Self-Designed Sanctuaries: Five European Interiors Crafted by Designers for Themselves

Self-Designed Sanctuaries: Five European Interiors Crafted by Designers for Themselves

Across Europe, top interior designers often reserve a blank canvas for their own homes, a place to experiment with ideas they might not push in client spaces. The five projects gathered here demonstrate how professional rigor - material tactility, balanced proportion, and considered light - meets intimate taste. Each flat, maisonette or studio is a manual for living well: bold colour choices, bespoke storage, and spaces that adapt to daily life, play, study and rest. What follows are five self-designed interiors that reveal not only aesthetic confidence but a disciplined approach to making a home that truly reflects its inhabitant.

Bright pre‑war apartment: blue kitchen and light‑enhancing glass blocks

The dwelling sits in a classic city block, dating from the early part of the 20th century, with high ceilings and a plan that rewarded thoughtful reorganisation. The designer chose a gas‑free installation and rethought circulation to suit a family with a teenager, creating a more fluid connection between public and private zones.

The kitchen makes a bold entry: cabinetry in a saturated blue paired with a mustard tile on the splashback. A singular colour story extends into the transition spaces, where the entrance wall and ceiling are painted in the same blue, the junction softened with a rounded edge to feel like a velvet box. Where daylight was scarce, glass blocks were inserted in the wall between the kitchen and the child’s room to invite light to glide through the apartment without compromising privacy.

Key design moves include:

• Removal of gas and conversion to electric cooking and heating systems for safety and flexibility;
• Closure of the doorway between kitchen and corridor to consolidate zones and create a dedicated wardrobe area by downsizing the child’s room;
• Combining the separate bathroom with the small toilet to form a single, more spacious bathing area;
• A colour‑blocked entry: the blue corridor acts as a visual anchor, unifying the doorways and guiding light through the glass blocks.

In the bedrooms, the palette shifts to richer tones: the primary chamber is finished in a deep wine shade that gives the room a cocooning feel, with a vintage rug placed above the bed as a tactile accent. The child’s room explores grey‑blue walls and a high‑contrast ceiling in bright orange, a playful counterpoint that remains respectful of the apartment’s proportion and light.

Studio 33 m²: a compact haven with a bean‑shaped sofa and vivid accents

In this compact 33 m² studio, the lack of walls demanded a disciplined approach to zoning. The designer created a cohesive, light‑flooded space by keeping the base very light, and letting bold accents define each zone.

The kitchen and living area are arranged along a continuous line, with a corner kitchen featuring burgundy and white facades. The upper storage was intentionally omitted to avoid visual heaviness and to preserve the sense of airiness. The centerpiece is a custom bean‑shaped sofa, chosen for its sculptural silhouette and ergonomic comfort, its form also echoes the curved wall nearby, allowing the furniture to “grow into” the architecture rather than fight it.

To delineate private from public zones without walls, densely hung curtains create a flexible boundary between the living area and the bedroom or dressing niche near the entrance. A mirror wall at the entry visually expands the space, reflecting light and offering multiple viewpoints as one moves through the apartment. Where the bathroom is concerned, the design embraces a practical approach: the original bath is replaced by a compact laundry area behind a terracotta curtain, while the palette - neutral greys with warm undertones - keeps the atmosphere intimate and calm.

Key design moves include:

• Open plan with carefully selected colour balance: light beige base with bold burgundy accents;
• Curved architectural cues tied to the furniture to soften the geometry of a small space;
• Curtain‑based zoning to modify spatial relationships on demand;
• A bespoke bean‑sofa that acts as both sculpture and comfort;
• Low‑weight storage and minimal upper cabinets to preserve sightlines.

Euro three‑room flat: cat‑friendly shelving and vintage finds

In a 50 m² three‑room layout designed for a family of three, the challenge was to maintain lightness and a sense of airiness while providing storage, a dedicated play area for a child, and everyday practicality. The designer retained the existing layout but introduced a refined rhythm of built‑ins and niches.

A key feature is a low‑back shelving system with rounded cutouts designed for a cat companion. The unit houses the television and the apartment’s primary air conditioning system, cleverly integrated and colour‑matched to the surrounding cabinetry. All doors were painted to blend with the walls, one side a warm creamy tone and the other the room’s predominant colour, enabling the doors to disappear into the walls when fully closed. The kitchen was designed as a wall‑to‑wall joinery with a quartz‑composite worktop and a glass splash panel to reflect light and keep the space feeling continuous.

The living room hosts a vintage dining table discovered in a surplus store and lovingly restored, paired with rescued chairs that gained a second life. The design refuses to overstate any single era, instead it stitches together mid‑century relics with contemporary material choices to create an honest, lived‑in mood.

For area separation, heavy curtains reappear to softly segment the living area from the child’s zone or the entry storage, giving the family flexibility to toggle between openness and privacy. Staging is restrained, with wash‑able wall paint in a neutral base that acts as a quiet backdrop for travel textiles and artefacts collected during family trips.

Key design moves include:

• Integrated shelving with subtle cat‑friendly features;
• Doors painted to match wall colours to dissolve thresholds;
• Kitchen joinery in harmony with wall tones for a seamless look;
• Vintage pieces refreshed with modern finishes to balance charm and practicality.

Two‑bedroom flat: faux window in the nursery and a hand‑painted wardrobe

A 65 m² two‑bedroom dwelling, planned around a young child, required a design that could evolve with the family. The standout intervention is a faux window cut into the nursery wall, which introduces daylight and a sense of depth without compromising privacy or room proportions.

The living area remains the primary social space, while a relocated entry and a large storage wall create a protected, practical zone for daily routines. Walls are finished with washable emulsion in neutral bases, providing a flexible canvas for art and travel textiles brought back from trips around the continent. The jewellery of this home lies in the details: a hand‑painted wardrobe in the master bedroom features a gradient diamond motif that mingles warm and cool tones across the piece, unifying the overall palette.

The kitchen and dining area are carefully engineered for everyday use, with a customised‑to‑measure kitchen and a “magic corner” in the lower block to house appliances and electronics in a compact, accessible arrangement. Storage is maximised with deep drawers and clever nooks that accommodate spices and small appliances tucked beneath the worktop.

Key design moves include:

• A functional faux window in the nursery to supply daylight without compromising privacy;
• A hand‑painted wardrobe as a focal point, its gradient motif linking rooms and textures;
• Washable wall finishes to accommodate art and textiles from travels;
• Custom cabinetry with a practical “magic corner” for technology and storage.

High‑rise flat with preserved parquet and art collection

This late 20th‑century high‑rise apartment preserves original timber parquet, mouldings and wooden casement windows, while inviting modern comfort through intelligent re‑planning and tasteful art curation. The floor plan remains close to the original, with a few subtle changes that enhance daylight and flow: the bathroom and toilet are combined to free space for a more generous shower and a small laundry zone, and the overall layout keeps the social heart of the home open and bright.

The kitchen is compact and highly calibrated to the window, with a broad window sill repurposed as a casual dining shelf. Joinery is bespoke, finished in warm grey‑beige to serve as a neutral stage for contemporary art and collectible objects collected during travels. The bedroom palette leans into a calming green, while the hallway makes a bold statement with a deep black that contrasts with the white doors and the light parquet.

Art and craft play a central role: sculptures and paintings from journeys across Europe are placed to catch the natural light and to interact with the architectural details - drapery moldings, radiators screens and the texture of old doors. The project demonstrates how a historic shell can accommodate contemporary living with careful attention to materials, scale and proportion.

Key design moves include:

• Preservation of historic elements such as parquet, mouldings and wooden windows;
• Reconfiguring the sanitary facilities to improve everyday use without altering the apartment’s character;
• A kitchen that respects the scale of the room and uses the window as a focal point;
• A restrained but expressive art programme that anchors the interiors and offers personal storytelling.

In all five spaces, the designers’ aim is clear: to translate professional craft into a home that is simultaneously stylish, comfortable and profoundly personal. The strategies you see - curved furniture and soft geometry to counteract rigid lines, light‑driven layouts that maximise daylight, and a restrained yet expressive palette - offer a blueprint for European homes sized to modern families without sacrificing soul.