Antique furniture meets timeless design, salon culture meets a guest apartment, and Carrara marble meets a study cabinet. A clear concept for the rooms of a listed country estate makes this possible. “The Brentanos used to come and go here,” says interior designer Sabine von Savigny. The poet Karoline von Günderrode also lived from time to time in a small cottage on the estate. Alongside such historical tales, there are also pieces of furniture dating from the Romantic era. And because the interior designer is convinced that something new can only emerge from the past, she researches the history of the rooms in which she works.

“In the guest apartment, the aim was to create a fresh and radiant salon-like atmosphere in keeping with the rooms’ former function.” When von Savigny spotted a Meissen porcelain vase with a Delft Blue pattern in the attic of the estate, the first colour was chosen. To ensure that tradition did not become mere window dressing, the walls, skirting boards and an antique cupboard were painted blue. The carpet by Marcel Wanders not only echoes the pattern of a Delft Blue serving platter but also resembles the pattern on the Meissen porcelain vase. So it goes without saying that this vase, too, has found its place in the flat on an antique console table. The seating matches the rug: a sofa in blue velvet and a white Eames Lounge Chair. The adjoining sleeping alcove was also given a bold colour. The walls and ceiling gleam in red, as engagements used to be celebrated in the drawing room. The wall colour echoes the red of the wallpaper that once adorned the drawing room’s walls.

Colour has been omitted from both the kitchen in the guest apartment and the main kitchen at the estate. However, the sophisticated and clean blend of old and new is equally impressive here. The main kitchen is adorned with a kitchen unit featuring a Carrara marble worktop, around which the whole family can gather. Whilst von Savigny opted for built-in units in the guest apartment, the main kitchen really shows what it’s made of: An open display cabinet practically showcases crockery and other kitchen utensils. “The look captivated me straight away and strikes me as a large jewellery box.”

www.vonsavigny-interior.de

(Published in CUBE Frankfurt 04|19)