Family
The Surprising Transformation of the Sixth Floor of a Car Park in Brussels Into a Family Loft With Pop Decoration
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Anne-Sophie Prevot and Jean Besançon, Lila 17, Gaston 12 and Logan 6 years old
French in origin but Belgian at heart, Anne Sophie Prevot and Jean Besançon could not resist the call of Brussels. The warm, friendly lifestyle, and the many architectural surprises, just waiting to be discovered. Just like the sixth floor of this car park, where the producer and her husband immediately started planning to write a new chapter in their story. They met this major challenge with the help of the people close to them. In this large, open space – formerly an office – family and friends helped the couple and their children to design together what would soon become their new home. The architects Marion Mailaender – who designed the spaces – and Julie Hérion – who redesigned the look of their reading area – among others. The former photographer relied on her instincts when it came to decorating the property, By doing away with their previous furniture and leaving the field open for the apartment “to dictate the atmosphere itself”. And by going with the pieces she came across and loved; the sofa by Étienne-Henri Martin and the Gastone Rinaldi desk. The all-rounder has also chosen tubular creations by designer Axel Chay and Bomboloni cushions from the La DoubleJ for The Socialite Family collaboration. Pops of colour complement the storage units and floor finishes, the ultimate attempt to liven up the atmosphere of this loft, which could easily have been confined to the chilliness of the omnipresent concrete.
Location
BRUSSELS
Author
Juliette Bruneau
Photos and videos
Eve Campestrini
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TSF
Anne-Sophie, Jean: could you introduce yourselves, please?
Anne-Sophie
My name is Anne-Sophie, I studied photography and journalism, but my passion for organising parties soon took over. So I chose to go into television and event production, and I did that for twenty-five years. In 2016, I founded my agency, Back of the House, which specialises in events in the fashion sector.
Jean
I’m a rapper under the pseudo 2pass, and at the same time, I work for Back of the House on fashion shows. I met Anne-Sophie 20 years ago. Together we have two children, Lila and Gaston, and we are godparents to Logan, who is six.
TSF
Tell us how you learned about art and aesthetics. Where did you grow up – and how did that influence the way your tastes developed?
Anne-Sophie
I come from a suburb in the Paris region where access to culture was very limited. That made me want to go into Paris as much as possible, and I spent whole weekends there discovering architecture, museums, painting, and so on. I would have liked to become an architect, but as my parents weren’t at all involved in that field and without the means of communication we have nowadays, it seemed to me that it was simply an unattainable dream. So I turned to photography.
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TSF
Tell us about your first encounter with this unusual place that you live in.
Anne-Sophie
We were looking for somewhere to live in the Brussels hypercentre with some outdoor space. By chance, we stumbled upon this floor of a car park that had been abandoned since 1986. We immediately saw the potential and imagined ourselves living here. We didn’t hesitate for a second and made the offer on the spot. Everything had to be demolished, so we could start again from scratch with the carcass.
TSF
You entrusted the talented architect Marion Mailaender with the design of these spaces. Why did you choose her?
Anne-Sophie
We’d never done such a big job, and the space was one vast floor, so we weren’t sure how to divide it up. Our only intentions were to place the kitchen in the centre of the space and make the whole thing a walk-through apartment. And then, we asked our friend Marion Maileander to take care of the layout. She understood right away what we wanted, and she divided the area beautifully to create a clear circulation space between the different areas. As far as furnishings are concerned, this is really my area. I love hunting for treasures and bargains. We kept very little of our furniture and other items when we moved in because, from our point of view, the apartment itself dictates the atmosphere. We used to live in the countryside and had mainly Scandinavian furniture. Here, we preferred to bring in 1970s/80s touches that are more in keeping with the building we live in. Our favourite pieces are the sofa by Etienne-Henri Martin, the Gastone Rinaldi desk, the modulation floor lamp by Axel Chay and, of course, Marion’s K2000 mirror.
TSF
Which rooms do you particularly enjoy being in on a daily basis?
Anne-Sophie
We love the reading/music corner, which was designed by Julie Herion, a Belgian interior designer. The corner has one of the building’s concrete columns in it, and we couldn’t think of a purpose for it. Julie immediately understood my love of stages and carpeting. We also love our bedroom, which Marion designed. The carpeted stage, again and again; it embraces us at bedtime. It gently muffles all the noise and keeps us in a bubble.
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TSF
What does this interior say about you?
Anne-Sophie
That we love entertaining. We wanted a space big enough to have dinner parties and to host our friends who live all over the world. Friendliness and hospitality are the keywords in this family.
TSF
What does The Socialite Family mean to you?
Anne-Sophie
For us, it’s an incredible source of inspiration and fascinating family stories.
TSF
Which design from our collection would you choose to integrate into your decor?
Anne-Sophie
I could see the Tubo lamp here for its 1970s feel. And the Bomboloni cushions are already very much at home in the living room, where they bring sunshine to grey days.
TSF
Where will we see you next?
Anne-Sophie
We’re already preparing for fashion week in January and March. And we’re currently renovating a small house in a fishing village in Olhão, Portugal, which will be available for holiday rental in the summer of 2023 (the house is called “casinhabloom”). We hope to see you there, so we can show it to you.
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