Achieving the ‘vibrations’ was no easy feat, with substantial physical alterations taken on by Zandberg’s team. A dividing wall between the former dining room and reception room was removed, creating a generous open-plan space. Original fireplaces and timber mouldings were retained, while the kitchen and bathrooms were enlarged. “We acted as both architect and interior designer on this project,” says Zandberg. “We were moving walls and making changes to the footprint, so there was a lot of interior architecture happening.”
Zandberg’s interest in materiality continues in the bespoke furniture. A custom coffee table, made in England, has a hand-painted burnt tortoiseshell trompe l’oeil finish. “I have always loved creating a material that is a complete illusion,” says Zandberg. “It doesn’t closely resemble anything that exists. It is almost like an in-joke: if you know, you know, and if you don’t, you still experience it subconsciously.” However, for all its clever elements and playful illusions, the apartment has a very practical life. Zandberg recalls returning after the clients had moved in and finding the dining table covered with a laptop, books and documents. “You see exactly where they sit when they’re reading, and where they work,” he says. “Suddenly the apartment is transformed into a working home, and that is lovely, because it is inhabited as it’s meant to be.”