DESIGN NAME: Aparthotel Housestories
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Apart hotel/furnished apartments
INSPIRATION: I travelled a lot myself and often got disappointed by the either 'standard' or 'cost saving' measurements from hotels and aparthotels. We decided to offer something we would love to live in ourselves. We managed to keep the balance between an outspoken interior design with funky vintage elements but that still leaves enough room for our guests to feel at home for a longer period with a maximum of comfort. This balance was important as our clients stay average 3months with us, so we couldn't go over to the top like some hotels can as there you spend less time.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Housestories rents luxuriously furnished and serviced apartments in Brussels. We are based in an Art Deco Monument surrounded by a green environment only steps away from the center. The house was renovated in 2009 in the most eco friendly way as we believe ecology matters. Our eco-friendly mindset also determined our interior design approach. We mix design icons such as Eames with vintage furniture and Ikea basics. The whole idea is to re-use and re-cycle without losing on quality, comfort and originality. Housestories offers its clients a soulful space in town. The business target group looking for a furnished apartment with character and out of the ordinary has found his way to Housestories.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: -
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: 2 years of eco-renovation of the 1932 protected art deco monument. We were rewarded with the 'bâtiment exemplaire 2009' award for the outstanding ecological approach in an old and protected monument that had many restrictions.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
|
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: -
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: -
TAGS: Finding good vintage furniture for affordable prices took most of our time.
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: For over a year I looked on fleamarkets, second hand shops, the internet etc for vintage furniture and design elements to decorate the 5 apartments. Although our apartments offer a high level comfort the total cost of interior design/apartment is lower than most of our competitors. We had the advantage of time to look for the right objects at a correct price.
CHALLENGE: As Housestories has an ecological approach we wanted to translate this into the interior design as well, however comfort and usibility needed to be adressed too. Where possible we invested into vintage furniture as we love the recycle idea and the personality of this type of furniture, but we mixed it with new furniture such as high quality beds for ultimate sleeping comfort. We also paid huge attention to the 'feeling at home' element in our interior design. Our clients are staying for a long term (3-12 months) and need to feel at home. We believe it was important the interior design didn't dominate the atmosphere and our clients could add a bit of there own personality.
ADDED DATE: 2010-12-13 13:03:25
TEAM MEMBERS (1) : Housestories is owned by Isabel Verstraete and Alexandre Pijcke, 2 freelance brand consultants.
IMAGE CREDITS: Isabel Verstraete, 2010.
|