Architect Arjaan De Feyter cultivates a home defined by personal history and refined forms for a couple returning to Belgium.
Belgian architect Arjaan De Feyter was approached by a couple with what he describes as a carte blanche project in a newly purchased classicist apartment. “The clients have been living abroad for work for almost all of their careers,” De Feyter says. “They decided it was time to re-settle back in Belgium.”
Located in the north-western Belgian city of Bruges, the apartment is set within the 18th-century classicist mansion, Huis van Hamme, nestled between the Sint-Walburga Church and the College of Europe on Sint-Maartensplein square. Part of a larger redevelopment that divided the townhouse into eight separate homes while preserving its status as a monument since 1974, this apartment is unique in its heritage and influence.
The apartment spans two floors and has an open-plan design that fosters a unified flow of spaces, all guided by a rich, monochromatic palette. Upon entry, the lower floor is shaped around a central hallway that connects each space. The main open space is where “everything happens,” De Feyter says, uniting the kitchen, living, and dining areas with the upper attic level. It’s also where the preserved oak ceiling beams are most visible, reinforcing the architect’s respect for the apartment’s original elements.
The owners immediately embraced the use of deep terracotta for its nostalgic connection to their travels in Africa and Asia.
In the kitchen, the Vola KV1 kitchen mixer and the KIVO pendant by RIBAG.
“By brushing the black stainless steel benchtop, it isn’t as delicate for fingerprints or scratches,” De Feyter explains.
De Feyter honoured a distinct “common thread” in the home’s colour palette: deep terracotta, as displayed throughout the joinery. He proposed the colour to infuse the owners’ rich travel history into the home’s design. When presented with the option, the owners immediately embraced the hue’s resemblance to the desert landscapes of Africa and the historic clay artistry of Asia—regions they have extensively explored.
Elsewhere in the home, the terracotta undergoes a process of material differentiation. In the bathroom, a complementary burgundy micro-cement covers the walls, paired with natural, polished Griotte rogue marble in the basin. De Feyter also applied a consistent, chalk-painted technique to unify the walls throughout the home. While the bathroom draws on African and Asian influences, the rest of the home embraces a more traditional Belgian monochromatic palette.
“The furniture pieces were selected for their ability to create a cosy, warm and functional interior,” De Feyter says. They were also chosen to complement the extensive use of oak, seen in both the European oak flooring and the preserved ceiling beams. Notable pieces include the Miyazaki Kai chairs in walnut by Kai Kristiansen, the Moon pendant by Davide Groppi and the Cassina 637 Utrecht armchairs by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld.
The home features eclectic elements, such as the stained-glass door, that reflect a deeply personal design approach. One of the owners is a brewer’s daughter, and the door has been in the family for generations. “It was our job to find a perfect, delicate place to integrate this piece of art into their new home,” De Feyter says. “It’s a beautiful memory of her home and family.”
Featured are the 637 Utrecht armchairs by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld for Cassina and the Minotti Horizonte sofa by Marcio Kogan.
The two levels of the home are linked by a black metal spiral staircase. In the dining room, the Miyazaki Kai #42 chairs in walnut by Kai Kristiansen, the Moon pendant by Davide Groppi and the Kei dining table by Marlieke van Rossum.
“In every room, we made space so that they could display their art or sculptures,” De Feyter says.
The Rosalie wall light by DCW Editions, available through Winnings.
The stained-glass door was passed down through one of the owner’s families which De Feyter worked into the design.
The basin is made of polished Griotte marble in rouge.
A consistent chalk-painted technique runs throughout the home, visible in the cabinetry and walls of each space.
The apartment is situated in Belgium’s classicist Huis van Hamme, with its second-floor terrace overlooking the historic Sint-Maartensplein square.
