High-End Luxury in a City Centre Penthouse
Exacting standards and high-end materials like smoked eucalyptus and hot-rolled steel bring an ambitious design to life
This couple’s new home is a design dream spread over 178 square metres overlooking the rooftops of Munich. “This was two flats originally,” says master carpenter Thomas Eber, who got the commission after meeting the owners through a mutual friend. “On our first visit, there were still people living in both flats, and we viewed them with furniture and built-ins still inside.”
Eber was asked to turn a design by Munich-based Christian Liaigre Showroom into reality with custom built-ins and luxury materials, all created to his exacting standards. A year after their first visits to the site, the couple were able to move into their new home.
Eber was asked to turn a design by Munich-based Christian Liaigre Showroom into reality with custom built-ins and luxury materials, all created to his exacting standards. A year after their first visits to the site, the couple were able to move into their new home.
“Every roof beam, every deviation in the wall, all was measured down to the millimetre and digitised. This digital point cloud was the basis for our detailed planning and eventually the CNC manufacturing. This saved us a lot of time.”
However, the project was also a logistical challenge. Its central location near the pedestrian zone, moreover on the fifth floor of a historic apartment building, required not only precise planning but also twice hiring a crane.
“We built each piece of furniture once in the workshop, then transported it to the building site half-disassembled again and packed on palettes. Then a crane lifted the palettes over the house and deposited them on the balcony on the other side,” Eber says. Each use of the crane also meant closing off streets in the city centre.
“It all went well, but it also carried a lot of risk. We only had one shot, and it would have meant a huge amount more work if something hadn’t fit.”
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“We built each piece of furniture once in the workshop, then transported it to the building site half-disassembled again and packed on palettes. Then a crane lifted the palettes over the house and deposited them on the balcony on the other side,” Eber says. Each use of the crane also meant closing off streets in the city centre.
“It all went well, but it also carried a lot of risk. We only had one shot, and it would have meant a huge amount more work if something hadn’t fit.”
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Throughways and Sight Lines
The elevator, which is hidden behind the black door to the right of the photo, opens directly into the flat. “The idea here was to create an airy separation between the elevator and the rest of the flat. On the other hand, when looking down the hallway, the spaces are visually closed off,” he says. The door to the elevator and the wall finish are sandblasted and black-stained pine.
The elevator, which is hidden behind the black door to the right of the photo, opens directly into the flat. “The idea here was to create an airy separation between the elevator and the rest of the flat. On the other hand, when looking down the hallway, the spaces are visually closed off,” he says. The door to the elevator and the wall finish are sandblasted and black-stained pine.
Behind the white doors on the right of the image is a spacious, custom-made coat closet.
As elsewhere in the penthouse, it is hard to differentiate room and closet doors from the outside. “This was the main idea,” Eber says. This creates a sense of visual calm and allows for a lot of storage.
That everything from the dinner table to the wall of the kids’ room is aligned is witness to the persistence and patience of everyone involved: “The drywaller had to set the wall up three times, until everything was exactly aligned,” Eber says. It’s this exacting approach that led to such chic results.
That everything from the dinner table to the wall of the kids’ room is aligned is witness to the persistence and patience of everyone involved: “The drywaller had to set the wall up three times, until everything was exactly aligned,” Eber says. It’s this exacting approach that led to such chic results.
Well-Thought Out Details in the Middle
The visual centre of the open living-dining-kitchen area is a four-metre-long island out of hot-rolled stainless steel. “It is a lovely material to the touch, which is highly wear- and stain resistant. The untreated finish has a kind of lightly streaky pattern. No comparison to the ordinary steel finishes in industrial kitchens,” Eber says.
The visual centre of the open living-dining-kitchen area is a four-metre-long island out of hot-rolled stainless steel. “It is a lovely material to the touch, which is highly wear- and stain resistant. The untreated finish has a kind of lightly streaky pattern. No comparison to the ordinary steel finishes in industrial kitchens,” Eber says.
With a seamlessly integrated sink, a wide hob including downdraft ventilation (from Concept Suisse), and the drawer fronts that surround the countertop, the substantial island looks exquisite from all angles.
The design hides a unique feature: “To make sure that liquids cannot drip off of the counter and into the drawers, we attached a raised edge with a cleanly welded triangular bar,” Eber says. This bath-like feature is not visible from the outside of the island.
Eber placed the combination fridge-freezer, the oven and the wine cabinet – all from Gaggenau – in the floor-to ceiling storage unit made out of rough-sawn smoked oak. It also holds a coffee machine behind pocket sliding doors (standing open in the photo).
The design hides a unique feature: “To make sure that liquids cannot drip off of the counter and into the drawers, we attached a raised edge with a cleanly welded triangular bar,” Eber says. This bath-like feature is not visible from the outside of the island.
Eber placed the combination fridge-freezer, the oven and the wine cabinet – all from Gaggenau – in the floor-to ceiling storage unit made out of rough-sawn smoked oak. It also holds a coffee machine behind pocket sliding doors (standing open in the photo).
Besides the kitchen and numerous built-in closets throughout the flat, Eber also created bookcases specially for this penthouse. This includes the two units in the dining area. With a frame made out of solid burnished brass and shelves out of highly polished Indian applewood, it was very heavy: “A bookshelf like this weighs around 300 kilograms even when empty,” Eber says.
The two pivot doors in the living area lead to the couple’s bedroom.
Relaxation Areas for All
The bedroom also incorporates multiple built-ins from Eber’s workshop.
The bedroom also incorporates multiple built-ins from Eber’s workshop.
Like the furniture in the dining area, the bookshelf by the bed is made of burnished brass, here matched with shelves out of sandblasted, white-painted pine.
Eber created the vanity for the open bath area at the end of the room. Made out of smoked Eucalyptus and polished to a high shine, it compliments the marble-finished rear wall of the shower.
Between the bed and the bath, another door (pictured here on the right of the photo) leads to the walk-in closet. This also accesses the space occupied by the two grown daughters.
This additional living space is tucked at the end of the parents’ walk-in closet, behind a door made out of black steel. A folded black-steel staircase leads from here to the attic, which contains one of the two sleeping areas for the daughters.
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The bed under the gables offers a cosy place to sleep under the sky, seen through the two skylights.
The same design transforms the lounge area, opposite, into a place in the sun.
A folding door leads to the second sleeping area. To the right is the daughters’ bathroom.
A tiny bedroom when closed, this space subsumes the sitting area and terrace when the door is open.
The wood finish, flooring, bench, and even the flower box on the terrace all likewise come from Thomas Eber’s workshop. They were specially made for the penthouse out of thermo ash.
Read more:
Before & After: A 258 Sq-Ft Studio Transforms Into a Comfy Flat
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home?
Read more:
Before & After: A 258 Sq-Ft Studio Transforms Into a Comfy Flat
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home?
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Who Lives Here: A couple with two grown children
Location: Penthouse in Munich city centre
Size: Around 178 square metres
Expert: Thomas Eber of Eber Designtüren GmbH
Precise Planning
“Ambitious,” is how Eber describes the design planning by Christian Liaigre Showroom. The design was not yet completed when he entered on the scene for the implementation of the interior work.
His task was to place lots of large built-in units under the partially warped ceiling beams of an old building. “At the same time, clean lines were important for both the architects and the owners,” he says. One of his first steps was to commission a 3D measurement of the space.