A Knokke villa by Merijn Degraeve, built around concrete ceilings uncovered during strip-out, with rosewood paneling, a marble dining table, and chrome accents.

Villa Clarisse is a residential renovation in Knokke, Belgium, by Merijn Degraeve. During the initial strip-out, original concrete ceilings emerged from beneath a layer of faux beams and an oversized fireplace. What the house concealed turned out to be more interesting than what it presented, and Degraeve treated the discovery as a starting point rather than a complication. The concrete ceilings set the terms for the material palette that followed.

Rosewood paneling wraps the dining and living rooms. Where the concrete deflects light, the rosewood absorbs it, and the pairing of warm timber against cool structural concrete becomes the governing logic throughout the interior. The split-level plan, which could read as an awkward quirk in a lesser renovation, is used instead to sequence a series of distinct spatial moments, each with its own material balance. Moving between levels means moving between registers.

The furniture selection is precise and deliberate. Cassina Dudet chairs by Patricia Urquiola gather at a marble dining table, their rounded upholstery working against the mineral hardness of the surface. A burgundy lacquered Dharma bench by Baxter sits against the grain of the wood paneling, introducing color and lacquered surface without softening the space. Chrome objects throughout, including a sculptural bench and vases by Tim Teven, catch and distribute light, keeping the heavier materials from reading as too dense. Each object is positioned to hold a specific place in the warm-against-cool tension the concrete ceilings first established.