Meubels en design

When they moved into the house in 1958, Renaat Braem and his wife opted for a completely new and contemporary decoration of their house. Only few pieces of furniture were transferred from their former apartment: an early 19th-century, one metre-broad Empire writing desk from his parents that was placed in the office as a permanent reference to this elementary unit of measure, a Gispen desk chair and a Galler tubular steel chair - the first wedding gift from Renaat Braem to his wife, and a set of 'classic' Thonet chairs. Not only the living-room, but also the kitchen and the bedroom, as well as the studio, were amply equipped with built-in cupboards. Designed by Renaat Braem himself are two rectangular chrome-legged tables, and some wooden side-tables of various height in the living-room.

For the sitting area, the couple opted for seating elements of Italian and Danish design in a subtle colour range. This ensemble includes a creme-coloured Divano D70 and a mustard-coloured Poltrona P40, two extraordinary, elegantly streamlined designs by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno which date back from 1954-1955. These are combined with two dark-brown, rotating Egg armchairs with matching footstool, milestones of organic design by Arne Jacobson for Fritz Hansen from 1958.

The same company delivered six 'type 3105' chairs from The Ant-family, another Jacobsen legend. The whole image was completed by an - at the time almost inevitable - Thonet rocking chair. Atmospheric lighting was created by two Akari light sculptures in rice paper, designed by Isamu Noguchi in the early 1950s, and a telescopic O-Luce standard lamp by Angelo Ostuni. The Braun audio system played 78 records, most probably Duke Ellington or Miles Davis...