The living room featuring our Mrirt rug, and a distinctive blend of Ikea and vintage design elements, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
Transforming the apartment is a gradual journey
Dorottya and Péter, both creative professionals, have approached the renovation of their historic apartment with thoughtful care. They preserved as many original features as possible, including the original wooden windows, doors, and handles. However, they also infused their personal style into the renovation, incorporating surprising spatial arrangements, daring colour selections, and a distinctive blend of Ikea and vintage design elements. They emphasize that while their project is still ongoing, everything they've created is self-identical, and they truly enjoy the effort they’ve invested.
Kati Vörös, an art historian and interior designer working along very similar philosophy and values, has been their guiding force throughout this journey. Kati embraces a timeless approach to interior design that is rooted in historical context while addressing contemporary needs, and focusing on the synergy between the space, its owners, and their meaningful objects. She sees interior design projects as a process of slow construction, allowing for layers to develop and the ideal pieces to emerge over time.
Dorottya and Péter's apartment exemplifies this philosophy beautifully. The vivid light blue Ikea kitchen has been made unique with a solid wood worktop, classic HEWI plastic handles, and open shelves in place of a top cupboard. The green sofa is also from Ikea, decorated with cushions by a young Hungarian designer, Berta Újváry. These are complemented by distinct pieces found in vintage shops like the lemon yellow Opteam lamp, the orange Kartell pendant, the Swan armchair or the Bikini chairs. The decor also features cherished collectibles amassed over the years, such as the Alessi Plissé kettle, an extensive cookbook collection, unique pieces of ceramics, and even a Batman figurine on the shelf.
Swan armchair, dog Ropi, Opteam lamp and a hand-knotted rug from the High Atlas, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
Kitchen with open shelves featuring cherished collectibles, and Fatima's royal blue runner, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
Colourful Mrirt rug tying together the various colour tones of the room, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
Bold rugs dressing up the space
Our bold carpets felt very much at home in these distinctive spaces and added another layer to the already beautifully functioning interior. For the living room, we chose a colourful Mrirt rug crafted by a talented young team of weavers, which was adored by dog Ropi (we could only move the rug with him on it). This Mrirt rug brought harmony to the room, beautifully tying together the various colour tones, from the grey-blue kitchen to the vibrant orange ceiling light.
We experimented with several runners in the kitchen. Our favourite was a royal blue piece woven by Fatima, featuring pink diamond-mesh pattern, which provided a striking splash of colour with its dramatic blue shade. The mauve Mrirt runner was also a good match, but we were particularly excited about the grey-multicolour Zindekh rug. With its dark tones, upcycled threads and plastic grain bag base, this makes the perfect kitchen rug.
We showcased two other stunning Zindekhs in the apartment: a burst-of-colour Zindekh, sewn from multiple pieces, was placed in the hallway and a vintage collector's item was displayed as wall art in the living room—both were absolute hits.
Kitchen with grey-multicolour Zindekh rug, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
Hallway with a burst-of-colour Zindekh, sewn from multiple pieces, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
Vintage Zindekh displayed as wall art in the living room, Photo: Gergő Gosztom
We also integrated some subtle, natural wool based, but still colourful rugs into the interior. Both the rug under the desk and the one placed next to the Swan armchair were handcrafted in a secluded small village weaving community in the High Atlas. Their cozy, hand-knotted wool surface makes such a difference in both settings.
This photo shoot has been a true joy, and we feel privileged to select rugs for such a beautifully curated home. We are grateful to the homeowners for this opportunity! Through these images, we hope to inspire you to consider more unconventional rugs in terms of materials and color palettes for your home. If you're tempted but unsure, start small or take the rug home to see how it fits before making your decision.
High-Atlas rug under the desk, Photo: Gergő Gosztom