INSPIRING
a city apartment that mixes OLD & NEW
With its high ceilings and ornate details, a garden flat in a traditional townhouse in Antwerp is perfectly suited to one couple, whose careful restoration has created a relaxing home where they love to entertain
HALLWAY
With elegant panelling and 19th-century tiles, which the couple painstakingly restored, this is a grand space and also provides useful bike storage
HOME PROFILE
Charlotte Van Eccelpoel, who works in fashion, and Kristof Huysecom, a mobility expert THE PROPERTY A garden flat in a townhouse dating from 1893 in Belgium
DINING AREA
Charlotte and Kristof’s bold red table adds warmth and fun to an otherwise neutral palette. Marcel table, The Invasion. White DWS plastic chairs, Eames for Vitra
WINTER ROOM
With its coloured glass ceiling and large glazed doors, the conservatory room is filled with light and is the perfect home for the houseplants
LIVING ROOM
This screen from the early 1960s, decorated with exotic birds, is one of the couple’s favourite pieces. Sofa, Cinna
in a quiet street in the heart of Antwerp, away from the city’s tourist area, is the townhouse that Charlotte and Kristof have made their home. Close to a park and the famous De Koninck City Brewery, it dates back to 1893 and is typical of many of the buildings in the city. ‘It’s one of four houses designed by the same architect and they all have more or less identical facades,’ explains Charlotte.
As self-confessed architectural and interior design addicts, they fell for the flat’s beautiful late-19th-century exterior, its large, well-proportioned rooms and period details. Kristof discovered it about seven years ago while out cycling. ‘He noticed it was for sale,’ recalls Charlotte, ‘rang the doorbell and literally a few hours later it was ours.’
After moving in, the couple began a sensitive restoration. ‘We took our time and avoided trends, instead looking for an elegant style more suited to the character of the property. It’s so easy to completely change the interiors and modernise everything, but we wanted to work with the existing spaces and original features.’ They didn’t have anything particular in mind but, says Charlotte, ‘we didn’t want to create a showroom – nothing needs to be perfect. For us it was all about creating a home that’s great to live in.’
The flat is on two levels, ‘plus one level in between’, Charlotte explains. The spacious south-west-facing rooms are filled with light, with large windows and panelled walls that reach more than four metres high (‘Terrible to paint!’) and ceilings with stucco detailing. ‘Our aim was to preserve as many of the original features as possible,’ adds Charlotte.
Typical of
