Black became the conceptual anchor. The challenge was not simply to use the colour, but to hold a single tone across an array of surfaces, materials and production methods. Powder-coated aluminium, tinted timber, waxed steel. Each absorbing light differently, each arriving at the same quiet depth.
Maritime pine runs through both floors, once in its original pale grain, once tinted black. This single material, used in contrast with itself, creates both the separation and the continuity between the two levels. Copper, glass and carefully selected fabrics were added, bringing warmth to a space that might otherwise have remained austere.
The staircase floats. Unattached to the ground floor and panelled in light pine on its interior faces, it draws the eye upward and holds the light. It is the room's landmark and its invitation.
A flexible wall system of powder-coated aluminium frames and modular shelving lines the front room, quietly geometric or loosely composed depending on what it holds. A tea kitchen at the rear doubles as a lived-in stage for the objects it displays.
The result is a space that feels whole despite its divisions. Dark below, light above, held together by material, proportion and a consistent point of view.
