When artist Nata Lee Hahn approached Studio Karhard’s Alexandra Erhard and Thomas Karsten in 2018 to convert a former car repair shop into a studio space in Berlin’s bohemian Kreuzberg district, she was a self-described “single painter lady.”

By the time work began a year later, the scope had grown to include living spaces. Not only had Nata Lee met her husband-to-be, Caspar, but he’d also managed to acquire the adjoining space—and the second of their two little ones was on the way. “We were like, ‘Ah, we’re going to need to include a children’s room in there somewhere,’ ” Nata Lee laughs.

Combined, the two spaces formed a rough L shape and spanned 3,013 square feet on the ground floor of a tucked-away courtyard building. It was decrepit—“a lot of humidity, wet bricks,” Karsten recalls. But the unvarnished potential captivated the imaginations of all involved, inspiring many a mood board in what would become a collaborative design process of “creative ping-pong,” as Nata Lee puts it.

Its outcome is a fine-tuned feat of contrasting proportions. From the building’s courtyard, an entrance fitted with tiles customized by Nata Lee gives way to an airy living/dining area leading to a sequence of cozier spaces: bedrooms, bathrooms, and a studio, as well as a private patio—a rare luxury in Berlin.

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“The space was just empty and raw, and it gave us the opportunity to go wild. It was like a playground of ideas.”
—Nata Lee Hahn, resident

Refining the space’s industrial rawness required installing an underfloor heating system and an acoustic ceiling—the kind of work Studio Karhard had perfected in renovating such local institutions as the notorious Berghain nightclub. A restrained material selection reflects the building’s former life.

“It should still look a little bit like a car workshop, but a comfortable one,” says Karsten. Old bricks from Poland offset the waxed concrete floors and form a fireplace in the living room and benches that flank the entry stairs. Above the kitchen at the other end of the room, a hanging steel frame holds a gallery level where Caspar works. The family calls it the “captain’s deck.”

Playful touches abound in the apartment, creating a mix of openness and intimacy. A “secret passageway” connects the parents’ dressing room and kids’ bedroom, outfitted with built-in furniture by local carpentry firm Plan B, and a dim corridor links the luminous living spaces to Nata Lee’s subdued studio. “It’s not just the light but the lack of light that plays a beautiful role,” she says. “My own little dark tunnel.”

For every mood and time of day, there’s a fitting nook: A sauna exudes tranquility while the bath, backdropped by elegant dark tiles, leads to a guest room with a view of the building’s courtyard. It’s the space’s entertaining capabilities, though, that its residents most appreciate. Friends and extended family regularly drop by. As Nata Lee quips, “No more fixing cars here, but we can always fix up a drink.”

Project Credits:
Renovation Architecture: Studio Karhard / @studio.karhard
Cabinetry: Plan B
Metalwork: Ferrotec

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In Berlin, an Auto Repair Shop Becomes a High-Performance Home for a Painter and Her Family