Modern Attic

Interior designer Robert Kolenik creates loft with hotel allure

‘It has absolutely everything’

The client wanted a rugged look with a feminine touch. Using natural materials and a clever layout, interior designer Robert Kolenik has created a bachelor loft with hotel allure.

An industrial poured floor, leather panels, and black oak on the wall. Interior designer

Robert Kolenik quickly worked out how to give this loft for a young millennial the desired rugged look. Kolenik: “However the layout required considerably more thought. We wanted to utilise the space that we had at our disposal – some 250 square metres on the top floor of a city-centre industrial building – to the full. To create a proper loft with spacious, high-quality zones. At the same time, an additional guest room was required. In the end, we created this above the dining room. It is pleasingly compact and comes complete with an en-suite bathroom, like in a hotel. Indeed this hotel allure was one of the client’s key wishes, and we were able to naturally extend this across the whole space.”

 Boutique hotel

A luxurious feature that would not be out of place in any boutique hotel is the room divider in de master bedroom fashioned from translucent alabaster. Kolenik: “We have created compartments in which to display accessories and handbags. LED lighting across the entire width illuminates the whole piece, creating a delightfully warm effect. What’s more, thanks to the long sight lines in the loft, the room divider is already visible from the living room.”

 Kitchen worktop and fireplace combined

Another eye-catcher is the long, marble worktop that runs through from the kitchen into the living room, where a fireplace has been incorporated into it. Kolenik: “The kitchen and the living room are openly linked. In order to move from the kitchen into the living room, you need to mount a small set of steps. This means that the fireplace in the worktop is at coffee-table height, whilst the worktop in the kitchen is at the correct working height.” Kolenik finished both the living room floor and the steps with Alphenberg leather panels, which will take on a more ‘lived-in’ look as they are used. For the Kitchen, Kolenik opted for a high-end Senso poured floor, 95% of which is composed of natural resin.

Eco Chic

Kolenik, who brings together warmth, luxury and a cradle-to-cradle concept in his Eco Chic Design style, went still further in the area of sustainability. Kolenik’s own cupboard collection Kabinet – incorporated into the loft as a luxurious walk-in closet – carries the Eco Chic Awareness Label. This means that the entire system has been constructed ecologically. For example, Ecoboard – an environmentally friendly alternative to MDF – is used, and Kolenik reuses vintage cupboard materials.

Kolenik: “Anyone who is designing today has to think of the future.”