Minimalist new-build house in Berlin furnished with bespoke wood furniture and midcentury designs
Karen Ong and Michael Reich met as students at Harvard Business School. Photography by Karolina Bak, courtesy of Loft Kolasińki. She grew up in Manila, Philippines, he grew up in Bavaria, Germany, and, in addition to sharing a love of travel and learning languages, the two are devout minimalists: “We are mad about keeping everything clean and serene in all aspects of our life,” says Karen. After purchasing the construction site, the couple interviewed interior architects and went with Mathis Malchow and Sebastian Gmelin of DesignYouGo: “They understood our vision perfectly,” says Karen. There are three stories—a total of 155 square meters (approximately 1,668 square feet)—and the ground floor, shown here, is devoted to a dining/kitchen/hangout room. As instructed, the DesignYouGo team created a celebration of simplicity: “Functional elements, like doorknobs and shelves, are nowhere to be seen,” they note. Like all of the doors and drawers in the house, the kitchen cabinets and fridge have hidden touch-latch handles that open with a push. Loft Kolasińki swept in: two months after Jacek’s first meeting with the couple, all of the new furnishings arrived, including this Oak Table with Bench (one of his own originals) and a set of Swiss designer Willy Guhl’s 1960 oak chairs, plus gray linen curtains. Based in Szczecin, Poland, Loft Kolasińki supplied this set of matte black tableware, which they say is a traditional style from eastern Poland. “To Michael and me, minimalism is a lifestyle,” says Karen, adding that they both wear only black in winter and white or gray in summer. The two so enjoyed the process of pulling together the house that in their spare time, they’ve also started buying and furnishing apartments in Berlin and renting them. A glass-enclosed concrete stair is an arresting element introduced by DesignYouGo. DesignYouGo helped us select the best lead-free, low-iron, crystal-clear glass—with no green hues to it.” The second floor’s long sectional sofa, the only piece preserved from the house’s white period, has integrated speakers that work with a drop-down screen to turn the living room into a screening room. It’s here that Loft Kolasińki introduced some color to the house: the bentwood chair (with its original red caning meticulously preserved) and pale-pink-topped table are rare 1960s pieces by Czech modernist Miroslav Navratil designed in collaboration with architect Zdeněk Plesník for Plesník’s own flat. Hardware-free doors off the living room blend into the wall panels and open with a push. The guest room has a 1967 chair by Ton, a Czech company founded by Michael Thonet. The entire top floor is devoted to the master bedroom. The low oak bed frame is the B2 Bed, another Loft Kolasińki original. Headrest cushions of linen, cotton, and viscose—the same fabric used on the chaise—are cleverly tied onto the bed frame for easy removal and cleaning. Karen and Micheal requested “a bathroom without borders”: The toilet is enclosed behind a door, but the shower, bathtub, and sink are all part of the bedroom. Creating it involved building an acrylic mold on site and then pouring the concrete, a job done by Jonas Kock and crew of Accidental Concrete: Check out DesignYouGo’s video of the process. The couple say the concrete tub is one of their favorite elements in the house—and “super comfortable: In the winter, we use it most nights before bedtime.” The oak knobs, each with a different cross section, are a Loft Kolasińki design. A Jean Prouvé Tabouret Solvay Stool, still in production by Vitra, is perched between the sink and tub. The cube-shaped, lintel-patterned house is set in a green courtyard and has a roof terrace. The house was designed, say the DesignYouGo team, “to grant its owners precious peace of mind.” At purchase, the house was a frame awaiting walls, flooring, and a design for the skeleton stair. At first, the couple embraced a monochrome look: “We went with the bare minimum: a bed, sofa, dining table, chairs, and nothing more.” Ultimate verdict for them? Go to A Sexy, Minimalist Remodel to see another Berlin project by Loft Kolasińki.