Award winning project

INSPIRATION FOR INTERIOR DESIGN PROFESSIONALS

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OCTOBER 2010 / £5.50

AWARDS | 23

WINNER BEST BUDGET PROJECT - MONTAGNA LUNGA

Montagna Lunga

FINALISTS

Apartment, Limburg, Belgium This compact apartment was designed for a young Italian woman with a liking for exotic colours and typically girly needs, so plenty of space for clothes and shoes was incorporated! At 70 sq metres the apartment required creative and customised space planning from the designers, which certainly caught the eye of the judges. Since the space was a newbuild in a contemporary buiding, Montagna Lunga was given the freedom to start from scratch, aiming for a ‘Sex and the City look mixed with a Floridian feel’. The client trusted the designers completely, so once the design was finalised the work took only four months to complete. You can explore more of this property on page 89 in our Portfolio section.

Laura Bohn Design Associates New i.d. Interiors Quirke McNamara Consultancy

www.montagnalunga.be

www.idfxmagazine.com | October 2010

OFF THE WALL A bold horizontal stripe forms a dramatic backdrop to this contemporary living space

October 2010 | www.idfxmagazine.com

PORTFOLIO TWO | 113

NEW HORIZONS Designed on a budget by Belgian practice Montagna Lunga this home is the winner of our Best Budget Project award.

Words REBECCA HOH Photography MARC SOURBRON

www.idfxmagazine.com | October 2010

B

elgium design company Montagna Lunga have created a grown up version of the girly apartment in this one floor, one bedroom flat in the Limburg Province. There may not be pink suede or fluffy cushions but allowances have been made for shoe space and the use of subtle sparkles and diamond motifs. As designer Brigitte Vanzonhoven says: ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, no?’ talking about the scheme she has created for the Italian client. ‘Her brief was to create a bright modern apartment, full of colour but with a modest budget,’ Vanzonhoven explains.

With the empty new build presented to the team without furniture, finishes or even kitchen or bathroom Montagna Lunga looked to the client’s personality for inspiration. ‘ She is fresh and full of life and is also travels a lot for both work and pleasure so we reflected that in the apartment , we wanted that feeling of stepping into a hotel suite in a design

October 2010 | www.idfxmagazine.com

PORTFOLIO TWO | 115

Contacts »Axo www.axolight.it Grohe www.axolight.it Hooked on Walls www.hookedonwalls.com Matakie www.matakie.be Montagna Lunga www.montagnalunga.be Porcelanosa www.porcelanosa.com Sanderson www.sanderson-uk.com Verner Panton www.vernerpanton.com

conscious hotel, twinned with the feeling of coming home. Also, we unfortunately live in a country that does not have a lot of sun so we want to create a “sunny” apartment.’

So the team kept the basic floor plan of the 77 m 2 apartment the same but added in the kitchen and bathroom element and the all important special area for shoes within the dressing room, which is almost the same size as the bedroom itself and bigger than the bathroom. The kitchen is open plan out onto the living space; both have stained oak floors created with thin strips of wood to give that graphic feel. It is in the kitchen where the diamond shaped wall textures come in to play, where the splash back is clad with Porcelonasa’s Mosaico Acero pyramid shaped metallic tiles. This reflective surface is repeated with the Verner Panton Pantop pendants with brushed aluminium shades.

The graphic element comes back in the eye-catching, striped wallpaper at

one end of the living room. The paper, from Hooked on Walls, has been applied horizontally to create an illusion of a longer more spacious room. ‘We wanted to evoke a slightly retro look,’ says Vanzonhoven, of the brown and turquoise tones used in this areas colour scheme. This can also be seen in the locally sources high gloss cabinet and rug from Matakie. ‘We brought in art from several time periods too, some old Masters from Chagall and Modigliani bought at auction with the client and then more modern sculptural pieces from Stan Henson.’

Vintage style wallpaper designs get a second appearance in the bathroom which has a line drawn floral motif, from Sanderson, which continues up onto the ceiling and is again reflected in the mirror for a the effect of full coverage. All sanitary ware is by Grohe and the crystal spotlight is from Axo. Much of the bedroom is neutral, with the headboard an extension of the oak

panelled flooring and the custom made storage in white melamine. However Montagna Lunga wanted to pack a punch with the bespoke, Loveemblazoned, canvas behind the bed which they created themselves. ‘The vintage tones were used again, but we just had to have the message there for our client,’ describes Vanzonhoven on the typography, ‘because we want a whole lot of love going on there if you know what I mean,’ she laughs!

So a definite grown up girlie finish to this retro but contemporary, warm but fresh apartment in Limburg. And Montagna Lunga is extremely pleased with the result, as is the client, ‘We always, always try to create an environment the client feels both great and comfortable in and she has told us we have succeeded. This project exceeded our expectations, it is fresher and more exciting than the original plans – but now we are bragging, but we can’t help it!’

OFF THE WALL (Opposite, far left) An unusual application of print brings this white bathroom to life BLANC DE BLANCS (Opposite, top left) Clever design, and lots of white surfaces, make the most of this kitchen in a small space DREAM SPACE (Opposite, bottom left) a bold mural is the central focus of the bedroom IT’S A LONG STORY (Above, right) Thin long stripes provided by the oak floor boards lengthen the living area LINE OF SIGHT (Above, left) The use of wallpaper in the living room creates a clear delineation between the different areas

www.idfxmagazine.com | October 2010