Family
A blend of 19th-century and 1970s influences in this typically Brussels townhouse of 600 m².
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At
At Victoria-Maria and Louis’s home: Gustave, 17, Alphonse, 15, and Eugenia-Maria, 13.
Here, no one shouts “Dinner!”—sometimes they simply call each other on the phone to gather the whole family: two parents, three teenagers and a cat. Built in 1929, this large Brussels townhouse unfolds over five levels around a grand staircase. On the top two floors, reached by elevator, are the offices of the interior architecture studio founded by Victoria-Maria in 2007. It is here that she develops projects and collaborations—with the Gien faience manufactory, the Philippe Hurel furniture gallery, and Pierre Frey textiles—shaped by a baroque and refined style that blends antique and contemporary elements. Her latest creative venture? A private business club orchestrated by Xavier Niel, soon to open on Place des Vosges in Paris. Highly structured—since taking a DNA test, she attributes her taste for rigor to her Eastern European origins—the interior of this former journalism student nevertheless feels vibrant and alive: an XXL terrazzo floor in the kitchen or a nude photograph by Barbara Iweins in the bathroom are just some of the details that reveal a home far less classical than it first appears.
Location
BRUSSELS
Author
Anne-Laure Griveau
Photos and videos
Gautier Billotte, Valerio Geraci
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Vintage Josef Frank floral sofa (1920s) and the ‘Cosima’ egg-shaped coffee table designed by Victoria-Maria.
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Jean Miotte painting and bronze flower lamp by Maison Jansen.
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Yellow tubular ‘Diane’ armchair designed by Victoria-Maria.
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Elsa’ armchairs by Joe Colombo, Pierre Frey rug, and framed Swedish tapestry by KG Nilson.
Yellow tubular ‘Diane’ armchair designed by Victoria-Maria.
Elsa’ armchairs by Joe Colombo, Pierre Frey rug, and framed Swedish tapestry by KG Nilson.
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'Wenceslas’ sofa designed by Victoria-Maria paired with a vintage leather armchair by Percival Lafer.
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Yellow silk wall covering by Élitis and a walnut chair by Norman Cherner.
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Yellow silk wall covering by Élitis and a walnut chair by Norman Cherner.
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TSF
Can you tell us the story of this house?
Victoria-Maria
We bought this typically Brussels townhouse in 2017. It dates back to the 1930s. No one wanted it because it had been converted into offices and divided into two separate parts, including a duplex that now houses my interior architecture studio. Another element that could put people off was the enormous century-old red beech tree that we share with the neighbors, which requires a lot of maintenance and comes with certain constraints. I absolutely love it. It changes color throughout the year; it is a spectacular tree. I immediately projected ideas into this space, which we renovated for a year before moving in. Seventy-two hours after we moved in, everything was in place — the furniture arranged and the artworks hung. I knew exactly where every object should go; I had had everything in mind from the very beginning.
TSF
So, how does a project begin in your way of working?
Victoria-Maria
I never start from a theoretical concept. I always begin with something very concrete: an image, a fabric, a material, a color that becomes the trigger for ideas. For the home of my neighbor, the writer Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, everything started with a fashion image in a magazine — I have a background in journalism, and I love the press. There were three girls wearing three coats in different colors. The image was strong, graphic, and very visual. From that reference, I imagined a rug, and then the entire color palette of the house was built around it. I like every project to have a clear and identifiable starting point.
TSF
What was that trigger in your own home?
Victoria-Maria
In our home, everything started with a Josef Frank sofa that I bought at auction in Stockholm. I purchased it even before we had the house. It became the starting point for the entire interior design.
TSF
When you look at your home today, what does it say about you?
It says that I am a structured person, but not closed. That I like strong elements, colors, and objects with a story. It also reflects my international side: my childhood between several countries, my Italian upbringing, and my travels to India. I think my home embodies this combination — a very organized foundation, but a very free expression in aesthetic choices. And there is something important: the house is not fixed. It evolves. I change things, I add pieces, I move objects around. It has to stay alive. A home should be a space of movement, not an image.
TSF
You live in Brussels, but you were born in Germany and partly grew up in Italy — has that shaped your taste?
Victoria-Maria
We are a very international family. I was born in Germany, but I have spent a lot of time living in Italy. My father worked in phosphate import-export, particularly for the pharmaceutical industry, and my mother was an astrologer. My parents lived in Rome, Milan, and even Costa Rica before settling in Belgium. We spent our summers in Tuscany and speak Italian as a family. As an independent, very international spirit, I was nevertheless convinced that I had Italian roots! People often tell me that my work has a Milanese sensibility, especially in its maximalism. I love colors, bold earrings, and strong, confident choices.
TSF
But an DNA test suggested otherwise about your origins, didn’t it?
Victoria-Maria
Yes! A friend had brought DNA tests to a dinner — you know, those companies that trace your origins around the world over more than 300 years. Three weeks later, the results came in: zero percent Italian! In reality, I am very mixed, with a lot of Central European ancestry — Kosovo, Romania, and so on. I recognized myself in that idea and in that aesthetic: women with flower crowns and lots of patterns — something folkloric, but also structured, with a certain rigor. It really corresponds to the way I am.
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‘Oriente Italiano’ plates by Ginori, Saint-Louis stemmed glasses, Murano water glasses. On the wall: a painting by Paolo da San Lorenzo.
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I practiced ballet for 15 years. It taught me discipline and shaped the way I am. It is reflected in my interiors: colorful and joyful, they are above all structured.
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TSF
Does this sense of discipline influence your work?
Victoria-Maria
Yes. I am a very disciplined person. I like things to be organized and in their place. It is part of my culture and my upbringing. This is also how I raise my children. I cannot stand the softness and lack of structure that I see in certain Western educational approaches. I trained in ballet for 15 years. It taught me rigor. I have no trauma from it — on the contrary, it shaped who I am. I believe this is reflected in my interiors: even when they are rich and joyful, they remain above all structured. I think the idea of ‘contained maximalism’ is a good definition. I love highly decorated interiors, with mixes of colors and materials, but I appreciate that everything is in its place. Order allows me to think. A clear space helps me work and live peacefully.
TSF
Does spirituality play a role in your life?
Victoria-Maria
Yes. My mother was an astrologer, and it has always been part of our world. I have a passion for quantum physics (the study of the behavior of matter and energy at the scale of atoms and particles, as noted) and for the spiritual dimension that can emerge from it. The science of the infinitely small is, in a way, what is described in the Bible — it can be seen as a way of explaining religion. I am a believer and a practicing one; I like this connection between spirituality and scientific explanation.
TSF
Is your home also your workplace — a pleasure or a drawback?
Victoria-Maria
It’s a pleasure! We live and work here, on the top two floors that we acquired later. My husband and I work together. He focuses more on the business side. There is almost no separation between our professional and family life. The children often come upstairs to the office — to have a notebook signed, borrow equipment, or look at a project. There is an elevator, but we are always using the staircase. It is a place of movement and conversation. It is truly the central axis of the house. I love sitting on the bottom step, thinking, and catching one of my children as they pass by at that moment.
TSF
Do you have any other family rituals?
Victoria-Maria
We always have breakfast and dinner together in the dining room. It’s an important moment. We talk about school choices and the boys’ haircuts! We discuss a lot, sometimes with big, lively debates. The house is full of life! We also love hosting and giving large dinners.
TSF
Do you travel a lot together as a family?
Victoria-Maria
Yes. We recently traveled to India, to Rajasthan. The children loved it; it was important for me to share that experience with them. I have been there several times, and everything inspires me there — the gestures, the textiles, the bracelets, the way people move. Everything is refined, beauty is everywhere. I feel completely in a state of trance there. I can walk barefoot through the markets without any problem. It is a country that moves me deeply.
TSF
Do you bring back any particular objects?
Victoria-Maria
Whenever I travel, I bring back a box. It has almost become a ritual. I love opening them, storing them, and organizing them perfectly. In our living room, I also have a collection of small Russian lacquered boxes with traditional motifs, which I inherited from my father — who now lives in Brussels, just next door.
TSF
Are there any Indian materials or motifs that particularly inspire you?
Victoria-Maria
Yes, I love patterns made using the block-print technique. I am a big textile enthusiast. I am particularly drawn to silk, moiré, and velvet — not so much to linen. We have developed fabrics with the house Pierre Frey featuring snake motifs, including an ouroboros, an ancient Egyptian symbol dating back to the 6th century BC, depicting a serpent eating its own tail, representing the search for creativity within oneself. With the Gien faience manufactory, I designed plates inspired by Venetian marbled paper. I love drawing patterns. It is a way for me to express my creativity beyond interior design.
TSF
And in fashion?
Victoria-Maria
I would rather speak about colors. I wear a lot of white, beige, and navy blue. I never wear black. It doesn’t suit me. There have even been times when my children saw me coming down the stairs in black and told me: ‘That’s not you at all!’ I choose clothes the same way I choose design pieces — on instinct, depending on the energy they give off. I like the New York brand Staud, or the style of the Australian label Posse.
TSF
Victoria-Maria’s next project?
Victoria-Maria
I recently worked on a private business club in Paris, led by Xavier Niel and his son, located in a private mansion on Place des Vosges. The venue is expected to open soon; it will be the counterpart to an establishment recently opened on Avenue d’Iéna by the same team.
TSF
What is your secret for keeping up with this pace?
Victoria-Maria
Sleep. I’m in bed by 8:30 p.m. If I go out, I slip away around 11 p.m., midnight at the latest!
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Patchwork headboard designed by Victoria-Maria in Gustave’s bedroom.
Patchwork headboard designed by Victoria-Maria in Gustave’s bedroom.
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Collection of vintage 1980s earrings.
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Portfolio of collected paintings in Victoria-Maria’s bedroom.
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Photograph by Barbara Iweins.
Photograph by Barbara Iweins.
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