ART & SOUL
Marie Soliman and Albin Berglund’s industrial-style apartment has a soft side with amazing paintings and characterful touches taking centre stage
How one creative pair used imaginative designs and fun touches to soften the industrial vibe in their loft-style apartment in west London
When Marie Soliman and her partner Albin Berglund were house-hunting, they were pleasantly surprised to find a loft-style penthouse apartment in west London. ‘This style of property comes up more often in east London, which historically had more factories, so it was a rare opportunity,’ explains Marie.
The couple immediately fell in love with the loft apartment’s high ceilings, open-plan levels, metal beams and bolt-studded joists. ‘We really wanted to embrace its industrial past, and never once considered disguising these authentic architectural elements,’ Marie adds.
Marie and Albin, who co-run interior design studio Bergman Interiors, promptly set about zoning the space. A top priority was installing huge metal-framed windows to maximise the flow of light. Family life is lived in the open and without dividing walls: ‘We have our home gym in one corner of our living space,’ says Marie, ‘and there’s minimal screening upstairs, to divide our en-suite bathroom from our dressing area and bedroom.’ For Marie, the open vistas
bring a softer side of the apartment’s character to the fore. ‘Up here, you can sit and watch blue skies gently fade into the peachy pinks of the golden sunset hour,’ she says.
Marie is particularly attuned to the effects of natural light as she is an accomplished artist as well as an interior designer and several of her own works of art hang in the apartment. The couple are also keen collectors. ‘A lot of our art complements the way that light flows into the space, but in an abstract way,’ explains Marie. Emma, Marie’s 10-year-old daughter, also shares her parents’ fondness for art. ‘I’m a firm believer that art should be enjoyed on a day-to-day basis,’ says Marie.
The apartment’s open-plan layout inspired Marie to come up with flexible design ideas. ‘There are so many ways that you can tailor a large space so that it works for your lifestyle,’ she says. A case in point is the couple’s bespoke dining table, which transforms into a billiards table after hours. ‘Once everyone has finished eating at a dinner party, we can clear the table, slide off the top and have some fun.’ Decor-wise, Marie chose a muted palette
of greys, blacks and whites, with pink accents to soften the industrial vibe. Vintage wooden furniture and colourful artwork add texture and visual interest.
Marie also came up with a creative approach to the kitchen cabinetry. ‘As there are no walls to screen off this space, we wanted it to feel more like a bar area,’ she says. To emphasise this look, she had slim metal rails suspended above the cabinets from which a changing selection of artwork could be hung. ‘It’s like an updated version of a Victorian picture rail,’ explains Marie. It’s a design trick she has also used in clients’ homes. ‘The same method can be used in a living area to hide the TV when it’s not in use.’
This home is a meeting-ground for two distinct styles: gritty industrial on the one hand and light and ethereal on the other. ‘Albin is more into monochrome minimalism and I love texture, gleam and vibrance,’ says Marie. ‘But we’ve found ways to merge our two design languages.’ She also believes that contrasts are what bring a design to life. ‘You always need layers of interest in a space. It’s like gin and tonic – you can’t have one without the other.’