After a decade of searching for the ideal place to raise their young family and work from home, Nuremberg couple Claudia Alraum and Sebastian Grasser discovered an apartment in a turn-of-the-century building in the city’s historic center—a leafy and gently bustling neighborhood—that ticked all their boxes. “The price was okay, the location was great, and we saw its potential,” says Sebastian.

The only catch was that said potential would require serious imagination to realize, as the apartment had been subjected to two previous renovations—the first during the 1920s, the second in the 1960s—that masked its original Jugendstil charm. “It was very tight and very closed—not very open, and not very spacious,” notes Sebastian of the flat’s state upon purchase.

To realize their vision for a vibrant family home, the couple enlisted local architectural designer Marcos Aretio of Markmus Design, whose practice they admired. After a kick-off meeting, they gave Aretio “total freedom” to explore initial concepts, which they then developed in close collaboration.

Before: Hallway

Their first priority was to open up the apartment with several multifunctional spaces while creating a sense of comfort and warmth through color and materials. The flat also needed to accommodate work for them and play for their five- and three-year-old kids, while reflecting their interests.

Claudia is a historian with a PhD in medieval history who dedicates herself to continuing education, and Sebastian is a tech consultant working remotely for international clients. “We love the vibe of old town apartments, minimalist design, and Italian food,” says Claudia. “We also love to travel, especially to places where good food and great design unite.”

After: Hallway

The state of the apartment was “not ideal,” as Aretio puts it. Carved up and compartmentalized, it had “too many walls and small rooms” he says—as was conventional in German flats of the ’60s and ’70s. To open up the space, Aretio enlisted a structural engineer to enlarge the bathroom and hallways and reframe and expand the kitchen with a 13-foot-long reinforced steel beam and an arched entrance.

Before: Kitchen

“We decided to remove some of the walls, and close a couple of doors,” notes Aretio. “We also worked quite a lot in the new bathroom, as the prior flat had the toilet in a separate room, making the space very tight and uncomfortable.”

After: Kitchen

“It was really important to us that we could come together as a family in the kitchen,” Claudia notes. She and Sebastian decided to sacrifice a room to create the open-plan space, which faces the kids’ room so that the family can spend time together while the kids play and the adults cook.

The home’s vibrant color palette takes cues from the north and south of Europe. Muted, Nordic tones and Scandinavian furnishings and accessories imbue the living, dining, and sleeping areas with a calm atmosphere. The kitchen and bathroom, in contrast, feel warm yet fresh, drawing from the rich natural shades and textures of the Mediterranean—“not the orange tones that our parents had in the ’90s, but more of a modern translation,” says Claudia.

Before: Kids’ Bedroom

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After: Kids’ Bedroom

“For the kids’ bedroom, and for the wellbeing of the adults, we installed dark green acoustic panels made of recycled PET bottles by Re:Felt along the lower walls,” notes Aretio. In addition to reducing noise, these serve as a gallery wall for the kids’ artworks.

Before: Bathroom

The original home had eight different types of flooring, including wood, tile, and vinyl. The couple and Aretio narrowed this palette down to just three complementary ones: oak parquet, hydraulic tiles in the kitchen, and ceramic tiles in the bathroom.

After: Bathroom

The walls, too, required complete resurfacing. “We noticed many uneven ceilings, walls, and floors, and of course we had lots of ’70s wallpaper,” says Aretio. “We flattened all the walls and removed every previous texture.”

Before: Dining Room/Office

After: Dining Room/Office

To accommodate Claudia’s and Sebastian’s extensive book collection, Aretio drew up plans for a cantilevered nine-by-thirteen-foot bookshelf that frames the dining room while providing a backdrop for video calls when the room is used as an office.

“The studio is our work-from-home haven, where we get things done while being surrounded by a stylish and functional, yet cozy atmosphere,” says Sebastian.

“I love the historic charm, combined with all the very contemporary design elements,” adds Claudia. “Our home is all about balancing comfort and beauty. It’s where everyday moments are made special.”

After: Living Room

More Before & After stories:

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A Breakthrough Renovation Reveals a Parisian Apartment’s Good Bones

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Markmus Design / @markmus_design

Structural Engineer: Martin Pudelko

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