Palette

The cabin’s undulating curves are fixed by a prefabricated, laminated wood structure with a subdivision of Kerto CNC-milled plywood. “It defines the geometry of both the interior and the exterior,” Bae Brandtzæg says.

The acclaimed Italian designers Ludovica+Roberto Palomba carve a serene retreat out of a 17th-century oil mill in Salento, filling it with custom creations and their greatest hits. Photo by Francesco Bolis.

Vandemoortele worked with designer Renaud de Poorter on the interior renovations, which included opening up the heavy structure with the help of new windows and doors to the outside. They didn’t want to gut the space, and kept existing decorative motifs like the dining room’s circa-1975 painted cupboard.

Smitten from the start with a 1970s concrete villa in rural Belgium, a resident and her designer embark on a sensitive renovation that excises the bad (carpeted walls, dark rooms) and highlights the good (idyllic setting, statement architecture). Owner Nathalie Vandemoortele worked with designer Renaud de Poorter on the interior renovations, which included opening up the heavy structure with the help of new windows and doors to the outside. A concrete bi-level island keeps the Brutalist vibe on the interior, but is open and light enough to feel balanced.

Many of Vandemoortele’s objects were collected on her travels around the world, including an antique Japanese screen, a vintage lamp purchased in Arizona, an antique Mongolian side table bought in Ulan Bator, and a rich textile mix. Two brass shades from a local thrift shop are arranged as a floor sculpture, and the cane daybed in her suite is by prolific Belgian designer Maarten van Severen.