DENOLDERVLEUGELS Architects & Associates

Apartment renovation with an art studio on the top floor and rooftop access

A black steel frame cuts across the upper level, and the stair line below it keeps the view open from one floor to the next. In this apartment renovation with art studio and rooftop access, the top floor was once an attic; now it holds a work space that receives daylight from above and opens directly onto the roof terrace. The route through the apartment is clear and compact at the same time, with glass, timber floors, and white wall surfaces setting the pace.

From attic to art studio

The highest level carries the sharpest shift in use. What had been storage under the roof is now an art studio with daylight that reaches deep into the room. The space is not treated as an isolated extra floor. It is part of the daily circulation of the apartment, and it leads straight to the rooftop terrace. That direct connection gives the studio a second orientation: work can happen under the skylight, then continue outside without a long detour through the apartment.

Within this apartment renovation with art studio and rooftop access, the studio stays visually restrained so the art can stay in view. The walls are kept light, the floor remains calm, and the openings around the room frame the changing light rather than competing with it. The result is a top floor that reads as a working room first, but still belongs to the living sequence below.

Black steel, glass, and the line of the stair

The stair is one of the clearest elements in the project photos. It has a floating character, with a black railing that traces the edge instead of closing it off. Nearby, the black steel mezzanine and glass openings define the upper connection between floors. This is where the apartment shows its structure most openly: you see the move upward, the landing, and the way light slips through the frame.

Rather than hiding the transition, the renovation uses it. The stair turns the vertical route into part of the interior composition, and the black steel sets a precise contrast against the pale walls. In several views, the glazing keeps sight lines long, so the apartment feels layered rather than segmented. The stair does not stand alone; it anchors the whole apartment renovation with art studio and rooftop access.

A railing, a void, and a clear passage

Seen from below, the stair reads as a careful piece of joinery and construction at once. Wooden treads sit against dark side elements, while the black railing runs in a thin line that guides the eye upward. The opening beside it gives the apartment a stronger sense of height. Light comes through the void, and the passage from one level to the next becomes a visible part of the plan.

Light kept under control

Daylight is central to the upper floor, but it is not left unfiltered. The apartment uses a restrained palette so the incoming light lands on clear surfaces: pale walls, dark frames, timber flooring, and measured reflections in the glazing. This gives the rooms a steady brightness rather than a washed-out effect. In the work area, the light is especially useful because it supports viewing art without making the room feel exposed.

That same discipline appears in the lighting plan. Recessed spots are visible in the ceiling, and their placement keeps attention on the architecture instead of the fittings. At night, the apartment is shaped by those fixed points of light and by the contrast between dark steel and lighter planes. The project does not rely on decoration to create order; it relies on the way the openings, stair, and ceiling lights are positioned.

Marble where the room needs weight

The wet rooms change material vocabulary without breaking the calm of the apartment. Marble appears in clear slabs and panels, with grey-white veining that gives the surfaces depth when the light moves across them. In one bathroom, the marble wall finish wraps the room in a cooler tone, while in another view a double vanity sits beneath a broad stone plane. The stone is used where the room needs a stronger visual base.

There is also a vertical slat wall in bathroom areas, bringing a darker rhythm beside the marble. The contrast between smooth stone and ribbed timber gives the room more definition than a single surface would. The bathroom pieces are not ornamental add-ons. They mark different zones, guide the eye toward the basin, and keep the material story of the apartment readable from one space to the next.

Stone, timber, and reflected art

One of the quieter details in the photos is the built-in niche with art behind glass. It turns a small wall section into a display point without making it feel like a cabinet. The object behind the glass is protected, but still visible, and that balance suits an apartment made for looking closely at art. Nearby, the marble and timber surfaces keep their own texture, so the niche becomes part of a larger sequence of framed views.

Materials that keep the apartment legible

The apartment uses a narrow set of materials, which helps each room keep its own identity. Timber flooring runs through the living areas and softens the transitions between rooms. Black steel appears in the stair, the mezzanine, and the glazing, drawing clean lines through the plan. Marble arrives in the wet rooms, where it reflects light and gives the bathrooms a denser surface than painted walls could provide. Each material has a clear task.

Because the palette stays controlled, the apartment does not need much to hold attention. A frame, a stair edge, a stone wall, a slatted panel, and a niche are enough to shape the sequence. The project’s strength lies in that restraint. The rooms stay open to daylight, but they also have enough structure to support the art collection that gives the upper floor its purpose.

How the renovation ties the floors together

The apartment spans the second, third, and fourth floors, so the project had to do more than refresh finishes. It had to make the levels feel usable as one interior. The stair and the void around it are key to that movement, and the top floor adds a destination at the end of the sequence. From the lower rooms to the studio under the roof, the route remains legible. Glass, steel, and light keep the connection intact.

That structure is what gives the apartment renovation with art studio and rooftop access its rhythm. There is a clear rise through the building, then a release onto the terrace. There are quiet rooms for daily use, and there is a top level shaped for looking, working, and opening the door outside. The renovation leaves enough surface detail to be readable, but never so much that the architecture loses its clarity.

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