Cover A buttery yellow palette sets a joyful tone in the living room as the sun pours through the windows, filling the space with warmth
A buttery yellow palette sets a joyful tone in the living room as the sun pours through the windows, filling the space with warmth
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A neglected 1932 villa in Brussels is transformed into a joyful, sun-filled home where every room unfolds through colour, craftsmanship, and light
Sunlight seems to linger a little longer in this Brussels villa. It catches the deep overhang of the eaves, slips through dormer windows, and settles somewhere inside, unhurried. From the outside, the 1932 house carries the quiet romance of a Normandy manor, its half-timbered façade and small turret hinting at another era entirely.
When designer Victoria-Maria Geyer first stepped inside, the 6,189-sq-ft villa was in poor condition throughout, years of neglect had stripped each room bare of whatever character they’d once held.
“It felt like stumbling upon a little enchanted manor,” she recalls, “with a subtle touch of Normandy in its spirit.”
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Above Designer Victoria-Maria Geyer transformed the once-neglected Brussels villa into a richly layered family home
Designer Victoria-Maria Geyer transformed the once-neglected Brussels villa into a richly layered family home
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The clients wanted colour. Not an accent wall, not a considered pop here and there, but real, room-filling, unapologetic colour. Geyer took the family’s love for colour, culture and beauty and let it lead every decision.
That much is clear from the entrance hall, which sets the tone for the rest of the house. Stepping inside, one is immediately greeted by a bold introduction of colour: a red-lacquered staircase, its railings painted in Farrow & Ball’s “Eating Room Red,” sweeps upwards with a leopard-print runner underfoot. Just off the hall, a bespoke oak cloakroom hangs Josef Hoffmann’s 1930 “Flower Bucket” above a sink carved from Iranian red travertine.
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Above A red-lacquered staircase sweeps through the entrance hall
Above The cloakroom celebrates craftsmanship, balancing bold materials with thoughtful details
A red-lacquered staircase sweeps through the entrance hall
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Few colour decisions are as difficult to get right as an entirely yellow room, and few clients would agree to one without hesitation as this family did. Awash in warm hues of buttery yellow that deepen into richer shades across the ceiling beams, there is a sense of architecture within its colour that creates depth and rhythm overhead.
“Yellow is a colour I have always loved,” Geyer says, “generous, radiant, and incredibly difficult to get right.”
The room is anchored by a fireplace clad in black-and-white Zellige tile, its graphic pattern offering one true contrast in an otherwise golden space. Around it, the furniture leans soft and tactile: a zigzag-patterned sofa in rust, olive and cream, a scattering of vintage ceramics, and side tables inlaid with bone.
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Direct sunlight pours through the windows, catching the room’s golden tones and creating an atmosphere that changes subtly from morning through to evening
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Come evening, deep red walls give this corner of the house a theatrical warmth. The dining room centres on two abstract works by Portuguese artist Carolina Queiroz Cunha, which seem to radiate brightly against the colour behind. Beneath them, a green ceramic buffet holds vintage silver candlesticks and nude-hued candles. At the table, a set of 1940s Italian chairs surrounds Geyer’s own off-white lacquered design.
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Above The dining room embraces a deeper palette, creating a natural contrast to the sunlit living spaces elsewhere in the house
Above Two abstract works by Portuguese artist Carolina Queiroz Cunha anchor the dining room
The dining room embraces a deeper palette, creating a natural contrast to the sunlit living spaces elsewhere in the house
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From the breakfast nook wrapped in deep red Moroccan tile to a pink lava countertop from Italy, each element of the kitchen was chosen for its character rather than its perfection. The Italian lava stone worktop became one of Geyer’s favourite features of the house, even when it arrived with a surface less uniform than expected, she still decided to keep it.
“It gave the stone a soul,” she says, “a reminder that craftsmanship always has the last word.”
Above Tucked within the kitchen, the breakfast nook is cocooned in deep red Moroccan tile
Above The pink Italian lava stone worktop was embraced for its natural irregularities
Tucked within the kitchen, the breakfast nook is cocooned in deep red Moroccan tile
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Upstairs, Geyer designed the bedroom’s wallpaper herself, a repeating pattern of sunburst motifs covering the wall entirely. A ceiling lamp in the shape of the sun echoes the theme of the wallpaper, and at the bedside, a pair of moon-shaped lights continue the playful, celestial logic that runs quietly through the room. The fireplace is painted in a warm, sun-baked orange, reflecting the same golden warmth of the sun motifs. Against all this pattern, the bed itself deliberately remains simple, dressed in white with a velvet headboard.
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Geyer’s “Sunny” wallpaper wraps the bedroom walls entirely
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The transition from the bedroom to the bathroom feels almost like the gentle shift from day to dusk. Glazed terracotta tile in deep teal cover floor to ceiling, glossy and saturated, almost nautical in feel. Underfoot, softly coloured cement tiles in geometric patterns contrast the saturated colour, while overhead, spherical wall lamps glow like little moons, their light catching in the glaze and adding a shimmer to the room.
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Above Glossy glazed terracotta tiles offer a contrast to the warm tones of the bedroom
Glossy glazed terracotta tiles offer a contrast to the warm tones of the bedroom
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What began, for Geyer, as a stumble into “a little enchanted manor” has become exactly that, a house that feels less designed than discovered. As she reflects, the completed villa is “a joyful, sun-drenched manor that feels as though it has always existed exactly this way.”
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Credits
Photography: Clément Vayssieres
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