Villa HA

Design: steininger.designers, Photos: Schmid Baugruppe Holding GmbH, Text: Barbara Jahn

A TOUCH OF SUMMER FRESHNESS

Elegant white rises above the sparkling blue of the water at this newly built villa refined by interior designer Martin Steininger – part of a veritable pearl necklace of architectural gems on the shores of Austria’s Lake Attersee.

 

Martin Steininger was the top choice to design the interior of the magnificent lakeside villa, selected by a client who himself had a great affinity for design and quality. After two previous concepts, he had finally found the right person for this demanding task – three really was the magic number. The client and designer were immediately on the same wavelength – purism in terms of approach, minimalism in terms of materiality.

Lay : Attersee, Upper Austria
Completion : 2022

THE ART OF SIMPLICITY

The building makes a captivating impression with its clear and elegant simplicity, which is brought to life with a series of tasteful protrusions and recesses. White tiles alternate with extended rows of windows and spacious openings to create an impressive horizontality. The concept for the interior was drawn up by Steininger in close consultation with the architect based on this architectural outline. 

 

SETTING THE STAGE

The client’s express wishes were for the interior to be as stripped back as possible in terms of colour and material. To avoid disrupting the open flow of space through the entire house, Steininger put his holistic design philosophy to work. The starting point was the kitchen, created with STEININGER ROCK, whose white stone visually ties in with the building’s façade. But soon, no surprise, one thing led to another. After all, Steininger does not believe in thinking small and prefers passages that bear a signature. . 

 

“The monochrome colour scheme allows individual pieces such as pictures, vases or solitary trees to stand out particularly well. This means the occupants can make their own decorative choices and add a stylish touch here or there.” Martin Steininger

 

The aim was to make all areas of the house appear as one – from the entryway through the living spaces and bedrooms to the bathrooms and terraces. To achieve this, Steininger tried to conceal as many features as possible and made use of the building’s shape. As if by magic, folding elements open up and connect two spaces such as the bathroom and bedroom into one thematic unit. Cupboard doors can be recessed, making storage spaces disappear from view. The only deliberate contrasts to the predominantly white surfaces in the house are the warm, dark flooring and the wall panelling and built-in furniture in rich, cognac-coloured oak.

 

BEYOND THE HORIZON

All the interior spaces share a holistic design that completely dissolves any boundaries – even those that are only thought of as such. This is due in no small part to the architecture, which primarily focuses on the view over the lake and celebrates this openness with its form. One merges into the other as if by nature, from inside to outside, top to bottom. These seamless transitions are a success thanks to elaborate, well-founded solutions. Specifically, the airspace is incorporated with a wall covering that is continuous across the different levels. Plus, different spaces are bridged by custom-made pieces of furniture such as the fireplace cabinet, whose white ceramic shell cuts through the building’s skin.

 

“It’s not about how many materials you use. What really matters is outstanding quality.” Martin Steininger

 

Once again, this project demonstrates the intuitive flair with which Steininger makes his visions a reality. In various ways, the villa showcases the specialist’s painstaking attention to detail, which often remains hidden, along with his feeling for finding a harmonious common thread. He has remained true to his principle of always looking at the big picture, creating a roomy environment inside the Attersee villa. But in the end, the most important thing was the collective effort – both the collaboration with the client, who genuinely treasured the quality from design to craftsmanship to implementation, and Steininger Designers’ unbeatable team spirit with its ability to fuel extraordinary projects like this one.