Light-filled Berlin Pied-à-terre

Quite possibly the most breathtaking old detail in our space, the original hardwood floors deserved extra attention so we did these ourselves as well. When we bought the apartment, the floor was covered with layers of plastic laminate as well as the typical 'ox blood' painted floor boards. We hired a contractor to get rid of the laminate boards immediately, and he undertook the painstaking work of sanding down the layers of paint. From there, however, we wanted a very specific Scandinavian-inspired stain and we didn’t want the wood to be sealed so we did this work ourselves. In keeping with our love for tactile surfaces – from our vintage hemp to the raw zelij – we wanted the wood to remain in its virgin state: unsealed. After we applied a very watered-down whitewash stain, we added just a thin later of wax to protect the wood from spills, and it remains unsealed which makes walking barefoot such a pleasure.