The living area from another angle

The design of houses in locations with fantastic surroundings allows for the establishment of a constant dialogue between the interior and exterior, through colours, shapes, views and textures. In the project of this villa, we played with different contrasts and luxurious spaces that allow the family to spend time together and enjoy the vistas of the vivid surrounding environment.

Already by its location, situated on a hill above various natural and urban environments, this villa suggested opening its spaces to the surroundings. In addition to this, the habits and wishes of our clients led us in an unusual direction – to create several living rooms as spaces for different kinds of family gatherings. Following these inputs, the house is divided into several units, which can be used completely independently, or in different modes during the day for different family activities.

The entrance zone of the house catches the eye with a strong visual expression and black colour that is transmitted over several textures – from slatted wall coverings, through stone surfaces of stairs, smooth ceiling finishes, to glossy details in the furniture that give an almost mysterious peak of the living room through its slight reflection. Black surfaces are contrasted with white stone slabs on the floor, as well as wooden hardwood floor, which is laid out to emphasize the horizontal disposition of the living zone.

The sculptural staircase stands out as a special detail in the area of the entrance zone, which builds on the monumental expression of the building, and in addition to the function, adds aesthetic value to the space.

Using black as the basis of artistic strokes in the design of this space, as a contrast we used impressionable lighting with dotted elements, arranged in a dynamic rhythm, which plays out all surfaces of the rooms.
With black paint on the walls, windows come to the fore, opening the views to the environment, thus making the leitmotif of the entire project. Elegant rectangular openings are repeated as detail throughout the project and thus articulate the focal points of the rooms.

A living room per vista

The uniqueness of this villa is reflected in the numerous spaces for family gatherings, which are open to different views. By choosing and dispositioning furniture they predict different types of socializing.

The living room on the ground floor is dominantly bright, with modern furniture oriented towards the centre of the room. Together with the dining room, it makes a space where more formal activities take place such as socializing with guests, or larger family gatherings. The accent of the space is the fireplace between the living room and the dining room, with a unique feature of a symmetrical natural stone pattern.

This living area is oriented towards the courtyard and with glass surfaces in the full height and width of the living room, allowing potential opening towards the garden and interweaving the open and closed spaces.

To the living zone within the dining room, as a contrast to the dark flat surfaces, we added panels with decorative plastering, which communicate with the stucco of the vestibule of the child’s zone, separated by a glass partition, on the opposite side of the ground floor living area.

Within the ground floor next to the dining room there is a kitchen designed through systems of monolithic structures – a stone island in black marble and full-height vertical elements that are treated with metallic surfaces and gently reflect light coming through the glass part of the facade.

The living room upstairs is intended mainly for relaxing and socializing with the family, so the space is designed with comfortable furniture, oriented towards the view of the surroundings, but also towards the wall for video projections. In a symbolic, but also spatial sense, this room represents the core of the house and the central place of family life.

Both in terms of its dimensions, as well as the use of natural material on floor, wall and ceiling coverings, we introduced the warmth of the wood as a “houseable” element in a modern way to highlight this monumental
space of its exquisite horizontality.

Next to this living room, there is a kitchen-type area. While the black-toned kitchen on the ground floor in is intended for meal preparation, the kitchen upstairs is designed as a wet bar, which is characterized by a marble structure in a light colour. The accent of the bar area is an angular window that opens the views to the mountainous natural environment of the villa. This view, together with the vista that extends from the opposite side, introduces the perpendicular direction to the architectural design of the object, so that the horizontal disposition of the living zone, accented by wood, is contrasted by directing the gaze across the core of the family gathering.

Luxury is in the unpredictable

Unusual details and a unique approach to the design of this building are noticeable in all rooms, but a special emphasis on the “effect of the unexpected” has enabled the creation of special ambiences that make everyday life luxurious.

In the master bedroom upstairs we introduced a futuristic ambience through a circular layout of the room. By curving the walls and storage space, we have obtained a functional use of a shape rarely used in residential architecture, which emphasizes unexpected and elegant solutions in this villa.

Next to the master bedroom, we designed a bathroom that represents a quiet space for relaxation with its dark colours and the use of natural textures of marble and wood. In this room, we played with the contrasts of the glass surfaces of the windows on one wall, and the wooden cladding on the opposite wall, thus achieving the play of light and dark tones and making the bathroom look like a separate capsule as part of the futuristic bedroom design.

In addition to living rooms intended for family gatherings, the project is also specific because of two more “intimate” living rooms. One of them, in bright tones, belongs to the isolated area of the child’s part of the house, with a bedroom, a bathroom, and its own living room.

As we pay a lot of attention to teenagers and young people in our projects, here we have made an effort to have special spaces in which a teenage girl can organize her own gatherings regardless of the functioning of the rest of the villa.

Within the children’s zone of the villa, using a corner window and light tones, contrasted by the sharper geometry of ceiling lighting, we have deconstructed traditional interpretations of walls, windows and lighting and created a unique and harmonious assembly made up of seemingly opposing elements.

The freest design expression in this villa is noticeable in the underground floor of the building, in the gym, which is designed as a kind of combination of modern function and ancient values regarding sports, body and physical activities. These characteristics influenced the design, so in a completely bright ambience of natural tones, we intervened with an almost museum-like showcase with statues in motion, to combine sports, art and design.

Thanks to the scenic environment and the specific wishes of our clients, we have created a completely unique living space, which deconstructs traditional roles and proportions of space and introduces novelties into residential architecture.