THE LUXURIOUS AND UNDERSTATED CAVERN DESIGNED BY THE BELGIAN DESIGNER, ANDY KERSTENS

When Andy Kerstens was asked to design a retail showroom for Indico Painting and Moon Lighting, he was tasked with designing a project that would bring two business concepts seamlessly into one space, but still retaining their unique identities. The individual interests of the two businesses, one specialising in lighting and the other in customised painting finishes, have been effortlessly blended together through the complimentary and harmonious setting that Kerstens has achieved through his design.

The showroom has been painted using a custom stucco technique that has been applied to the entire walls, floors and ceilings. The rough and voluminous finish has created a cave-like setting that also references the interiors of a brutalist concrete building which provides a serene architectural backdrop. The result of the application creates a neutral space serving as a gallery for both companies, where they are able to display and give attention to their samples, decor, photos and lighting fixtures.  

Kerstens chose to add texture to the space by applying linen fabric within the shelving niches, serving as a luxurious backdrop for sample displays, and adding a touch of refinement. Discreet lighting has also been placed within the cavity of the niches, illuminating like a shimmer of light through fine cracks within cave walls and also accenting the texture of the linen. 

A custom island featuring dark stained oak and polished Nero Marquina marble counter-tops, is just of one of the monumental pieces within the showroom. As Kerstens states, the “polished marble adds extra punch and a layer of reflection to the very matte surroundings”. Another remarkable custom piece designed by Kerstens is found in the meeting room, where an amorphous table in stucco with an inlay of black natural stained leather takes centre stage in this brutalist setting. 

With the absence of windows and natural light, Kerstens has defined how light should illume this cavern with an almost soft candlelight glow that is quite warm and controlled. Throughout the showroom, statement lighting pieces by Apparatus Studio casually suspend over the central island counter and over the meeting room table. Additional designer lighting fixtures by oneA and CTO Lighting have also been implemented within the showroom design.

Whilst Kerstens has made use of luxurious materials such as weathered bronze, leather, marble and stucco, as well as designer furnishings that include Pierre Jeanneret armchairs, custom islands and tables, he has masterfully created a restrained and understated ambiance, that allows customers to be immersed into a sensory experience and fully engage with the products. He poetically sums up the showroom by explaining that it is a “dialogue between these contradictions and differences in textures, glossiness, and level of details which makes it interesting, especially when the space is used as almost an ‘experience’ space to show all possibilities to their clients”.

PHOTOS | PIET-ALBERT GOETHALS