Viennese interior design studio Atelier Karasinski has taken a historic Austrian home and respectfully reinterpreted it for contemporary family life with a bold nod to the past.
Closer inspection of this avant-garde home designed by Atelier Karasinski reveals an intriguing combination of materials, details, and statement-making colour choices informed by its rich history and framed around family.
Like most family-orientated homes, the kitchen takes on a key role within the house. Against a bold backdrop of Bauwerk’s limewash paint in Paprika are distinctive architectural elements, modern appliances, and a resolved kitchen layout for the young family of four. Offering a striking presence with a point of interest at every turn, we explore the bespoke nuances and tactile surfaces that have shaped this one-of-a-kind kitchen space.
Produced in partnership with Bauwerk
The AGA R7 150 Cooker in Linen provides a focal point within the kitchen against the bold, Paprika limewash-painted walls from Bauwerk.
A pair of timber DeVol Helen’s Stools complete the honest, farmhouse kitchen feel of this space.
In the 6th district of Vienna, a historical treasure was uncovered; a charming standalone building adorned with bay windows and corner towers. Built-in 1887 by Carl Langhammer for Bernhard Hieronymus Ludwig, the court cabinet maker of the Austrian Empire, this well-preserved building uncovered some of the riches of the city’s storied past.
Entrusted with rejuvenating this classical home, Atelier Karasinski embarked on a design journey to safeguard the home’s authentic historical allure while bringing it firmly into the present day. The Viennese-based studio’s thorough design methodology and attention to detail infused life back into this home, reinstating its character and magnificence as a prize jewel of Viennese architecture, not just as a residence but as a place for making lasting memories. “We wanted to create a home that felt cosy, homey, and avant-garde whilst honouring the original features of the listed building and its remarkable past,” Atelier Karasinski founder and design director Laura Karasinski says.
The limewash Paprika paint from Bauwerk on all four kitchen walls is created from a bright orange limewash paint colour, with a red undertone inspired by the bright terracotta walls used in Mexico.
The timber parquetry flooring builds a classical and neutral foundation for other design elements to take centre stage.
The ornate, oversized, and open-planned kitchen and dining area is at the heart of this European home. “Our vision when designing this kitchen started with a specific inspiration for the space. We decided on the colour Paprika from Bauwerk because of the beautiful love story surrounding our clients.” The couple come from two different continents that could not be further apart, but when they met and fell in love in New York City many years ago, they realised they shared the same favourite drink – a Negroni.
The deep, limewash colour of the kitchen walls is a personal nod to the homeowner’s love story and serves as the artisanal foundation for the rest of the space. “We love to use limewash paint, invented in ancient Rome as one of the first forms of paint; it’s sustainable, breathable, flexible in its application, and just beautiful. It enhances any space and offers both tactility and warmth,” Laura says. “I love how much structure and depth Bauwerk limewash paints can embroider throughout a space.”
Much like the richly hued walls, the rest of the Viennese kitchen is steeped in craftsmanship, with indelible marks of artistry visible across different surfaces. The double height, ornately decorative ceilings, and large windows became enhanced architectural features, and together the kitchen offers a warm, hard-working farmhouse feel.
The traditional, cream-coloured Aga cooker and oversized ceramic sink both offer family functionality. At the same time, the timber Helen stools, cabinetry, and kitchen island, all by DeVol Kitchens, softens the space and makes reference to the royal court carpenter, who once used the house privately as his showroom for the bespoke timber furniture that he designed for the Empire. Luxuriously red-veined stone benchtops, glossy wine-coloured terracotta tiles, and classically patterned parquetry timber floors also add to the newly shaped, global narrative of this unique space.
“I love how much structure and depth Bauwerk limewash paints can embroider throughout a space”
– Laura Karasinski, founder and design director of Atelier Karasinski.
