Some projects feel familiar long before they begin. I had known this building for years before ever setting foot inside the apartment. When I opened my first studio in 2012, it stood just around the corner. For a long time, I considered it one of the most beautiful buildings in Vienna. When the client later sent me the listing, it felt almost unreal. He had found a piece of a house I had admired for a decade.

»Laura Karasinski has a deep affection for Vienna at the turn of the penultimate century. She is intimately familiar with its protagonists, the creative minds and master artisans who transformed Vienna around 1900 into the epicentre of the Fin de Siècle.« – Valerie Präkelt, AD Magazine 03/25

The apartment occupies 400 square metres within a late nineteenth century Viennese palais. On my first visit, its scale was immediately apparent, as was its quiet richness. Ornate stucco ceilings, grand panelling and fragments of original furnishings hinted at a former life shaped by craft and care. The brief was clear, yet generous: to help the apartment rediscover its own soul.

I immersed myself in archival research, including conversations with descendants of the original builder, to better understand the intentions behind the architecture and ornamentation. Working closely with a team of conservators, we focused on bringing what remained back into focus. Existing wood panelling was carefully restored, original surfaces were uncovered, and in the green salon, layers were removed to reveal a shimmering patina that had once been intended to impress.

New additions were introduced with restraint. Walls and bespoke cabinetry were upholstered in moiré fabrics, chosen for their historical resonance and their lightness. In the dining room, chairs from the 1880s were reupholstered in plain linen, softening the room’s formal bones and making it feel more generous and welcoming. Above them, an archival Lobmeyr chandelier was sourced, linking past and present without insisting on either.

In the green salon, once a showpiece of fin de siècle taste, the original intent has become legible again. Shimmering tones, deliberate colour, and a clear celebration of artisanry. The project was realised over eight months of close collaboration. It was shaped by curiosity, craft and a deep respect for an architecture larger than life, one that deserved to be lived in fully once more.

• Category: Residential
• Completed: 2022
• Location: Vienna, Austria

Photographs by © Ana S. Barros. This project was published by AD Germany.