- Interior
In the historic heart of the Marais, interior designer Francesco Balzano, founder of AFTER BACH, redefined a 120 m² apartment as a refined dialogue between architecture, design and art. This project, realised in close collaboration with Parisian gallery owner Thibaut Van Den Bergh, was designed for an aesthete and collector, with the core principle of creating a soft, elegant yet powerful environment that allows contemporary design pieces and art to speak for themselves.
The apartment follows an L-shaped plan, with the street side accessed via a carefully carved wooden entrance that opens onto two large volumetric rooms: a dining room with open kitchen and a living room. On the courtyard side are two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. The master suite features an intimate sitting area and a large concealed door, creating a tranquil, daylight-filled space. The bathroom is finished in solid marble with an Italian shower and a washbasin that is both robust and elegant in appearance. All storage and technical areas are fully integrated behind silent, concealed doors, giving the interior a legible, serene and spacious feel. 
Balzano and Van Den Bergh chose a colour and material palette that exudes simplicity, timelessness and refined elegance. Monumental beige stone floors are combined with subtly tinted oak accents, soft wool and silky ivory carpets. The wet areas are finished in green Alpine marble, while the kitchen shines in Breccia Aurora. The interplay of green, grey-ivory and warm grey tones reinterprets the chic historical character of the Marais in a modern way. 
The use of wool, marble and wood creates a tactile, inviting warmth
The flat is essentially a liveable art collection curated with works from the Kolkhoze Gallery. Contemporary design pieces, sculptures and furniture – by Milena Polania, Thomas Lemut, Frédéric Pellenq, Laurent Dufour and others – are used as autonomous expressions that reinforce each other without having to imitate each other. The specially designed marble fireplace in the living room forms the central point of dialogue between architecture, art and furniture, while the entire interior is characterised by minimalist lines and subtle details that invite contemplation and tranquillity. 
The result is an apartment that feels timeless yet dynamic, a place where architecture, materials and design come together in a carefully composed balance. Here, living becomes an aesthetic experience, a space in which every colour, texture and piece of furniture contributes to a harmonious composition that is both elegant and inviting – a perfect example of the AFTER BACH philosophy, in which space and objects enter into dialogue and life becomes both functional and poetic.
Photography Vincent Leroux
Text by Elke Aerts