic floor slab was cast, and an additional terrace on the 2nd floor was obtained. The terrace space laconically continues all the interior design ideas of the house; here is located outdoor furniture with imitation rattan Rugiano and hanging chairs by Freifrau. On the floor, there is a mosaic zero4142.

Along the perimeter of the terrace, sliding warm glazing is mounted on servo drives operating from a smart home.

Living dining kitchen and wine room

It is a single space in the form of an enfilade. These rooms have undergone significant changes. In accordance with the chosen interior design of the house, two windows were added to the living room, the windows to the terrace were enlarged, and the space between the rooms was opened up by dismantling.

The main desire of the customers was to place a fireplace in the living room; subsequently, it also underwent changes, from a bio fireplace to a wood-burning fireplace, which entailed a number of difficulties and changes. The fireplace itself is in an unusual place—in the center of the opening between the living room and the dining room. As they say, if something cannot be hidden, then you need to emphasize it. The fireplace is the designer’s development and will be made to order. It is also connected to a smart home, with retractable curtains protecting from sparks. The base of the fireplace is made of concrete, the hearth bowl is made of metal, and the top is made of tinted glass. Glass allows the fireplace to be light and weightless, dividing two rooms without dividing them. The living room has a huge Minotti sofa and a custom-made TV wall. Another original design is a small town for a super-active cat who needs to be entertained. The dining room has a large Rolf Benz table and unusual Casamania & Horm chairs. Near the table is a furniture unit with an opening central part, which contains wine cabinets and a serving surface. The interior is finished with metal.

The kitchen is separated from the dining area by hinged doors with tinted matte glass in case of catering when receiving guests. The kitchen itself has minimal needs since no one cooks. The accent in the kitchen is a metal portal and a kitchen backsplash made of zero4142 tiles. A custom-made dome hood, concrete countertops, and an island—everything is laconic. Only the orange chairs add color.

The wine rack is an extension of the kitchen; this area is for permanent use. There is a large, custom-made concrete island and the same bright chairs. Near the wall are storage cabinets and two wine cabinets; the task was to place more than 200 bottles of wine. Above the island, there is a lamp made of burnt driftwood with an inserted LED strip. This is also a reference to burned wood. And now the common feature for the entire area is sliding metal partitions instead of curtains. The partitions are lightweight, have servo wires, and are connected to a smart home.

Master bedroom

It consists of three rooms: a bedroom with a lounge area, a dressing room, and a bathroom. The room itself before the redevelopment was twice as small; in place of the lounge area and bathroom, there was a large balcony, which was added to the warm contour of the house. The bedroom area is conditionally divided into three parts: the entrance area, the bedroom, and the lounge. The entrance area is separated from the main part by a low wall tiled with zero4142 tiles, which is the headboard for the bed. On the sides of the Molteni bed with Porada bedside tables on the walls, there are decorative overlays on the walls, as well as shallow shelves for storage. The bedroom area and the lounge area are also divided by a small wall on which there is a TV. The stand itself is rotary, and the TV can be watched from both the bedroom area and the lounge area. In the lounge area, there is a huge window (which was lifted by a crane) and a large window with an exit to the terrace. The lounge area features two stylish Ton armchairs with accent-toned nets and cushions, a functional Living Divani coffee table, and the composition is completed by original ANDlight floor lamps.

Dressing room

The dressing room has cabinets along the perimeter of the room; the cabinet fronts are made of ribbed matte glass; and there is lighting inside. The accent here is the metal portal by the window, in which the boudoir tables, mirror, and metal chair (KRISTINA DAM) are located. The window was originally narrower and smaller; we widened it and lowered it to floor level.

Master bathroom

The master bathroom also has two zones. The first zone contains a sink, toilet, and bidet. The sink is custom-made from concrete, and the wall also has custom-made concrete tiles with a geometric pattern. On the opposite wall is a toilet and Cielo bidet in a discreet orange shade; the same shade is repeated on the metal of the mirror in the sink area, as well as in the color of the glass between the two zones of the master bathroom.

The second zone has a shower with a light glass fence and a round black/white Purescape bathtub, located in a metal portal by the window. On the sides of the portal are two storage cabinets and facades made of colored ribbed glass. Gessi plumbing, an Agape heated towel rail is connected to the shower glass and goes inside as a shelf for storing detergents.

In the passage between the two zones, there is a high metal double-sided shelf made of metal.

Children’s room

The children’s room consists of two zones: a play area and a main zone. Here, the windows were also maximally enlarged, and the exit to the porch roof, where the balcony used to be, was closed. The main color theme of the children’s room is a combination of gray walls and delicate yellow accents. The search for a color also took some time, and several colors were proposed, but in the end, we settled on this color. The task of the design project was to necessarily place an electronic piano in the interior; for this, it was allocated in the portal. Inside the portal, there is a Cole & Son and an extravagant Karman bulldog sconce. In the play area, there is a two-story play complex, a toy storage cabinet, a staircase with a transition to the ceiling, a hut, and a cozy sitting area by the window.

In the second zone, there is a sleeping block for four children. Children are still in the project, so the lower zone of the block is two sofas, and the upper zone is a sleeping area. Two large wardrobes and a desk were placed near the large panoramic window. On the wall opposite the entrance, there is a creative area: two large circles in plaster moldings; one circle is a chalkboard, and the second circle is a marker board.

Children’s bathroom

A long, narrow room that is divided into several parts. The first part is the sink area: a custom-made sink made of concrete, tinted green, and beautiful accent tiles on the wall zero4142. The trick of the sink is that there is a pull-out step at the bottom, especially for the convenience of children. Here in the second zone, there is a shower and a toilet. Along the perimeter of the room, there are also zero4142 tiles with lighting. Troncetto Cimento pouf and Porada towel hooks made of Murano glass. The divider between the two zones is also functional, with shelves on the sides.

Guest bedroom

The room itself is divided into two parts by a decorative partition made of plasterboard with metal inserts that set the rhythm of the room. Behind the partition there are two miniature dressing rooms with a boudoir. Two narrow windows were decided to fit organically into the design, and they serve as a boudoir. They contain two tables with a folding tabletop and a mirror with Ditre Italia poufs. The dressing room area is separated from the main bedroom by sliding metal partitions. The bedroom uses a B&B bed and Baxter bedside tables made of architectural concrete. In general, the entire style of the interior design of the house is in one key: concrete walls made of decorative plaster, gray ceilings, metal, burnt wood, and dark veneer. In this room, the windows were also changed; all were lowered to the floor. Each of the windows is involved in the design and functionality of the room. In the sleeping area, there will be a long bench for sitting by the window. Opposite the bed is a TV area with a hanging cabinet and a TV.

Guest bathroom

It includes three zones: a sink, a toilet, and a shower area. The bathroom itself is as laconic as the overall design of the house; the walls here are made of microcement, which maximally repeat the decorative plaster under concrete in the main part of the house. Microcement is a moisture-resistant material, and it can be brought into showers, which helps to avoid the scattering of materials and focus on other elements. The accent here is two metal niches, in which the sink and toilet area are located. Inside the niches on the wall, there is zero4142 tile imitating black marble; on the floor, there is tile and mosaic from the same collection. The cabinet with a concrete sink (custom items) is quite low, while the sink bowl is high. Behind the sink there is a mirror in a metal frame, and next to it there is the same frame for towels. An interesting feature is that under the sink in the cabinet there will be a cat toilet with a vestibule-airlock and an exhaust hood inside (author’s development). The wall is extended because of this, and a forced exhaust is sewn into it. Another interesting feature is the built-in brushes and paper holders by Antonio Lupi, so that children do not play with these devices as they like to do. The toilet was selected by Cielo in a light gray shade. The shower is quite minimalistic—a light partition made of glass and metal. Inside there is an Agape shelf, and all the plumbing is Gessi in the color blued steel. And another accent on the window was that it was also lowered to the floor and made rotating partitions, which will also work from a smart home.

Guest bedroom 2

A large room is divided into two zones. The first zone is a dressing room and a boudoir; the second zone is a bedroom. In the dressing area, there is a large black wardrobe (the chimney from the fireplace with inspection hatches is hidden inside) and a heating manifold cabinet. boudoir table with a mirrored Pianca pouf. Sliding metal partitions separate the two zones. In the bedroom, there is a Bonaldo bed with Living Divani bedside tables and Karman pendant lights. On the headboard wall, there is a beautiful gray plaster panel with bright accent niches in which pendant lights are placed. Opposite the bed there is a minimalist nightstand and TV. The design of the house provides for the maximum increase in windows; the windowsills are lowered to the height of the seat. There are beautiful portals with benches on the windows.

Office

An office for the customer’s permanent work at home. Many tasks were set here: a large desk in which all the wiring for equipment will be hidden, a bracket for two monitors, and many sockets. All this in maximum minimalism. The customer really liked the texture of the rust, and a decorative panel with imitation rust appeared on the wall. Vitra work chair. Another task was to make high-quality acoustics in the room to place HiFi equipment. The next zone is a lounge. Salotti fold-out sofas and De Sede felt folding coffee tables are two of the techniques for high-quality acoustics—more fabrics and felt. In this regard, a carpet and heavy acoustic curtains on the window were added to the interior design. Opposite the sofa, there is a large TV, a HiFi stand for equipment, and speakers. There is also a small storage room in the room, which will house storage racks and a printing station. The door to the storage room is quite inconspicuous, hidden installation, and in the same tone as the walls.

Gym

The customers are active in sports, and their first wish was a home gym. There is a rubber mat for training, a power station, an elliptical trainer, and a dumbbell rack. There are large mirrors on the wall, and the flooring is a concrete self-leveling floor that is shockproof. The trick is a hidden TV at the bottom of the wall. Such a low location is due to the fact that it is so convenient when training lying on the mat. The accents of the room are metal structures made of perforated metal and bright green accents, which harmoniously fit into the interior design of the house. In general, the entire gym is made according to the design of a real fitness center. The ceiling will remain concrete slabs, and at the joints of the seams of the slabs, there will be overhead lights. On the ceiling, there are drops made of perforated metal; behind them are hidden air ducts for air conditioning and ventilation.

Sauna

The gym has a sauna and a shower area. The electric sauna will be made to order according to our design; there is a lot of lighting inside and no overhead lighting, and the wood is tinted a dark graphite color. The glass between the sauna and the gym is black-tinted. The shower area and dressing room are also stylistically consistent.

Cinema

A home theater is a rarity in design. Initially, it was planned as a room for watching TV, but over time, it was transformed into a real cinema. Here, an acoustics project is being developed according to all the norms and rules, and the room is soundproofed from the rest of the house. There is a large soft modular sofa, Saba Italia, and Living Divani tables. Behind the sofa, there is a small bar module with a wine cabinet and a kitchen module with a mini-fridge. The accent is the three niches of the arch cutting the room; they are also acoustic reverberation elements. There is soft gray carpet on the floor and automatic pleated blinds on the windows.

Staff room

The staff also got a nice room. It has everything you need for a comfortable stay: a custom-made transformable sofa, a designer Seul Ban coffee table, a TV area, and a boudoir and desk. A small dressing room.

Laundry room

A standard functional room. Asko washer dryer, Laura Star ironing station. A convenient sink area, drying clothes, and a large closet. Furniture made of gray chipboard and imitation oak, a concrete countertop, graphite-colored wall cabinets with glass facades, and lighting.

Difficulties

The house was purchased for finishing, taking into account the complete redevelopment and change in the contours of the house itself. There were no initial projects, so it was not clear what we would encounter during the implementation process. The house itself was built more than 15 years ago from hollow brick, which complicates the tasks. The original appearance of the house is completely classic and needs to be remade in a modern style. Also, the customers were not satisfied with the dark rooms, in which all the windows were enlarged as much as possible and more windows were added around the perimeter. Another difficulty is the complete coordination of all engineering with the smart house. In addition, a landscape project was developed, to which the smart house is also connected. In general, all the tasks are very complex since everything needs to be completely coordinated—the interior design of the house, the facade, and the landscape. The biggest difficulty of the project is that the construction began in parallel with the design, and the design is still ongoing.

What know-how was used in the project?

Smart home; modern furniture solutions; sliding shutters and rotating partitions instead of curtains (everything is connected to the smart home); home cinema and home gym.

The entire house is equipped with ducted air conditioning and ventilation, and some rooms have built-in acoustic systems.

The main feature of the house is that all the materials are similar, both on the facade, in the landscape, and in the interior: concrete, metal, and burnt wood are the main accents of this complex.